Gluten-Free Lasagna with Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Noodles
Gluten-free lasagna just got easier and healthier – and if you love lasagna like Garfield the cat and I do, this is the kind of good news you’ve been waiting for.
Explore Cuisine makes a wonderful line of gluten-free pastas that will change your entire pasta game. They’re delicious – dare I say far more delicious than they sound like they’d be. I mean, let’s be serious, even those of us who love vegetables to distraction would be a little skeptical about Green Lentil Lasagna Noodles. I know I was! When I first used them to make lasagna, I was half-tempted to make one with traditional gluten-free noodles too, you know… just – in – case.
I didn’t take this crazy precautionary step and it turns out I didn’t need to. These noodles have a really wonderful, understated flavor that couldn’t work more beautifully with tomato sauces if it had to.
Not only are these noodles gluten-free and delicious, they don’t have to be boiled before building your lasagna. I am so over the process of handling limp HOT lasagna noodles, so that’s a dream come true for me and my hands.
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About Explore Cuisine:
Explore Cuisine products are vegan, organic, gluten-free, and kosher, ensuring your health and igniting your taste buds! For example, our delicious bean pastas contain nearly 20-25 grams of protein per serving and are low in carbs and sodium while simultaneously containing a high fiber content. With Explore Cuisine, you’ll experience the incomparable taste of pasta with all the benefits of nutritious beans! Read More…
There is a wonderful recipe for Vegetable Lasagna on Explore Cuisine’s blog – just click the link to check it out. It’s out of this world – fresh and delicious.
The first lasagna I made with these noodles was, however, my “go to” lasagna I’ve been making for 112 years. The recipe is below and, thanks to these no-boil noodles, it couldn’t be easier.
A Few Notes:
- If you use a pasta sauce that already contains garlic – leave the garlic out of the recipe. The same is true of one with bell peppers, or onions.
- You can add a small (drained) can of sliced mushrooms in with the onion and bell pepper.
- I like my lasagna extra saucy, but if you prefer your lasagna a little more “traditional,” only use one jar of pasta sauce instead of 1-1/2.
- Always check pasta sauce for the gluten-free label. Some actually are not gluten-free. Always, always check.
Ingredients
- 2 Packages Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Lasagna
- 2 lbs Ground Chuck
- 1/2 Cup Finely-Chopped Bell Pepper
- 1 Cup Finely-Chopped Sweet Onion
- 3 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped
- 1 TBS Kosher Salt
- 1 TBS Oregano
- 1 TBS Basil
- 1-2 28 oz Jars Prego or Ragu Pasta Sauce (I usually use 1-1/2)
- 2 Cups Ricotta Cheese
- 2 Eggs, Slightly Beaten
- 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan
- 1 Pint Ricotta Cheese
- 16 oz. Cottage Cheese (small curd)
- 8 oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet cook ground beef until brown.
- Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic and saute until onions are transparent.
- Add the salt.
- Stir in pasta sauce and heat on medium low for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, and the two slightly beaten eggs.
- Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan or dish.
- Layer with the uncooked Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Lasagna noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, and meat sauce.
- Continue layering until all ingredients are used, reserving 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover, and top with remaining half cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 15 more minutes.
- Remove from oven, and allow lasagna to stand 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.
