Diabetic Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe

Lasagna is a dish that traditionally takes quite a few steps to create. For this recipe it will take a minimum of 1 hour and 30 minutes to prepare. Feel free to add your own vegetables to it. A few ideas for ingredient additions: spinach, zucchini, mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon fennel, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried orange rind
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 15 ounces low-fat ricotta cheese
• ½ pound zucchini, grated and squeezed of excess liquid
• 2 small carrots, grated
• ½ cup egg substitute
• ½ cup shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese, plus 1/4 cup for garnish (the garnish is optional)
• 2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish (the garnish is optional)
• 6 oven-ready lasagna noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Spray a non-stick covered pot with cooking spray. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onion is transparent (about 4-5 minutes). Add the tomatoes, basil, fennel, orange rind, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a slow simmer, cover and cook while you ready the rest of the ingredients.
3. Place the ricotta in a large bowl. Stir in the grated zucchini and carrots. Stir in the egg substitute, grated mozzarella and finally the Romano cheese. Set aside.
4. Prepare an 8-inch oven-proof square pan by spreading 3 to 4 tablespoons of the tomato sauce on the bottom.
5. Place 2 lasagna noodles on the bottom. Spread with 1/3 of the cheese and vegetable mixture and top with 1/3 of tomato sauce.
6. Repeat this, making 3 layers and ending with tomato sauce.
7. Top with reserved mozzarella and Romano.
8. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil which you tent a bit to make sure it does not touch the cheese on top. Make sure to crimp around the edges of the pan.
9. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovering the last 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and allow to set for 10 minutes before cutting.