Working outdoors on folding tables plating lunch for 130 hungry guests I almost froze. With cool weather and breezes, then sun and warmth, then cold gray clouds threatening rain all in the space of a few hours, Mother Nature showed me she couldn’t make up her mind whether it’s winter or spring. At home, I was happy to have homemade lasagna waiting in the fridge for a warming, hearty dinner.
Lasagna used to take hours to make. By the time the sauce simmered, curly noodles were cooked and cooled, cheese grated and filling mixed, it was a long process – longer than most of us have time for these days. And since I try to eat mostly whole wheat pasta, cooking with regular white lasagna noodles always gave me a twinge of guilt.
Recently I found whole wheat, oven-ready, no-boil lasagna noodles. They are made by my favorite pasta manufacturer, Delallo. I used them in this lasagna recipe with great tasting results. By using whole wheat, no-boil noodles, lower fat chicken sausage for the meat sauce and part skim Ricotta, lighter lasagna is the result.
This recipe for lasagna can be made in about an hour. With another hour in the oven to bake, you can have homemade lasagna on the table in less time than it used to take just to make it. This recipe can also be made ahead in the morning, resting in the refrigerator until baking time.
If you’ve never tried no-boil lasagna noodles, you must! With no cooking required, they are ready to use out of the box. With a texture more like thick crepes, the final dish is lighter. Add good quality crushed organic tomatoes, herbs and cheese and you have rich and satisfying yet lighter lasagna.
The quick sauce for my lasagna is juicier that you might expect, as the no-boil noodles need liquid to rehydrate. I start with pre-cooked lower fat chicken sausage (I use Trader Joes Spicy Italian). After removing the casing, I pulse the sausage in a food processor to break it down, then add to sautéed onions, garlic, fennel and wine.
Next, add good quality crushed tomatoes and simmer the sauce for a few minutes to incorporate the flavors. Cool before building the lasagna. If you are in a hurry, just use the sauce as is without simmering (skip the wine). Your lasagna will still be delicious.
A note on herbs. We love the flavor of fennel, so I use a potent, floral form of dried fennel called wild fennel pollen. It’s from Tuscany. If you like fennel, try it. It’s available online at Market Hall Foods. It’s a great addition to many recipes. You can use regular ground fennel, or even fennel seed freshly ground. If you don’t enjoy fennel, just skip it.
Lighter Whole Wheat Lasagna
Inspiration for this recipe came from the Cooks Illustrated cookbook called The Best Make-Ahead Recipe. I’ve adapted it to make it lighter, healthier, and faster. Add a tossed green salad for balance.
One more note – this sauce is great tossed with whole wheat linguine instead of used in the lasagna.
Yield: One 8”x8” dish of lasagna
Serves: 6 smaller appetites or 4 larger appetites
Ingredients
Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced fine
¾ teaspoon wild fennel pollen or ground fennel seed
9 ounces lower fat pre-cooked chicken sausage, spicy Italian style (I use Trader Joes)
1/3 cup dry red wine (optional)
28 ounces good quality organic crushed tomatoes (I use Muir Glen)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
A pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
1/4 Freshly ground black pepper
Filling
15 ounces part skim Ricotta (I use Polly O brand)
¼ cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup fresh, finely chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh, finely chopped oregano leaves
1 whole egg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
Noodles and Cheese
8 Whole wheat Delallo no-boil lasagna noodles (or Barilla regular no-boil noodles)
8 ounces fresh style mozzarella (higher moisture) grated, thinly sliced or shredded (preferably Buffalo milk)
1/3 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
Make the sauce:
1) With a small sharp knife, slice down two sides of the sausage links. Peel off the casing and discard. Chop the sausage into chunks. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the sausage chunks until fairly finely, about 12 pulses.
2) Heat olive oil in a large saucepan (4-5 quarts) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, stirring. Add garlic and cook 30-60 seconds, then add the fennel, sausage and red wine. Stir and cook a few minutes until the wine is almost gone, then add the tomatoes, salt and peppers. Swirl a little water in the tomato can to wash it out and pour into the pan. Simmer for a few minutes. Set aside and cool.
Make the Filling
1) In a large mixing bowl combine the ricotta, Parmesan, herbs egg and seasoning. Set aside.
Assemble the Lasagna – Four layers in total
1) If serving right away. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
2) Place about ½ cup of the sauce in the bottom of an 8×8 stoneware or glass baking dish.
3) Place two noodles on the bottom. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Layer on 1/3 of the mozzarella. Top with ½ cup of sauce.
4) Next two layers, repeat with noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce.
5) For the top layer, place the last two noodles, cover with the remaining sauce and top with Parmesan.
To bake now:
Spray a piece of foil with non-stick spray and cover the baking dish. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes covered. Then remove foil and bake another 30 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
To make ahead and bake later:
Spray a piece of foil with non-stick spray and cover the baking dish. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours until ready to bake. Two hours before serving, remove the dish from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 30 minutes covered with foil and 30 minutes without foil. Allow to stand 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Sally,
This is a great tip for people wanting to lower their fat without compromising on taste! Thanks for the terrific step-by-step pix too! I’ll let you know when I post my gluten-free lasagne.
Sounds good Steph! Let me know and I’ll put a link to your recipe for readers to check out.
That looks really good
. I just love pasta.
Sally,
I was suspect of no-boil lasagna noodles until I experimented with a “rainbow” lasagna with colorful summer veggies and béchamel sauce. I want to try yours now, with whole wheat noodles and tomato sauce . You can never have too many recipes for lasagna! This one is sure to be a winner.
I see you’re using our noodles! Thanks for your support and kudos on your site!
Love & spaghetti,
Meghan