Or what I really want to call, the I-don't-have-enough-of-any-one-ingredient lasagna. Here's the story, I had a pot of homemade sauce I made a full days ago. Normally we go to town and just have pasta for like 4-5 days in a row. The Little Guy and I stick with varying shapes of whole grain and the Husband to his boring old non-whole grain rigatoni. The only pasta shape he eats besides spaghetti.
There was only one problem, I ran out of rigatoni! Such a catastrophe in the husband's eyes but for me...
and invitation to get creative! 🙂
A few weeks ago I FINALLY found found whole wheat lasagna noodles at my local grocery story...
They are available online if you can't find them near you.
I peered in my fridge and found and open container of part-skim ricotta, some shredded mozzarella cheese and half a bag of fresh spinach. I also had 8 oz of ground turkey leftover after making my turkey meatballs (which I started adding ground flax too... fabulous!)
I didn't quite have enough of each ingredient to make traditional lasagna so I decided to get creative and stretch what I did. Here's what I came up with..
Ingredients
- 1 8oz package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
- 7 oz part skim ricotta (wish I had fat free - it would have been just as good)
- 8oz lean ground turkey breast
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- About 2 cups fresh spinach chopped
- 3 oz (84g) of shredded mozzarella (separated)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
- At least 2 cups of red tomato sauce (more for topping) I used my homemade
- dried parsley for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the noodles according to the package. I boiled mine for about 8-9 minutes. You don't want them too mushy.
Brown the turkey with the minced garlic. Cook until you see no more pink. Set aside to cool a bit.
Chop the fresh spinach so there are no stringy pieces once cooked. I used the rest of my bag which was just about 2 cups...
Mix the spinach with the ricotta, 2 oz of the mozzarella, onion powder, garlic powder and oregano. Add the browned ground turkey and a pinch of salt and pepper. This is what it should look like.
By this time your noodles should be done. Rinse them under cool water and drape them over the side of the pot or a drying rack so they don't stick together.
Spread about a cup of sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Lay out one lasagna noodle, smear with the cheese/spinach mixture.
This is what my roll-up station looked like. Notice the light. It's the only way I can take pictures after the sun goes down. 🙁
Roll the noodle and lay in the casserole dish with the seam down.
My 8 oz package had 9 noodles. One was, of course, broken, which I saved for Little Man in case he wouldn't eat a roll-up.
Top the lasagna roll-ups with the remaining sauce, remaining 1oz of mozzarella and a bit of dried parsley.
Bake uncovered for 20 minute if you like the crispy noodle bits like I do. Cover with aluminum foil if you don't. 🙂
Serve with a bit of extra sauce and a side salad. It was a wonderful meal!
The husband wasn't showering me with compliments BUT he devoured 2 roll-ups. No faces. No picking. It made me smile. 🙂 the little man tried a bite but I think the shape intimidated him too much. He stuck with the cut up extra noodle and a ton of turkey meatballs. Still a success in my book. 🙂
I'm counting each roll-up as a serving but of course it will depend on what you pair it with. 2 make a great meal!
📖 Recipe
Turkey Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
- 7 oz part skim ricotta wish I had fat free - it would have been just as good
- 8 oz lean ground turkey breast
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- About 2 cups fresh spinach chopped
- 3 oz 84g of shredded mozzarella (separated)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
- At least 2 cups of red tomato sauce more for topping I used my homemade
- dried parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the noodles according to the package. I boiled mine for about 8-9 minutes. You don't want them too mushy.
- Brown the turkey with the minced garlic. Cook until you see no more pink. Set aside to cool a bit.8 oz lean ground turkey breast, 3 cloves of garlic minced
- Chop the fresh spinach so there are no stringy pieces once cooked. I used the rest of my bag which was just about 2 cups...
- Mix the spinach with the ricotta, 2 oz of the mozzarella, onion powder, garlic powder and oregano. Add the browned ground turkey and a pinch of salt and pepper. This is what it should look like.7 oz part skim ricotta, 8 oz lean ground turkey breast, About 2 cups fresh spinach chopped, 3 oz 84g of shredded mozzarella (separated), 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
- By this time your noodles should be done. Rinse them under cool water and drape them over the side of the pot or a drying rack so they don't stick together.
- Spread about a cup of sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Lay out one lasagna noodle, smear with the cheese/spinach mixture.At least 2 cups of red tomato sauce
- Roll the noodle and lay in the casserole dish with the seam down.
- Top the lasagna roll-ups with the remaining sauce, remaining 1oz of mozzarella and a bit of dried parsley.1 8 oz package of whole wheat lasagna noodles, dried parsley for garnish
- Bake uncovered for 20 minute if you like the crispy noodle bits like I do. Cover with aluminum foil if you don't.
- Serve with a bit of extra sauce and a side salad. It was a wonderful meal!
Bianca
What size casserole dish is this?
roni
11x7
🙂
roni
I haven't froze these but something similar and it works great in individual containers. You can defrost then reheat right in the microwave easily!
Sam
Have you frozen these? How well do you think that would work if you would freeze it and just defrost and reheat later?
