A lightened up Slimming Lasagne recipe – lower in calories but absolutely packed with flavour! You will love the rich beef sauce layered with pasta and a light Béchamel sauce.
You will also love my Slimming Chilli Con Carne!
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Is there a more satisfying meal than lasagna? My mouth is watering simply by picturing the rich bolognese sauce layered with pasta and creamy, cheesy Bechamel.
Classic lasagna is undeniably delicious… but sadly it is NOT diet friendly. Thankfully my healthy lasagne is just as delicious, I promise!, while drastically lower in calories and fat.
If you are on a mission to lose or maintain your weight you must add this lasagna recipe to your repertoire – it’s a true crowd-pleaser and easy to freeze and reheat.
Ingredients
Homemade lasagna can be a little intimidating which is perhaps why most people don’t make it very often. Break the recipe into its elements and you will see it’s not all that scary…
Meat sauce: I use my Slimming World Bolognese recipe as the meat sauce for my lasagne alla Bolognese. You can also use the beef chilli sauce if you want to make enchilada lasagna! Replace the beef mince with turkey mince if you are avoiding red meat. For a vegetarian lasagna you can replace the ground meat with Quorn.
Lasagna sheets: use lasagne sheets which don’t require pre-cooking or soaking – such as Barilla. Break up the sheets so that they fit in your ovenproof dish if necessary.
White sauce: traditional lasagna are layered with Bechamel which is a white sauce made with whole milk, flour and cheese. I have lightened this sauce for my Slimming World lasagne using light spread, a little flour, skimmed milk, fat-free Quark cheese and feta (milk and cheese are part of your healthy extras). For an even lower syn sauce you can replace the feta with cottage cheese.
Lucy’s tips
- Make sure your meat sauce is really thick and well seasoned. If the beef mince releases a lot of liquid while browning, drain before adding the Passata/tomatoes.
- The white sauce needs to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. I have added a little cornflour (cornstarch) to aid this.
- Make sure you season the white sauce. Taste and add salt and pepper at the end. Feta cheese can be quite salty while cottage cheese is very bland so season accordingly.
- Leave your lasagna to rest for at least 15 minutes or up to half an hour. This helps the lasagna firm up a little so that is easier to slice. As you will see I was a little too eager when filming the recipe video…
How to make lasagne step by step
Take a look at this step by step tutorial – plas note you will find the full recipe, including ingredients in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Prepare the meat sauce
STEP 1. Spray a large casserole dish with low calorie cooking spray. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little stock if the pan gets too dry.
STEP 2. Add in the garlic and ground beef, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon. Brown the mince for a few minutes then add the salt, sweetener, garlic granules, paprika and Italian herb mix.
STEP 3. Stir in the tomato paste, passata and chopped tomatoes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, stock, Parmesan rind and bay leaves. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
STEP 4. Check your sauce, it should be thick and rich with most of the liquid absorbed. If it’s still watery you can continue to cook for a little longer. Discard the cheese rind and bay leaves. Stir in plenty of fresh basil and check the seasoning – add salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the white sauce
STEP 1. Melt the reduced-fat spread over medium heat in a large saucepan until it is foaming. Whisk in the flour to make a paste (roux).
STEP 2. Add the milk, gradually, mixing constantly, until it is incorporated into the sauce.
STEP 3. Lower the heat and stir in the Quark cheese and feta (or cottage cheese).
STEP 4. Bring the sauce to a low simmer and add the diluted cornflour. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes or until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
STEP 5. Stir in mustard, garlic powder and freshly grated nutmeg. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Assemble the lasagna
STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Spritz an ovenproof dish measuring at least 30x19cm (10 cup capacity) with low calorie spray such as Fry Light.
STEP 2. Add a layer of meat sauce to cover the bottom of the dish and pack it down.
STEP 3. Top with a layer of the white sauce – not too much. Cover with the lasagna sheets, breaking them up if necessary.
STEP 4. Repeat the process adding another layer of meat sauce followed by white sauce.
STEP 5. Top with the final layer of lasagne sheets and remaining white sauce. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Place the lasagna on a shallow baking tray (in case of spillages) and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden.
STEP 6. Let the lasagna rest and cool for 15 minutes then slice and serve with a green salad or steamed vegetables.
Slimming World Syns
This recipe uses some of your healthy extra allowance for milk and cheese. There’s also 1 tbsp light spread (1.5 syns), 2 tbsp flour (4 syns), 1 tsp cornflour (.5 syns) = 6 syns. This works out as .5 syns per slice if you slice into 12.
