After surviving endless meetings and getting past numerous deadlines, you finally finish work at 7pm. You get on your usual bus, thinking about what to have for dinner. Ordering takeaways seems too unhealthy, but cooking seems too much hassle. Don’t be too guilt-ridden, because that’s totally understandable – just thinking about what to cook is already exhausting enough to put cooking out of our minds (trust me, I have faced this situation for so many times). But if you try making lasagna, cooking healthily after work doesn’t always have to be as tiring as it sounds.
Don’t get me wrong, we all know that lasagna is notorious for its high fat content. But if you know the right ingredients to use, lasagna is actually a perfect dinner choice. With its versatile ingredient combinations, the following 10 healthy lasagna recipes that can be ready under 60 minutes are not to be missed out on by us busy working people.
1. Healthy Zucchini Lasagna
This recipe calls for two main extra healthy ingredients – zucchini and gluten and grain-free pasta which is made with almond flour. Packed with high levels of vitamin C and antioxidants, zucchini is a great veggie to incorporate into your daily meal. Not only is it extremely low in calories, but it is also high in dietary fiber which will keep you full for the night. And the gluten and grain-free lasagna sheets aid weight management (a further plus point if you are on a diet!). With not many other ingredients needed, this recipe only requires you to layer all the healthy goodies several times, then bake for 20 minutes (thanks to zucchini being a quick vegetable to cook). Then voilà, your healthy, delicious dinner is served!
2. Veggie Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Who says a lasagna dish always has to involve pasta? This portobello mushroom lasagna is an alternative if you wish to cut down on your carb intake. Being an excellent source of copper, this meaty fungi is not just low in saturated fat and cholesterol but also high in dietary fiber and potassium. As for the stuffed veggies, baby spinach, garlic, onion, and red bell pepper are all you’ll need for this recipe. They provide you with all the necessary nutrients you will need – Vitamin A, C, & K, manganese, biotin, you name it. Simply sauté them and then mix them with the cheese and egg. Afterwards, stuff the mushroom with the mixture and bake for around 20 minutes. Now, sit back and enjoy your flavorful yet healthy homemade dinner.
3. 10-minute Spinach Lasagna
OK, so you just came home from work, you have no idea what to cook but only have some cheeses, spinach, and lasagna noodles in your fridge. There’s no need to panic – with this recipe, you can still make comforting and delicious lasagna just with these simple, classic ingredients. As you can already tell by its name, spinach is the highlight of this lasagna. This leafy green vegetable does an excellent job in preventing inflammation and it contains a huge amount of vitamin K which is important for maintaining bone health.
Making this lasagna couldn’t be easier – simply spread the marinara sauce on the pan and then layer the cheeses and of course, the spinach. Guess what? This preparation will only take you 10 minutes! Shove the lasagna into the oven and let it do its work for 35 minutes while you relax with a glass of wine after a long day at work.
4. Lasagna A La Asiana
Got bored with the usual tomato-sauce, cheesy lasagna? why not give this Asian version of lasagna a try? This recipe replaces lasagna sheets with flat rice noodle sheets, and tomato sauce with a special Asian pesto and tofu ricotta, making a lighter, healthier version of lasagna with an Asian twist. Flat rice noodles are a low-fat carb choice while the refreshing herbs and spices in the Asian pesto and tofu ricotta provide you with all the health benefits you need – reducing skin inflammation, cholesterol level and the chance of getting diarrhea. The recipes for Asian pesto as well as the tofu ricotta are also available on the website. The good thing is that these two can be prepared beforehand which means all you need to do is just to stack all the goodies together in a dish. Bake it for 20 minutes and you are good to go.
5. Superfood Salmon Lasagna with Kale and Spinach
Who wouldn’t love a hearty lasagna with salmon and kale as the main ingredients, especially after a long day at work? This lasagna recipe is so packed with nutrients that our body constantly needs – vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids (which promote our cardiovascular health), vitamin D (which is essential for maintaining bone health), and vitamin K (which enhances the body’s healthy blood-clotting ability).
Not only is this dish super healthy, but it also tastes heavenly with the home-made ricotta white sauce. To make this lasagna, boil the veggies (kale and spinach) and salmon first. Then add in the lasagna noodles and the ricotta sauce. Bake for around 25 minutes and this simple, healthy, comfort dinner is ready for you to enjoy.
6. Lasagna Tortellini Soup
This recipe is the type of dinner that you will want to cook when you know you have a full day ahead. If you have a slow cooker at home, you might want to keep this recipe ready in the kitchen at all times because it is so easy to make and it tastes divine. With the extra lean ground beef (which is a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids), the super tomatoey soup (which reduces the risk of heart disease and supports bone health), and the amount of seasonings that are controlled entirely by you, this lasagna soup is the perfect dinner to help you to unwind and relax after a long day at work.
To make it, simply brown the beef first and then put all the ingredients into the slow cooker right before you head off to work. When you return, just add in the tortellini (or any kind of pasta you like, really) to cook for 15 minutes and stir in the cheese and a bowl of goodness is now ready for you.
7. Courgette and Tomato Open Lasagna
Yes, another zucchini lasagna recipe! We just can’t get enough of it, can we? Not only is this because zucchini is such a super healthy food, but it is also very versatile in terms of its cooking methods. In this recipe, the zucchini is sliced into ribbons so that it can absorb the tomato sauce better. As the name of the dish suggests, this lasagna recipe requires no baking (which means no waiting is needed!) which is an extra plus point for us busy working people.
8. No-bake Summer Lasagna with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Summer is just around the corner and nothing can beat the heat more than a refreshing salad – this time incorporated with lasagna noodles and ricotta cheese. This recipes uses different types of tomatoes that the owner grows, but you can pretty much use any kinds of veggies that you like – corn, lettuce, bell pepper, onion, you name it. Do try to use veggies of different colors to get different kinds of nutrients – you know, making it all colorful is the key here.
Mix all the chopped veggies, boil them if necessary, then add in some olive oil and garlic as the marinade. Layer the lasagna noodles, then the ricotta cheese, and the mixed veggie salad several times. As you can already tell, not much cooking is involved which is a real time-saver for us people who always hustle to get dinner ready on time.
9. Quick & Healthy Gluten-Free Potato Lasagna
Having a craving for potato but still want to have lasagna? In this recipe, the regular lasagna noodles are replaced by potato slices. Then they are layered with fat-free ricotta cheese and gluten-free marinara sauce. Thanks to its high concentration of vitamin B6, potatoes play a critical role in promoting cell health and in boosting our immune system. And the gluten-free marinara sauce simply adds life to the dish while its gluten-free nature calms our stomach. This recipe also calls for turkey sausage which is a healthier meat choice. Just layer everything several times and shove it in the oven for 30 minutes and the piping hot potato lasagna is ready to be served.
10. Mexican Black Bean Lasagna
This lasagna recipe definitely incorporates healthiness into our everyday busy life. With black beans as the main ingredient of this dish, this lasagna has a Mexican twist with its use of red enchilada sauce, tortillas, jalapeños (which help with weight loss), and cilantro (which is full of vitamin K). Black beans are also fully packed with molybdenum, a nutrient that is known to be associated with increased longevity. Making this lasagna couldn’t be easier – cook the veggies (including the beans), spread the enchilada sauce on a baking dish, layer it with tortillas and the veggies. Then bake it until the top is beginning to brown, rest for 5 minutes, then your healthy Mexican dinner is ready to be gobbled down!
Featured photo credit: TESCO realfood via realfood.tesco.com