Danielle
I made it just as you suggested and it was fantastic. The man and I both said "wow!" after one bite, and he thought he hated spinach in his lasagna! Leftovers are perfectly proportioned for lunch containers. I may never make regular lasagna again. Thanks for keeping the old WWP. Great recipe!
Julie
These spinach turkey lasagna rolls were A-mazing!! Thanks for the recipe and easy to follow instructions. I did add a little more ricotta, mozzerella, spinach and used more sauce, but it was a 5 star hit for us, even my kids 6 and 3 ate it even though they knew it had spinach in it, they despise spinach most of the time. Thanks!
Amy
Hi Roni! I made this tonight for dinner; my first recipe from your site. I have to say...these were absolutely awesome and my family devoured them! I started WW three weeks ago and this will definitely be on the menu once a month. Can't wait to try something else. Thank you so much!!!!
Becky
THe best part about your recipes are the pictures. I don't like to make something new w/o a picture... best part, you take pics during the process so we know exactly how to do it! Thanks!
roni
Just print. You may be surprised. I'm a sneaky web programmer. 😉
Nicole
Hi Roni!
I am about to make these today. I am going to add mushrooms b/c we love mushrooms. And use sweet italian turkey sausage that is left from one of our favorite recipes: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/gnocchi-sausage-spinach-10000001586871/index.html
We use 3-4 links of turkey sausage, sweet onion, whole wheat gnocchi, extra spinach and less cheese to make it a bit lighter but it is a great tasty simple dish.
I was going to print off the lasagna recipe to bring into the kitchen and found myself looking for a "print format" button and realized that I don't think your posts have those. Have you ever considered adding that functionality?
Alex
I made these today, they came out great! Even the little guy ate it all up (though I used less spinach for his roll-ups). My husband is definitely a fan!
Jaye
I made this the other day and it was really good. So good in fact that I whipped up two more batches and stuck them in the freezer for later.
The only change I made was to use Italian Sausage instead of turkey - it is what we had on had. And we used less sauce.
I had given up on making lasagna, and for the last 2 years I would just buy a frozen one. Thanks for the recipie!
court
This was great. Made it last night and will make it many more times to come.
Lee Ann
I have these in the oven right now! They smell yummy I can't wait to eat them!
roni
Lindsay it probably wouldn't matter. Just start with a noodle on top of that first layer of sauce. You may need to make more just to get enough layers to make it worth your while since it will take 3 just to cover the bottom. Another idea.... layer them in a bread pan! 🙂
Lindsay Morrison
It looks really good this way, but if you wanted to make it as regular lasagana, would you need to layer it any sort of way or would it matter?? And would you need extra noodles??
Beth from MD
Brava Roni! I made these tonight and they were great. My husband has similar tastes to yours, but ate two of them and said he was impressed. It's a great alternative to a labor intensive, calorie laden sausage lasagna. I used frozen spinach because it's what I had. I rinsed it off and rung most of the water out of it with paper towels.
Christine
I love pasta, especially lasagna!! I really wanted to give this a try. So last night I did and it is soooo good. I've been doing WW for about 6 weeks now and it is really helping me get my portions under control and make healthier choices, but your sites are also helping me do this. In this kind of recipe I would have used a whole 15oz container of regular ricotta, a whole pound of pork sausage and so, so much cheese! This recipe showed me that it can still be very, very tasty without doing all that! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kristina
That's a gourmet looking dish! When it comes to push, a mother has to be creative and this sure looks wonderful! Am trying this for my birthday!
Gina @ Skinnytaste
I make this all the time Roni! Love the light set up you have, don't you hate that it gets dark so early now! And I must look for these whole wheat lasagna noodles!!
Lola, crock pot lasagna? Gotta check that out!
Lola
I make something very similar...I saw it on Gina's Blog. Super great and they freeze very well and are a nice lunch when I'm in a hurry. Last night I made a crockpot lasagna that I saw on Danica's Daily and OMG - it was delicious. You definitely need to try. A nice way to use those "broken" noodles. I honestly, honestly did not expect it to be that good, I was just (like you) trying to avoid a grocery store trip and used what I had.
Kelly
These look amazing and fabulous! I will be making these this week! Not sure that hubby or the kids will like the spinach but I'm still going to try. Thanks for the great recipe and quick dinner!
bridget
Made these last night with turkey pepperoni (that's what I had)...gave new life to "pasta night!"
Kim
This looks amazing! I am not a fan of how much work lasagna is to make - and how it's hard to serve but THIS looks WAY BETTER and WAY EASIER to make!
This will be on the upcoming weekend meal!
I love your creative flair with food! I also love the fact that there are no funky hard to find ingredients either...
Keep it up Roni!
roni
Coleen - I haven't measured anything, just been experimenting. I add a tablespoon or 2 without modifying the recipe at all. They are coming out awesome and nobody is the wiser. 😉
Coleen
Roni,
You mention adding flax seed to your meatballs. I went back and checked your recipe, but there was no mention of flax seed. How much flax seed (ground, right?) did you add to how much ground turkey? and did you still add the oatmeal? Thanks.
Coleen
kathy
Roni....this look sensational, I am going to try it this week with the intention of serving this at a family gathering for Christmas Eve!!!! Love new ideas. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
susiebeeonmaui from eatlittleeatbig
What a great idea! "Necessity is the mother of invention".