When you have leftover turkey (or chicken), try these lasagna rolls, filled with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. The low-fat mix is tucked inside whole wheat pasta and baked until bubbling and golden brown.
What happens when one little family of four cooks a 20 pound turkey at Thanksgiving? Well, either we eat until we balloon up and float to the ceiling, or we find plenty of ways to use the leftovers. Of course, a hot turkey sandwich – open-faced, topped with stuffing and cranberry sauce and smothered with gravy, please – is always an option. And I can’t resist my favorite Turkey, Brie, Pear & Cherry Chipotle Panini. However, sometimes you want something a little different, and that’s where these baked lasagna rolls come in.
When I first made my Healthy Lasagne Recipe with Turkey, Pesto and Peppers, I found a way to make this typically fat-laden layered pasta dish into a very tasty, low-fat meal. The trick is to replace the ricotta cheese or bechamel sauce with pureed cottage cheese. Your family will never know the difference.
And don’t think that you have to wait until Thanksgiving rolls around to make this. Instead of turkey, use leftover chicken, or cut the meat off of a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
The recipe:
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 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 diced turkey (or chicken) and heat until warm, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Stir in spinach and sundried tomatoes until combined, and allow the mixture to cool.
Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Stir the cottage cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, dried chile flakes, nutmeg, salt and pepper into the turkey mixture.
Lay a few lasagna noodles on a cutting board. Spread 3 heaping tablespoons of the turkey 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 1/2 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 leftover turkey (or chicken) ideas:
Turkey, Brie, Pear & Cherry Chipotle Panini
Baked Tortellini with Turkey, Butternut Squash & Chard
Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Lasagna Rolls with Sundried Tomatoes & Spinach {Low Fat}
Ingredients
- 12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
Filling:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 14 ounces diced leftover turkey or chicken, mixture of light and dark meat
- 1 1/2 cups packed roughly chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes chopped
- 12 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/4 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 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 diced turkey (or chicken) and heat until warm, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Stir in spinach and sundried tomatoes until combined, and allow the mixture 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, dried chile flakes, nutmeg, salt and pepper into the turkey mixture.
- Lay a few lasagna noodles on a cutting board. Spread 3 heaping tablespoons of the turkey 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.
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.
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
My whole family would DEVOUR this beautiful dish!! I love your photos and love how healthy you made it!
Bill Zars
Would have made thistonightbut Ihave to make my sun-dried tomatoes and the Blackhawks are playing and I didn’t want to jinx them with a Canadian recipe. Just joking though I love your country and it’s people.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
LOL. Ah yes…the Blackhawks. There have been some serious head-to-head duels between the Blackhawks and the Canucks in the past. I hope you have a chance to try this on another night. 🙂
Dara
I just made a spinach and mushroom lasagna roll dish for my first time and loved the individual rolls. The addition of sun-dried tomatoes is a fantastic idea! Can’t wait to try it!
Amy (Savory Moments)
Yum! This is a really great way to use up some of your leftover turkey. Looks delicious!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Now this is creative! I love sundried tomatoes so much! And spinach too – I need to make more with those ingredients!
Kim Bee
Dara this is one tasty looking leftover meal. I am really itching to try this one. Maybe after our Christmas turkey. I missed the Canadian Thanksgiving due to being sick. And the American one due to going for tests. So bummed I didn’t get to celebrate either.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Ugh, you really did miss out this year. Luckily, this recipe can be made all year-round. Just use leftover chicken, or meat from a rotisserie chicken.
kristy @ the wicked noodle
I love something Italian the day after Thanksgiving. I’m always craving something spicy, or at the very least, tomatoey (you know what I mean 😉 What a great use for leftover turkey!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Yes! Something Italian or Asian. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Kristy.
Lori @ RecipeGirl
Looks like a wonderful dinner idea! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Lori. You too! This is going into our regular dinner rotation, for certain.
Lora @cakeduchess
I wish we had a bit of leftover turkey. It was given to everyone to take home and we enjoyed the rest today. Otherwise I would certainly make these delicious rolls:)Hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving, Dara. xx
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Lora, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use leftover chicken in place of the turkey. It’s a year-round dinner!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet
I love lasagna rollups so much more than actual lasagna! Much more festive AND easier to make. Your version sounds so good I am adding it to my meal plan for the next week.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Anna. I hope you enjoy them!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love these lasagna rolls, Dara! The sun-dried tomatoes and spinach are calling my name!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Laura. They were a lot of fun to make!