There’s 9 SmartPoints per slice for those following Weight Watchers.
Freezing instructions
Freeze the cooked lasagna in its dish (provided it is freezer proof) : cool completely and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a 180°C (350°F) oven, covered, for 25-30 minutes.
Alternatively cut the lasagna into portions and place in suitable containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave – hey presto a healthy meal at your fingertips!
Slimming World Lasagne
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- Low calorie cooking spray
- 1 large onion , finely chopped
- 2 carrots , finely chopped
- 2 large stalks of celery , finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 500 g | 17oz lean beef mince 5% fat
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated sweetener (optional)
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp oregano (optional)
- 680 g | 24oz passata preferably Passata Rustica
- 400 g | 14oz tin chopped tomatoes crushed tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 250 ml | 1 cup hot beef stock
- Small piece of Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Large handful fresh basil chopped
- Salt and pepper to season
White Sauce
- 1 tbsp low fat spread
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 320 ml | 1 1/3 cups skimmed milk (Healthy Extra)
- 250 g | 1 cup fat free Quark cheese (free)
- 200 g | 7oz crumbled feta cheese or use cottage cheese (Healthy Extra)
- 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch) diluted in 1 tbsp cold water
- 2 tsp mustard powder or Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- Salt and pepper to season
To assemble
- 6-8 lasagna sheets use oven-ready lasagna sheets
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan
- 2 tbsp shredded Mozzarella optional
- black pepper to season
Instructions
- Spray a large deep sided frying pan or casserole dish with low calorie cooking spray.
- Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If your pan gets too dry and sticks add a little vegetable stock.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the ground beef, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Brown the mince for a few minutes then add the salt, sweetener, garlic granules, paprika and Italian herb mix.
- Stir in the tomato paste, passata and chopped tomatoes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, stock, Parmesan rind and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Check your sauce, it should be thick and rich with most of the liquid absorbed. If it’s still watery you can continue to cook for a little longer. It's important the sauce is as thick as possible.
- Discard the cheese rind and bay leaves. Stir in plenty of fresh basil and check the seasoning – adjust to your taste if needed.
White Sauce
- Melt the reduced-fat spread in a large saucepan until it is foaming. Whisk in the flour to make a paste (roux).
- Add the milk, gradually, whisking constantly, until it is incorporated into the sauce.
- Lower the heat and stir in the Quark cheese and feta (or cottage cheese).
- Bring the sauce to a low simmer and add the diluted cornflour. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes or until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Stir in mustard, garlic powder and freshly grated nutmeg. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Assemble the Lasagne
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Spritz an ovenproof dish measuring at least 30x19cm (10 cup capacity) with low calorie spray such as Fry Light.
- Add a layer of meat sauce to cover the bottom of the dish and pack it down.
- Top with a layer of the white sauce – not too much. Cover with the lasagna sheets, breaking them up if necessary.
- Repeat the process adding another layer of meat sauce followed by white sauce.
- Top with the final layer of lasagne sheets and remaining white sauce. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and shredded mozzarella.
- Place the lasagna on a shallow baking tray (in case of spillages) and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Let the lasagna rest and cool for 15 minutes then slice and serve with a green salad or steamed vegetables.
Video
Notes
Tips for the best-ever lasagna
- Make sure your meat sauce is thick and well seasoned.
- The white sauce needs to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. I have added a little cornflour (cornstarch) to aid this.
- Make sure you season the white sauce. Taste and add salt and pepper at the end. Feta cheese can be quite salty while cottage cheese is very bland so season accordingly.
- Leave your lasagna to rest for at least 15 minutes or up to half an hour. This helps the lasagna firm up a little so that is easier to slice. As you will see I was a little too eager when filming the recipe video…
Please note I am not affiliated in any way with Slimming World. Syn values are based on the Slimming World online calculator.
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Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
Emma H says
Just starting trying out slimming world alternative recipes. I’m not usually a fan of cheese sauce in my lasagne (sorry!) but this cheese sauce was super mild and delicious. Even my husband liked it and lasagne is his favourite!
Melissa says
Tried this recipe and it was very delicious! Used the no fat cottage cheese instead of the feta. Family loved it too!
Lucy Parissi says
So glad you liked it Melissa!
Lynsey says
My fiancé and I really enjoyed this recipe! So much nicer making the sauces from scratch, delicious!