Tag Archives: gluten free lasagne

Dairy Free, Family Meals, Gluten Free, Recipes, Special Diets, Vegetarian, Weaning, Wheat Free

Lentil Lasagne and Lasagne made easy

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Lasagne is one of those meals that is loved the whole family. Let’s face it, if you don’t love lasagne then you are very usual! Often seen as hard to make, time consuming and more comfort food than “healthy” I want to share my top tips for making it a standard weeknight family meal.

  1. Pack in the veggies. Lasagne does not have to include meat! I rarely use mince to make lasagne these days. Instead I use lasagne as a way to pack in the veg. You can use lentils, beans or tofu or quorn to get protein in. There is nothing wrong with using the normal beef mince but  if you are looking for more variety with meals or like us, are wanting to eat a greater range of plant based protein sources then it’s time to expand your lasagne repertoire.
  2. Making your own sauce doesn’t have to be complicated. As much as I love a white sauce, if I’m in a rush it always goes lumpy or I burn the bottom of the pan. One of my hacks is to use cottage cheese. Add a little natural yoghurt to thin it down and pour it on the top of the lasagne, top with grated cheese and the jobs done. I wasn’t convinced this sauce would pass the lasagne police in my house  but it did. Phew. The other easy alternative is to use a half fat creme fraiche, simple. 
  3. Embrace your freezer. I totally love my freezer, it saves me on a regular basis. Oh, and it needs defrosting, in case anyone fancies helping me with that. You can either make a double batch of the main filling and freeze it for another meal, or I like to make a whole lasagne and freeze it, makes me feel like a proper domestic goddess. Minus the tidy kitchen, mine is never tidy.
  4. Make ahead. I often make lasagne in stages. so I will either get the main filling out of the freezer and leave to defrost, or make the filling up and leave it. Then later I get a child to help me put it together, layering the filling, pasta and sauce. 
  5. Use pre-bought lasagne sheets. I know most people don’t make their own fresh lasagne sheets, but I sometimes do, it makes the lasagne SO good, literally the best lasagne. But it takes more time that I just don’t have that often. 
So why not transform your lasagne into sometime more inventive. It’s a forgiving dish. Here is a recipe for a wheat free, dairy free version I made this week:
 
 
 
Lentil Lasagne
Serves 4
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Cook Time
45 min
Cook Time
45 min
585 calories
89 g
13 g
11 g
35 g
3 g
533 g
221 g
14 g
0 g
7 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
533g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 585
Calories from Fat 94
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 11g
16%
Saturated Fat 3g
16%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 5g
Cholesterol 13mg
4%
Sodium 221mg
9%
Total Carbohydrates 89g
30%
Dietary Fiber 34g
136%
Sugars 14g
Protein 35g
Vitamin A
203%
Vitamin C
165%
Calcium
24%
Iron
49%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 onion
  2. 2 garlic cloves
  3. 3 carrots
  4. 2 peppers
  5. 1 medium courgette
  6. 1 tsp olive oil
  7. 2 cups of dried lentils
  8. 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  9. 1 tbsp tomato puree
  10. 250ml stock (I used homemade chicken stock but you could use a stock cube and water)
  11. 1 bay leaf
  12. Dried mixed herbs
  13. 1 small glug of balsamic vinegar
  14. Lasagne sheets (wheat free if required)
White sauce
  1. 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  2. 2 tbsp wheat free flour
  3. Soya milk as needed, approx 250ml
  4. 250ml water (you may not need it)
  5. Soya cheese or normal cheese
Instructions
  1. Chop all the vegetables in a food processor (this saves time!) or chop finely by hand.
  2. Saute in the oil for a few minutes, then add the lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, bay leaf, dried herbs, balsamic, stock and simmer for 20 minutes. This is your basic lasagne filling, You can now freeze this, keep it in the fridge for making up later, or use straight away.
  3. Make up the lasagne with 1 layer of lentil mix, lasagne sheets, lentil mix and lasagne sheets.
White sauce
  1. Pour the oil into a sauce pan and mix in the flour with a wooden spoon, it will make a thick paste. Mix in a little milk and stir to make a batter, now add in the rest of the milk place on a gentle heat and keep stirring to incorporate it all. The sauce will thicken, if it is too thick add some water. Keep stirring! Let it gently bubble but not too much. I like to let it cool a little and then pour on top of the lasagne.
  2. Top with cheese and bake at gas mark 5 for 45 minutes.
beta
calories
585
fat
11g
protein
35g
carbs
89g
more
Dietitian UK https://www.dietitianuk.co.uk/
 
