Turkey and Spinach Veggie Lasagna
Lightened-up, skinny lasagna with ground turkey and plenty of vegetables – carrots, onion, zucchini and spinach!
This jet lag is no joke. I’ve been up at 3AM consistently all week. After all, I’ve been in three different time zones the last few weeks.
So here I am, stuffing my face into this lasagna at 4:34AM.
Because technically, it’s 2:34PM in Cape Town, which makes it lunch time. Plus, this has veggies, cheese, pasta and some more cheese.
![](jpg/turkey-and-spinach-veggie-lasagnaimg_5956-200x200.jpg)
Turkey and Spinach Veggie Lasagna
Lightened-up, skinny lasagna with ground turkey and plenty of vegetables - carrots, onion, zucchini and spinach!
Ingredients
- 9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 zucchinis, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 12 ounces ground turkey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 15-ounce package reduced-fat ricotta
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 ½ cups reduced-fat shredded mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, zucchinis and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in ground turkey and cook until turkey has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the turkey as it cooks; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and Italian seasoning until well combined; bring to a simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, Parmesan and egg; set aside.
- Spread 1 cup tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish; top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat with a second layer. Top with remaining noodles, tomato mixture and remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.*
- Place into oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until bubbling. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until top is browned in spots.
- Let cool 15 minutes. Serve, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*MAKE-AHEAD: Cover lasagna tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. To bake, remove plastic wrap, cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until completely cooked through.
*TO FREEZE: Cover lasagna tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. To bake, remove plastic wrap, cover and bake for 90 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until completely cooked through.
Did you make this recipe?
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I’m married to an Italian, his Mom has always made the best Lasagna, not as healthy as this recipe. I was excited to try an healthier version, loved your recipe, I did make a couple of changes, sauce needed a little more flavor, I added around 4 ounces of Roa’s marinara, also Zucchini was added last so it would not become to soft. It was absolutely delicious!!
I made this recipe exactly as written and it was delicious! It makes a lot of lasagna and so froze half of it in individual containers after baking. Thanks for the great recipe.
Delicious I made it in my Ninja Grill XL on Bake mode.
I used Hearts of Palm lasagna noodles for a gluten free option. Absolutely delicious! I will be making this one again. Thank you.
Plan to make this. Can I use fresh baby spinach?
Really good! The whole family loved it.
Good, but I strongly recommend to adjust the acidity of your sauce and brown your meet separately from the veggies.
LASAGNA is really delicious, you must not miss it :))))
This has been my go-to lasagna recipe for a few years now. I love that it includes lots of veggies and ground turkey, but still tastes rich and decadent (probably thanks to the amazing ricotta filling, go full fat!). I usually use no boil noodles with great success and have made it vegetarian a few times by swapping the turkey for minced mushrooms.
That’s a great idea i’ll try that!
Thank you ! This turned out damn delicious! I love several of your recipes.
I just made this tonight and it is delicious!! I used fresh baby spinach because that’s what I have but it was yummy yum yum!! I think I put extra garlic also
Looks delicious! I’m planning to make this for a family gathering. To clarify, only the bottom and top layers have the tomato mixture?
This was absolutely delicious! I used low fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta (just not a fan of that flavor). Also used tomato sauce instead of paste since I used oven ready noodles which require extra water for baking. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I made this tonight with oven ready noodles and fresh spinach. It was great. My husband raved about it and we’re excited to have the leftovers for this week!
I am on my third time making this! I double the recipe and also ground up beef and sweet sausage.
This was FABULOUS!!!! So excited to have a new healthy recipe. This is way better than regular beef lasagna.
I’m planning on making this for a meal train family that doesn’t eat red meat so the turkey is perfect! Since it’s two adults & a toddler I don’t think they need a full 9×13 pan. If I do two 9 x 5 loaf pans (one ready to eat & one for the freezer) do you think baking times need to be adjusted?
Yes, baking time may have to be adjusted accordingly. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Good luck!
Okay, let me rephrase. If I am splitting the recipe in half, by how much does the cooking time need to be reduced? 20, 15, 10 minutes?
Kasey, unfortunately without further recipe testing, we cannot advise the appropriate cooking time when halving the recipe at this time.
Update: the recipe as listed above will make two 8×8 pans with 4 layers of noodles each. From the fridge overnight I baked at 350 for 1 hour covered, then broiled uncovered for 8 minutes. Came out perfectly. I also added half of a red bell pepper in with the sauce because it needed to be used.
Toddler happily are it and parents both enjoyed it and were pleased at veggie content. I think I’ll try this with zucchini noodles next time!
It was so delicious, I really loved this recipe with the turkey meat. OMG yassss
Definitely recommend
I made this but mine didn’t turn out saucy like the pic and looks like my ricotta curdled. Any tips for next time?
Hi! Could you tell me if the lasagna needs to be covered or uncovered while baking? Thank you!
Jennifer, the lasagna does not have to be covered unless you are making this ahead of time. Recipes will typically specify when a cover is needed.
Thank you. Made this tonight and it was delicious. The family really enjoyed it!
Has anyone ever tried 1/2 ground turkey 1/2 ground sausage in this recipe? Just curious…. I may try it.
I haven’t actually eaten yet but was so easy to make! What temperature do I bake at? Thank you!
350 degrees F.
