White Vegetable Lasagna


This does not taste like a light recipe. A couple weeks ago when I made The Best Lasagna Ever, I got a request to make a lightened up white lasagna (this one’s for you, Brooke!). Since my vegetarian sister was coming home to visit this past weekend and asked me to cook for her, I thought this was the perfect opportunity. When I was younger we used to have some catered holiday meals at my grandmother’s house and the dish I remember most from those was a vegetable alfredo lasagna. I wanted to re-create the same flavors using light ingredients and I think this was a huge success. My sister and I both agreed that this dish was cheesy, creamy and really flavorful and she couldn’t believe it was light (she even made me list out all the ingredients).
I’d seen Classico’s online ads for their new light alfredo sauce, and after considering creating my own, I decided to go with the jarred kind because lasagna takes enough prep time and creates enough pots to wash already! I also considered several different vegetable combinations before deciding on spinach, zucchini and carrots. I think those three vegetables worked together really well and gave me exactly the flavors and textures I was looking for, but if you wanted to use different ones (broccoli, mushrooms, etc) I’m sure they would taste good as well. This is an Emily Bites Original so I hope you like it!



Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach leaves, defrosted, rinsed and drained (I put mine in a colander and ran it under warm water in the sink. Then I squeezed as much water out as I could and patted it dry with paper towels)
  • 1 medium zucchini, shredded (I shredded mine using the largest holed side of a cheese grater)
  • 5 oz shredded carrots
  • 24 oz of light alfredo sauce (I used Classico and this equaled a 15 oz jar plus an extra cup from a second jar)
  • 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed
  • 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • ½ c grated parmesan
  • 6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
  • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Italian cheese blend
  • 3 teaspoons oregano, divided

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach, zucchini and carrots and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, to soften vegetables. Combine vegetables with 15 oz (1 jar if you use Classico) of light alfredo sauce and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, melt the cream cheese over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in cottage cheese, parmesan and parsley.
  4. Spray a 9/13 baking dish with cooking spray and spread the vegetable-alfredo mixture evenly across the bottom. Top vegetable layer with 3 lasagna noodles, followed by the cream cheese mixture and 1 ½ t of oregano. Lay the 3 remaining lasagna noodles over the top and cover with the reserved 1 cup alfredo sauce. Sprinkle the Italian cheese over the top and the remaining oregano over that.
  5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
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