I am a nutrition professional, and I assure you, not every food needs to be health-ified. It’s more than okay to enjoy a cookie that isn’t protein-fortified and sugar-free, and you will never catch me attempting a baked version of my family’s beloved fried potato latke recipe. No one food defines your diet – a sugary, ultra-processed, creamy or fried bite now and then can certainly fit into an overall healthful way of eating. That said, some recipes readily lend themselves to being made better for you without compromise, and tweaking them in that direction means you can enjoy them more regularly while maintaining a positive nutritional balance.
Get the recipe: Spinach, Mushroom and Turkey Lasagna
This recipe invites you to say “yes” to lasagna more often. It has everything you crave from the comfort-food bake – silky noodles layered with tomato sauce, ground meat and melted cheese – but it is lighter and more nutritious thanks to a few simple additions and swaps. For one, it’s packed with vegetables. The saucy meat layer (made using ground turkey or lean ground beef) is amplified with lots of sautéed, chopped mushrooms, which meld seamlessly with the browned meat. And the ricotta layer is verdant with heaps of defrosted frozen spinach and parsley.
It incorporates three cheeses – ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella – to provide richness, flavor and melty allure, but swapping in part-skim cheese in relatively modest amounts keeps the saturated fat on the lower side. And using whole-grain pasta gives the dish a lightly nutty essence, echoing the earthy flavor of the mushrooms, and adding fiber and nutrients. However, since whole-grain lasagna noodles can be hard to find, feel free to use regular instead. Either way, you’ll wind up with a crowd-pleasing dish, layered with luscious flavor, that you can healthfully indulge in anytime.
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Get the recipe: Spinach, Mushroom and Turkey Lasagna
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Spinach, Mushroom and Turkey Lasagna
Servings: 8
Active Time: 1 hour 30 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
This better-for-you spin on lasagna has everything you crave from the comfort food dish, including silky noodles layered with sauce, ground turkey (or beef) and melted cheese. But it’s especially nutritious because it’s also packed with vegetables – sautéed mushrooms and spinach – and contains an ample, yet comparatively modest, amount of cheese and meat. Use whole-grain pasta, if you can find it, for its lightly nutty flavor, fiber and additional nutrients.
To make the most of your time, you can work on prepping the other ingredients while you wait for the pasta water to come to a boil.
Make Ahead: The lasagna can be assembled and refrigerated 1 day in advance. Freeze the assembled, unbaked lasagna (wrapped in its baking dish in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil) for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator before baking.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 ounces ground turkey (92 to 94 percent lean) or ground beef (90 percent lean)
12 ounces cremini or portobello mushrooms, stemmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt, divided, plus more as needed
4 garlic cloves, minced, divided
4 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought (from 1 40-ounce jar), divided (see related recipes)
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup (1 ounce) finely grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound dried lasagna noodles, preferably whole-grain
1 cup (3 1/4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Step 1: In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil until shimmering. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink, stirring occasionally and breaking it up into small pieces as you go, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to a plate, leaving the fat in the skillet.
Step 2: Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the skillet and heat it over medium-high until shimmering. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add half of the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Return the meat to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in 2 cups of the marinara and cook for 2 minutes to warm the sauce through, adjusting the heat as needed to prevent splattering. Remove from the heat.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, combine the spinach (make sure it is very dry), the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the remaining garlic, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the black pepper, and stir to combine. Add the ricotta, parsley and about half of the parmesan, and stir to combine. Taste, and season with more salt, if desired. Stir in the egg until combined.
Step 4: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
Step 5: Bring a large pot of water to a boil; once it comes to a boil, add salt, if desired. Add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions for al dente. Drain, then rinse briefly under cool water. Spread the noodles on a clean, flat surface, such as a cutting board or a few sheet pans, until cool enough to handle.
Step 6: Spread 1 cup of the plain marinara on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of lasagna noodles on top, touching but not overlapping, cutting them as needed to fit in the pan. Spread half of the spinach mixture on top of the noodles. Add another layer of noodles. Top with half of the beef-mushroom mixture. Repeat with another layer of noodles, then the remaining spinach mixture, more noodles, the remaining beef-mushroom mixture, and finally one more layer of noodles. Top the final layer of noodles with the remaining 1 cup of marinara, then sprinkle with the grated mozzarella and the remaining parmesan.
Step 7: Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake until the lasagna is warmed through, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until the cheese is nicely browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Substitutions:
Parmesan cheese >> pecorino Romano or grana Padano.
To make this vegetarian >> skip the meat and use a plant-based ground meat alternative, or substitute with an additional 8 ounces of mushrooms.
Nutritional facts per serving: Calories: 531, Fat: 24 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Carbohydrates: 55 g, Sodium: 807 mg, Cholesterol: 71 mg, Protein: 30 g, Fiber: 10 g, Sugar: 7 g.
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
From cookbook author and registered dietitian nutritionist Ellie Krieger.