I am SO excited to finally share one of my very favorite recipes! This lasagna comes from a long line of adapted, tested, and re-adapted lasagnas/pasta casseroles. The original recipe is called Million Dollar Spaghetti, found on the blog Being Grown Up.

This was the first recipe that I looked at and thought “this sounds delicious! I bet with a few substitutes, I could make this healthier and STILL delicious!” So I guess you could say that this is the recipe that started it all 🙂

While I consider this zucchini lasagna version to be healthy — high protein, low carb, low fat, and less than 300 calories per serving — it’s not as clean as some of my other recipes. If you’re paleo or lactose intolerant, this recipe is definitely NOT for you. If you love cheesy goodness, do yourself a favor and try this recipe immediately.

Although this is not your momma’s traditional lasagna, it is comprised of layers, like any good lasagna should be. The first layer is zucchini noodles, made by slicing zucchini lengthwise into quarter-inch thick slices. (Side note: the first time I made this, I tried it with really thin ribbons of zucchini that I cut with a mandolin. The result was a watery mess. Don’t do it.) Lay these slices across the bottom of a glass casserole dish (I used 9×13). I ended up with 7 slices across the bottom. They don’t have to be perfect. They will most likely NOT be perfect, so don’t beat yourself up about it.

The next layer is the cream layer (yum). This is low fat (or fat free) cottage cheese, cream cheese, and greek yogurt all mixed together and spread on top of the zucchini slices. You may be thinking “cottage cheese in a lasagna??” And I am thinking, “yes. Trust me.”

Now you obviously need another layer of noodles on top of the cream, so repeat step one and cover that creamy goodness with some more zucchini slices. Another 7 should do the trick.

Now comes the meat sauce. Make this by browning a package of super extra lean ground turkey (99% fat free if you can find it). Make sure to drain the meat, even if there’s not much to drain. It makes a difference, I promise. Mix in 2 8oz cans of low sodium tomato sauce, and season with garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil and parsley, and a dash of salt and black pepper. This will all go on top of that second layer of zucchini noodles. If you have some extra zucchini slices, put those on top of the meat sauce.

Bake the lasagna at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a bag of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Return to the oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

When you remove the final product from the oven, it will be a little liquid-y and hard to portion out neatly. The longer you let it set, the less of a problem this will become. (And when you take it out of the refrigerator to eat as leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day, the problem will be gone altogether.) I’m 100% ok with the liquid-y-ness (and, also, I was really hungry), so I let it rest for about 5 minutes and dug in. The slices aren’t very pretty, but they are Oh My Yumm delicious.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! You can find the different substitutions I’ve made for the different versions of this recipe below.

Million Dollar Zucchini Lasagna
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise (5-6 slices each)
• 1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
• 8 oz. non or low fat cream cheese (I use Neufchatel cheese)
• 1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 20 oz. package 99% fat free ground turkey
• 2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce (I use no-salt-added)
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• salt
• black pepper
• 8 0z. bag shredded cheddar cheese, 2% reduced fat

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lay half of your zucchini slices across the bottom of a glass casserole dish (I used 9×13). I ended up with 7 slices across the bottom. They don’t have to be perfect.
3. Using a hand or stand mixer, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, and greek yogurt. Spread over zucchini slices.
4. Repeat step one and cover as much of the cream layer as possible with the rest of your zucchini slices.
5. Brown a package of ground turkey. Make sure to drain the meat, even if there’s not much to drain. Mix in tomato sauce, and season with garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil and parsley, and a dash of salt and black pepper. Add more seasonings to taste.
6. Distribute the meat sauce evenly over the second layer of zucchini noodles. If you have extra zucchini slices, put those on top of the meat sauce.
7. Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a bag of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Return to the oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.
9. Let rest for 5-15 minutes. Cut into 8 even slices and enjoy!

Nutrition Info: 1 Serving (1/8 recipe)

Calories: 282
Fat: 11.6g
Carbs: 8.8g
Protein: 32.7g

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Here are some of the different versions I’ve made of this recipe so far. The possibilities are endless!

Million Dollar Spaghetti: 342 cal, 9g fat, 20.3g carb, 31.9g protein

• 1 lb. ground beef 96/4 (instead of turkey)
• 4 oz. whole wheat spaghetti (instead of zucchini)

Million Dollar Lasagna: 341 cal, 10.5g fat, 31.9g carb, 32.2g protein

• 1 lb. ground beef 96/4 (instead of turkey)
• 8 oz. lasagna noodles (instead of zucchini)

Million Dollar Lasagna with Turkey: 338 cal, 6.6g fat, 31.2g carb, 35.4g protein

• 8 oz. lasagna noodles (instead of zucchini)

Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash: 271 cal, 12.5g fat, 9.4g carb, 27.5g protein

• 1 lb. ground beef 93/7 (instead of turkey)
• 1 baked spaghetti squash (instead of zucchini)