Family Meals, Gluten Free, Recipes, Special Diets, Vegetarian, Wheat Free

Vegetable Potato Lasagne

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So what do you do when you’ve been building up all day to a vegetable lasagne and then you realise you are out of wheat free lasagne sheets? 

1. Make something else?

2. Make your own lasagne?

3. Use potato instead?

Today I was feeling a bit more inventive, plus I had a tonne of potatoes to use up… so option 3 it was.

This worked really well, it took longer to cook as I wanted the potatoes to definitely be on the softer side, but you could parboil them to help speed up the cooking time. My cottage cheese white sauce is a big hit.Healthier, quicker to make and lighter on the stomach and palate too, it takes lasagne from a “weekend meal” to an “everyday meal”.  My family are happy.

Someone suggested this was more of a moussaka, I’m not sure. I’m going with lasagne as that is what I based it on. Call it what you like. It’s delicious. 

Dietitian UK: Vegetable Potato Lasagne 1 

Dietitian UK: Vegetable Potato Lasagne 2

Vegetable Potato Lasagne
Serves 6
A healthy take on a vegetable lasagne using cottage cheese to make the white sauce and potato instead of lasagne sheets. Grain free, gluten free.
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
296 calories
42 g
17 g
8 g
12 g
4 g
455 g
191 g
10 g
0 g
4 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
455g
Servings
6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 296
Calories from Fat 70
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8g
12%
Saturated Fat 4g
18%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 17mg
6%
Sodium 191mg
8%
Total Carbohydrates 42g
14%
Dietary Fiber 8g
30%
Sugars 10g
Protein 12g
Vitamin A
69%
Vitamin C
130%
Calcium
18%
Iron
14%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 tbsp olive oil
  2. 1 medium onion
  3. 3-4 cloves of garlic
  4. 2 peppers
  5. 2 courgettes
  6. 1 carrot
  7. Mixed dried herbs
  8. Black pepper
  9. Balsamic vinegar
  10. 1 tsp sugar
  11. 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  12. Small glass of red wine
  13. 1 large aubergine
  14. 4 medium potatoes
  15. 150g cottage cheese
  16. 150g greek yoghurt
  17. 80g grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
  2. Chop the onion and crush the garlic, then saute in the pan.
  3. Now add the peppers, carrot and courgettes, cook for a couple of minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes and wine.
  4. Bring to a simmer and add the pepper, balsamic, herbs and sugar. All to simmer gently whilst you prepare the rest of the dish.
  5. Slice the aubergine and potatoes lengthways into thin slices.
  6. You could now parboil the potatoes to speed up the cooking time in the oven.
  7. Mix the cottage cheese with the yoghurt to get a thinner consistency.
  8. Now comes the fun…. in an overproof dish layer up the lasagne. Start with the tomato and vegetables base, top with aubergine slices, then potato and the white sauce. Repeat the layers one more time, ending with the white sauce on the top.
  9. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven as Gas Mark 5 for 45-60 minutes.
  10. Test the potatoes are cooked by prodding with a skewer.
  11. ENJOY!
beta
calories
296
fat
8g
protein
12g
carbs
42g
more
Dietitian UK https://www.dietitianuk.co.uk/