Let’s talk lasagna.
Kids love it and so does my Italian husband. So…I decided to give a FODMAP friendly version a whirl. Typically lasagna is made with wheat rich pasta but you can find wheat free lasagna noodles at most large grocery stores.
I purchased some brown rice lasagna noodles, a couple cans of plain petite diced tomatoes, some fresh mozzarella cheese, baby spinach and fresh basil. I am not a fan of meat in lasagna…so I left the meat out.
TA-DA! Check this baby out? Not bad, right? Especially for a Boston Irish girl. 🙂
I boiled up the noodles per package directions and meanwhile whipped up a little ‘sauce’ with my canned diced tomatoes. I added a little parmesan cheese and a little garlic infused oil.
I layered some of my tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese slices, basil and a few leaves of spinach on top of the noodles.
Like this….
Be sure not to: 1) overdo the spinach (it adds water to the mixture) or 2) forget to REALLY drain the tomatoes or you will end up with a very soggy lasagna.
Just lightly layer the ingredients between the pasta.
I made the lasagna a day in advance and left it in the fridge. And cooked it up the next day for lunch. It came out great! It makes a great winter weather meal.
Fresh Mozzarella, Spinach and Basil Lasagna (FODMAP friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 box brown rice lasagna noodles
- 2, 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used Del Monte petite diced tomatoes), drained of juice
- 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic infused oil
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 7 ounces bocconcini fresh mozzarella,sliced in 1/4 inch slices
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves, washed and trimmed
- 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
- 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions, rinsing in cool water when cooked
- While noodles are cooking, mix well-drained tomatoes, 2 tablespoons parsley, garlic infused oil and grated parmesan cheese in small bowl.
- Place about 3/4 cup of tomato mixture on the bottom of a 8 x 8 square pan
- Trim lasagna noodles to fit inside bottom of square pan (save trimmed pieces to layer on last layer)
- Cover noodles with a layer of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese about 3 pieces per noodle. Top cheese layer with some chopped basil about 1 tablespoon and then add about 3-4 spinach leaves over basil and finally top with about 2 tablespoons of the tomato mixture. Then repeat this process with the remaining noodles. Last layer should be topped with noodles and then covered with the 1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or alternatively refrigerate lasagna for up to 24 hours and have for a later meal. Cook for 50 minutes if you refrigerate lasagna.
- When lasagna is bubbling and cheese is melted on top. Remove and garnish with remaining tablespoon of parsley.
Nicole
Hi Kate, thanks for sharing this recipe. I follow a low FODMAP diet and haven’t eaten lasagne for ages so I can’t wait to try this. I wondered if you could explain why you should ‘not overdo the spinach’? Is it because it affects the lasagne recipe, or is it from a FODMAP perspective? I eat quite a lot of spinach – maybe a handful in a morning smoothie and a handful to go with lunch as I assumed it was low FODMAP. Thanks for your help.
Well Balanced - Food - Life - Travel
Nicole–You can get away and eat about 3 cups of raw spinach at a sitting or maybe even more…but the rationale for using just a little was because using fresh spinach tends to add liquid to the dish and you don’t want a soggy lasagna. Alternatively, you could cook spinach and drain it –and then add it to the recipe. BUT I did like the way it cooked ‘al dente’ when I added it fresh. So..it’s up to you. 🙂
Alicia
Yum! Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for posting.
Marcy
Thanks for recipe! Dr. Oz show talking about 21 day Tummy Plan and LOWFODMAPS!
Well Balanced - Food - Life - Travel
Yes, Marcy, the nutrition plan for the 21 Day Tummy was designed by yours truly! YIpppppi. So nice to see FODMAPs hit the news!
Beth
Delicious! Just finished it for dinner; my husband and I both give it an A.
Question – for #6, do we put the 3 pieces of cheese, 1 TBSP basil, 3-4 spinach leaves and 2 TBSP tomato mixture on each noodle? So for the three noodles that fit perfectly side by side, each noodle would get that “treatment?”
And are you putting anything on the top noodle besides the shredded cheese? I didn’t, but have a feeling you did. : ) Regardless, fresh and delicious. Thank you.
(#6 Cover noodles with a layer of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese about 3 pieces per noodle. Top cheese layer with some chopped basil about 1 tablespoon and then add about 3-4 spinach leaves over basil and finally top with about 2 tablespoons of the tomato mixture. Then repeat this process with the remaining noodles. Last layer should be topped with noodles and then covered with the 1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella.)