Yummy! Even our picky eaters ate it up! (Though one still picked out the zucchini, oh well, still got the other goodness)
Loved this! This is officially my go to lasagna from here on out!
At what point do you freeze it for best taste? After you assemble the cooked ingredients but before you bake it or after you bake the whole thing?
It is best to freeze prior to baking. 🙂
Can you use broccoli and eggplant instead of spinach instead?
Of course! What a great idea!
I have made this in the ast, and it is delicious. Can you use oven ready pasta in it, and if so, do you need to change the oven time?
I’ve used oven ready pasta with this before, but I left the oven time the same. However, please use your best judgement when making modifications.
I made this yesterday, refridgerated it over night, and had it for dinner tonight. It was delicious, and I will definitely make it again. I didn’t have carrots, but they weren’t missed. Next time I will make sure I have carrots in the fridge. Everyone raved about it.
Awesome Diana!
I love this recipe. But I only have Oven Ready Lasagna. Would I have to add more ‘ Sauce’ as it does soak up more of the sauce while cooking.
Yes, that would be a great idea, Pam!
can this be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge to be cooked in a day or two?
Yes.
Glad to see you have not left out our part of the world. S.A. wines are the best although we don’t have perambulating bars up here in joburg.
I found your blog quite by chance but surely glad I did. Great ideas and recipes.
Hey, Chungah!
This lasagna recipe looks incredible! I would also eat them any time of day or night!
The looks amazing, can’t wait to make it. Our family love lasagna. I love the veggies you added into the recipe, I just hope my picky eating son will eat it to. Thanks for sharing. Yum!
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!! So much flavor and so filling. I loved this recipe! My picky eater boyfriend didn’t even mind all the veggies. FYI this recipe is filling and big, so for two people you will have lots of leftovers.
Thank you for this lasagna recipe I’m going to make it vegetarian looks delicious !
Loved Your recipe!! I have a lot of leftovers. Can I freeze cooked individual portions?
Yes, you can!
my family doesn’t care for the consistency of ricotta. Any suggestions for substitution? ty
Yes! You can use a lower-fat option such as small curd cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese is a great sub for ricotta. I use it in a stuffed shells recipe. I think it actually give an even creamier texture.
Holy wow this looks amazing…definitely my kind of meal! Thanks for promoting healthy recipes that keep the REAL pasta tradition alive. 🙂 And your photos are absolutely stunning!
– MAK
Wow! This looks so deliciou. I really want to eat it imediately
After making it, can I freeze it? How will I reheat?
Thank you!
TO FREEZE: Cover lasagna tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. To bake, remove plastic wrap, cover and bake for 90 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until completely cooked through.
I made this yesterday. Wonderful recipe!
I did change a few things because I had no choice but to improvise.
I crushed up stewed tomatoes (same qty as crushed) and added the Italian seasonings and instead of tomato paste, I used 8 oz of tomato sauce. It added a great “saucy” appearance. Also, I used whole wheat no bake lasagna noodles since my store didn’t have whole wheat any other way.
The other substitute was the spinach. I used fresh spinach while sautéing the listed veggies and added it to the ricotta as well.
Sexy! Looks delicious.
This is really delicious and amazingly healthy recipe. I would love to make this on my week off. The best part about this recipe is that it’s a power pack of iron, carbs and lots of proteins.
This was SOOO great.
I had never made lasagna before so I was a bit ”nervous” about it.. but gosh we loved it.
Glad I had it again for lunch. This is going to be a regular!
I followed recipt exactly and this Turkey Veggie Lasagna was mouth-watering GTREAT!! It was SO FLAVORFUL that I feel it would work as a TOTAL VEGETARIAN meal without the Turkey. As there is only my husband and I, we had part tonight, Will have part in 2 days and I am excited to put part in the freezer for a future meal next month..thanks Damndelish- it was Damn Delish.
I made this yesterday for dinner, and it was AWESOME!!
I made this and absolutely loved it. Great way to use us stuff I have in the fridge. So pretty too. Haven’t made lasagna in years and forgot how long I can eat off of a 13×9 pan. Will probably freeze individual portions of the leftovers for lunch in a couple of weeks.
Hello, I have now tried about 5 of your recipes each with the same result…they are great! Thank you…I have been praying for a vein of good low calorie recipes. You have opened a whole new ave for me.
I made this today with ground chicken today and it came out really well!
This looks great, love the veggies “hidden” in!
This vegetarian spinach lasagne recipe is a delicious and healthy addition for a mouthwatering tasty vegetarian dinner It’s huge veggie layering provides a great way of getting back to your complete fitness hegemony.
Yum, I am so used to making the classic lasagna recipe. Something like this would be good for a change (:
I haven’t made lasagna for years because I suck at making lasagna. But you’re making me want to try it again 🙂 I love that your recipe uses turkey and all kinds of other healthy things. There might even be a chance that my kids will eat this!
Wow this looks yummy!
Just curious…why the egg? Do I absolutely need it?
The egg helps bind the cheese a bit better, and also yields a creamier consistency in my opinion!
This looks great, love the veggies “hidden” in!
Can someone tell me what a service size is? 1cup? Thank so I’m making this tonight but wanna fit it in my macros
It’s a single slice of lasagna, about 4.5″ x 3.25″ x 2″.
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try!
Did you notice that they call zucchini “baby marrow” in Cape Town! Freaked me out until I realized what it was!