Try this vegetarian dinner recipe of Kale, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna Rolls for your next Meatless Monday meal. 160 calories and 5 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
After consuming my fair share of Chopped Kale Salad with Grapes & Feta Cheese last week, I put my thinking cap. With a garden bed full of kale (that makes me smile just to type those words), I needed to get creative. I could go the green smoothie route, which I probably will in the next week or two. However, what I was really craving was a hearty vegetarian meal.
I might have to eat mushrooms on my own, for lack of any other mushroom lovers in the house, so it's a good thing that these lasagna rolls turned out well. I'll be eating them for lunch for the next five days. Fine by me!
When I first posted my Healthy Lasagna Recipe with Turkey, Pesto and Peppers last year, I was excited to show you how I made the notoriously fatty dish into a low-calorie diva. I used the same trick when I made Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Lasagna Rolls just after Thanksgiving.
The trick is simple: cottage cheese. Instead of a heavy bechamel sauce, I puree low-fat cottage cheese in the food processor and use that as the sauce, seasoning the heck out of it so that you don't miss the extra fat.
On top of the "low calorie/low fat" kudos, this dish gets bonus points for the vitamins and minerals provided by the kale and mushrooms.
It's a keeper!
The recipe:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the whole wheat lasagna noodles and cook until just tender. Drain the noodles, gently rinse with cold water and lay on a kitchen towels, separated from each other.
For the filling, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the kale and cook until the kale is slightly wilted and bright green, about 1 minute. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and allow it to cool.
Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Stir the cottage cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, basil, dried chile flakes, salt and pepper into the mushroom mixture.
Lay a few lasagna noodles on a cutting board. Spread 3 heaping tablespoons of the mushroom mixture along each noodle. Starting at one short end, tightly roll up the lasagna noodle and filling.
Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking pan by spreading 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom. Arrange the lasagna rolls, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles and filling.
Spread additional 1 ½ cups tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Other vegetarian dinner ideas:
Cookin' Canuck's Black Bean Sliders with Creamy California Avocado Sauce
Cookin' Canuck's Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Zucchini & Feta
Printable Recipe
Kale, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna Rolls Recipe {Vegetarian}
Ingredients
- 12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
- 3 teaspoon olive oil divided
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces crimini Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems removed, sliced
- 2 cups roughly chopped kale
- ½ cup about 1 ¼ ounces sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 12 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese divided
- 8 fresh basil leaves thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ½ cups tomato sauce your favorite kind
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender. Drain the noodles, gently rinse with cold water and lay on a kitchen towels, separated from each other.
- For the filling, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds.
- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the kale and cook until the kale is slightly wilted and bright green, about 1 minute. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and allow it to cool.
- Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Stir the cottage cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, basil, dried chile flakes, salt and pepper into the mushroom mixture.
- Lay a few lasagna noodles on a cutting board. Spread 3 heaping tablespoons of the mushroom mixture along each noodle. Starting at one short end, tightly roll up the lasagna noodle and filling.
- Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking pan by spreading 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom. Arrange the lasagna rolls, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles and filling.
- Spread additional 1½ cups tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Jeanette
Dara, these look so good, no one would ever know they were on the healthy side! Beautifully done!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you, Jeanette! No one ever misses the heavy bechamel sauce when I do my cottage cheese sub.
carrian
These are lovely, Dara. Totally going to make this for the fam as we've been looking for some packed with extras dishes lately to be a little healthier
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you, Carrian! I always do a happy dance when a healthy version of a classic dish works out well.
Jess S. @ Floptimism
I love this recipe! I actually recently found no salt added cottage cheese, and was surprised by how much I liked it. Ever since then, I've been looking for ways to use it in pretty much everything.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Jess. I'll have to look for that cottage cheese in our stores here.
Jess S. @ Floptimism
It was actually the generic, store-brand version. I shop at Giant, which I know is only in certain areas, but hopefully you can find a similar one where you live!
I also wanted to let you know that I loved both this recipe and your recipe for grape & gorgonzola topping so much that I featured them in my weekly Weekend Wrap-Up post on my blog. It's a quick Saturday post sharing some of my favorite online finds from the past week. I've included the link to the post in case you're interested in checking it out. Either way, thank you for such amazing recipes! Have a great weekend!
http://floptimism.blogspot.com/2013/07/weekend-wrap-up-progress.html
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love vegetarian lasagna so these rolls are just perfect!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you, Laura. I really enjoy a good, light vegetarian lasagna, too.
Carla @ Carlas Confections
There is nothing about this that I dont love! The mushrooms are seriously calling my name too!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Carla. And believe me...they call my name, too.
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
I love everything about this - and even more so that it's meatless!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you, Chung-Ah. It's great to have another option for Meatless Monday in my repertoire.
Sommer @ ASpicyPerspective
Love meatless lasagna! This looks incredible!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you, Sommer! I'm a fan, too.
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch
This looks great and healthy!!!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Robyn!
Liz
Sounds and looks so good. Thank you. A keeper for sure.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you, Liz. Yes, I'll be using this recipe over and over again.
Kalyn
Sounds delicious!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Kalyn!