Keto Lasagna with Surprising Lasagna Noodles

Some Tips for Keto Lasagna

This lasagna is not going to be the same as my regular lasagna  but if you’re on the keto diet, I think you’ll love it, as it delivers flavor and Italian comfort without the carbs. Here are some tips to help you have a successful keto lasagna. 

• Roll the noodles in two small baking sheets instead of one, as they bake better. 
• Don’t use big chunks of meat, or unseasoned meat. A good option is loose Italian sausage, already flavored and broken up into small pieces. If you use sausage links, slice thinly, or slice yummy meatballs, flavored with parmesan and a little garlic.
• Avoid heavy garlic in your sauce. Too much garlic in any dish overpowers it and the dish loses balance. There’s no place in lasagna for a lot of garlic. If you taste garlic, it’s too much. I  throw two cloves in oil, prior to my tomatoes, for my sauce. Then they are removed, so no one gets garlic clove in their bite of food.
• Stick with ricotta cheese if you’re using cheese. I’ve seen recipes with goat cheese or cottage cheese and it’s a hard pass. The cheeses should be mozzarella, ricotta and either pecorino or parmesan for the best result. However, if that’s your thing, do your thing.
• Use a nice pureed tomato sauce. Avoid sauces that have too much tomato pulp. If you buy store bought sauce, read your ingredients and only buy a sauce without sugar. 
• Season your ricotta cheese. To keep the ricotta from turning into a melting mess, add mozzarella cheese and egg. My favorite ricotta is Polly O, because it’s firm. Do NOT whip your ricotta for lasagna. The last thing you want is liquified ricotta cheese. You want it to have as much heft as possible, which will cut into wonderful pieces.
• Avoid vegetables, but if you do use them, make sure they are diced very fine. I love bell peppers and zucchini, however, I don’t love them in lasagna because they change the texture and zucchini adds too much liquid and doesn’t end up doing anything to add to the dish. 
• Rest your lasagna for twenty to thirty minutes after baking. If you cut lasagna right from the oven, the cheese will pour out and you won’t have nice square, intact pieces.
• Include pecorino romano in your recipe for the ricotta cheese and for serving. It’s tangy and adds a lot of flavor.
   

How is this lasagna keto friendly?

The challenge in making a keto lasagna is eliminating the carbs that come from the noodles. This recipe includes a nearly carb-free noodle made from eggs, cream cheese, mozzarella and roasted radishes. The mixture is then baked and becomes firm enough to cut into strips to layer the lasagna. 

How to Make Keto Lasagna Noodles

Roasted radishes, cream cheese, mozzarella and eggs make up the mixture for the noodles. This was tricky the first time because I had the oven too hot, and I spread the mixture on one large baking sheet. The middle didn’t get firm enough. The second time, I used two smaller sheets with parchment paper and the noodles were firm enough to be cut without being too browned. If you don’t have small baking sheets, spread out the mixture from the end towards the middle, but leave a few inches in the middle without the mixture. 

Don’t let the color throw you. Once it’s combined with sauce and ingredients, it will look fine.

Keto Lasagna Ingredients

I used my tomato sauce recipe here. I make a big batch at a time and freeze in plastic bags, so it’s always ready to go.

I used ricotta cheese, Italian sausage (from Butcher Box, which I think is the best), pecorino cheese, mozzarella cheese, nutmeg, eggs, salt, pepper and parsley. As I said above, if you want to use ground beef, use some left over bolognese or meatballs instead of ground beef. You could also use Italian turkey sausage. Veal meatballs would be incredible in this recipe. 

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covering with foil after 25 minutes.  

Rest for twenty minutes prior to cutting to get those nice intact pieces. 

Freeze: You can freeze pre-baking or post baking. We like to freeze individual pieces so we can have access to quick lunch.

Layering Lasagna

I made two layers, one with ricotta, one with ricotta and sausage, finishing the top with a layer of noodles, sauce and mozzarella.

This recipe only makes an 8 x 8 dish. If you want a large lasagna pan, double the recipe. I only used a 16 ounce container of ricotta, 2 cups (or one package) of shredded mozzarella and a half pound of loose Italian sausage. 

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Print Recipe

4 from 2 votes

Keto Lasagna

Italian Lasagna, comfort food, Keto Friendly with Unique Noodle Recipe

Prep Time26 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Resting Time20 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 31 minutes mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: keto lasagna

Servings: 6

Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Ricotta Cheese Filling

• 15 ounces ricotta whole milk cheese do not use non-fat
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup parmigiana reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese coarsely grated
• 2 tablespoons Italian flat leafed parsley finely chopped
• pinch nutmeg grated
• salt and pepper
• grated pecorino romano for serving

Lasagna Noodles

• 1 cup radishes
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup mozzarella

For Assembly

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 pound Italian Sausage cooked
• lasagna noodles see below
• ricotta cheese mixture
• 1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese shredded for Topping

Instructions

Cheese Filling

• Mix everything except the egg, then taste. Once satisfied with the seasoning, add the egg and mix.

Make Lasagna Noodles

• Quarter radishes. Using fingers, rub with olive oil, roast at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes.
• Cool radishes. Put in either food processor or Vitamix type blender with remaining ingredients. Blend thoroughly.
• Prepare two small baking sheets with parchment paper or bake one sheet at time. This way the noodles will bake evenly. You must use parchment paper or noodles will stick.
• Allow to cool and cut into lasagna noodles. They may look a bit odd, but this will work.

Lasagna Assembly

• Cook Italian sausage into small bite sized pieces. If using sausage links, slice thinly.
• Heat tomato sauce on low.
• Start layering lasagna with tomato sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese, sausage. You will have two layers. Top with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake at 375 F. for 35 minutes or until cheese is very melted, but not browned. Halfway through you may need to top with foil to prevent burning.
• Allow to rest 20-30 minutes before cutting. You can use a warm tomato sauce to top when serving.

Notes

One way to make this easier, is to freeze sauce and meatballs from your last spaghetti and meatball dinner. You can also make this in a “freezable baking pan” and make this in advance. You can use a tomato puree instead of canned tomatoes and follow instructions. Only partially boil if you choose to use lasagna noodles that you boil first. Don’t use a crushed tomato for the lasagna. This recipe is best used with a smooth sauce. Don’t use a non-fat ricotta cheese. It makes a difference.

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