Introduction to Keto Lasagna
Layers of creamy cheese, juicy meat, and tomato sauce make for a delicious and hearty meal. This low-carb lasagna is true comfort food, perfect for the whole family. We invented Keto Lasagna for our readers, but quickly realized that we were also making it for ourselves.
Low Carb Dinner Ideas
Lasagna was never really something we ate before or during keto. It wasn’t until we created this recipe that we started wondering why we had never ordered it at Italian restaurants! We came away with a new recipe and a new love for a food. If Italian food is your favorite, we have you covered. Check out some of our other Italian keto recipes:
- Easy Keto Chicken Caprese– A light and refreshing dish that has blistered tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil
- 3 Ingredient Zero Carb Pizza– Our chicken pizza crust recipe makes the perfect base for all your keto toppings like cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and more!
- Cauliflower Risotto– Looking for a rich and creamy risotto? Our low-carb cauliflower risotto subs rice’s starchy carbs for fiber-rich cauliflower rice.
- Keto Caesar Salad Dressing– The perfect side for your hearty lasagna. Fresh and crisp romaine tossed in homemade caesar dressing and parmesan.
- Low Carb Tiramisu– This recipe will bring you back to traditional tiramisu just like your grandma used to make! Layers of cream and homemade biscuits dipped in coffee and chilled in the fridge.
How to Make Keto Lasagna
Making the perfect lasagna is simple and easy. No need to fret over having the perfect ingredients or spending hours in the kitchen. This meal whips up in under an hour, so you have more time to enjoy with your family.
How to Make Low Carb Lasagna Noodles?
What makes this lasagna keto? The noodles. We used zucchini to create the perfect illusion of a hearty, cheesy lasagna! There are many ways to prepare the noodles. We ended up slicing ours thin and using them raw because they create more of a bite this way. Some other noodle preparation techniques are:
- Heating on the Grill or Stove- A great way to cook off excess water and add a bit of char is to heat them on the grill or in a pan.
- Slicing Thin Rounds- If you don’t have a mandolin, you can always just slice thin rounds out of your zucchini. This is more time-consuming, but it will give you the same overall texture as doing thin sheets.
If you don’t have zucchini or don’t like the texture, you can sub yellow squash, eggplant, or even turkey slices for it.
Is Tomato Sauce Keto?
There is a lot of controversy over whether or not marinara sauce should be consumed on keto. In this recipe, we only use a 1/2 cup of marinara sauce between 4 servings. That is about 2 tbsp per serving and approx. 1.25 carbs if you use our favorite sauce Rao’s. This alone tells you marinara sauce can fit in great on a keto diet!
Another option when doing low-carb cooking is to use fresh cherry tomatoes broken down as a sauce. You can also try crushed canned tomatoes, which would be sugar-free and lower in carbs. Using a high-quality sauce or a fresh homemade sauce really elevates this lasagna. Our low-carb meat sauce is sugar-free, packed with ground beef, and stuffed with herbs. The key is just making sure whatever sauce you chose has low net carbs (carbs-fiber=net carbs). Get this by picking a lower sugar sauce in stores.
Putting Together Low Carb Lasagna
This is an easy-to-make meal that will have all your non-keto guests and whole family surprised with just how good keto food can be. The trick to making any good keto lasagna taste like the real thing is knowing how to evenly layer. There should be an even ratio of ground beef, low-carb noodles, tomato sauce, and the parmesan cheese mixture. With a total time of under an hour and only 20 minutes hands-on, there’s no reason to wait on making this lasagna! To make the low-carb lasagna:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F- Do this ahead of time so you can just pop the skillet in after prepping
- Add coconut oil to a medium-high heat pan and cook the ground beef. Add your sauces of choice to the ground beef and combine. After about 2 minutes, remove and set aside.
- Using a mandolin slicer, slice the zucchini into as many thin slices as possible and set aside.
- Add the ricotta, Parmesan, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and egg to a food processor and blend until fully combined.
- Using cooking spray, spritz a light coating of oil on an oven-safe skillet or casserole dish. Begin by making a layer of the ground beef.
- Next, place two layers of the zucchini crisscross.
- Add a generous layer of the ricotta mixture on top.
- Sprinkle on some of the shredded mozzarella.
- Repeat this layering a second time (we made two full layers in our 6-inch skillet). Make sure this next time the last layer is mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is browned.
Custom Lasagna – A World of “Pasta-Bilities”
Making specialty lasagna is equally fun and delicious! There are a few tasty swaps that can be made in keto lasagna to elevate the flavor. Whether you want a traditional style keto lasagna or a fancy meal, these suggestions will set you up for success.
Getting Saucy
The pasta sauce is a crucial step to any Italian dish. Here are some swaps based on the flavor profile you want:
- Rich and Flavorful- Try a olive oil-based sauce like Raos. Low-carb and packed full of garlic, Italian seasoning, and fresh peeled tomatoes, the differences in this sauce versus others are night and day!
- Rustic and Easy- A quick homemade sauce can be made by sautéing a bit of oil and garlic and then adding in fresh cherry tomatoes. Blister the tomatoes and allow them to break down a bit, add in salt and pepper.
Options for Lasagna Noodles
When making low-carb lasagna that tastes just like the original, extra care needs to be given to the noodles. There are a variety of noodle subs you can use, but these are our favorites:
- Yellow Squash- It looks and acts just like zucchini but it’s bright yellow
- Thinly Sliced Turkey- Believe it or not, thinly sliced turkey tastes just like regular noodles! For a lasagna like the real thing, try layering super thin slices of turkey in between the shredded mozzarella cheese and meat sauce.
Some “Grate” Cheese Options!
Cheese is the name of the game in Italian cooking. Low-carb and keto friendly, we recommend loading up on the cheese in this great recipe. Our original recipe has mozzarella, ricotta, and grated parmesan cheese. Some other low-carb cheese options included by each keto recipe style:
- Fancy Low Carb Lasagna- If you have a more refined palate, we recommend a blend of aged Manchego, mozzarella cheese, and ricotta cheese for a good mix of creamy and salty.
- Fresh and Rustic- Try a mix of ricotta cheese and fresh chunks of mozzarella cheese.
What Meat Should I use in Lasagna?
Most should work well for this low-carb recipe as any ground meat is pretty much keto, so long as it’s not pre-seasoned. I know it’s tempting to buy ground Italian sausage from your local meat counter, but don’t! Often times, they actually put corn syrup solids or maltodextrin inside of their pre-seasoned meats. And yes, that is for seasoned ground meats too, not just their pre-seasoned sausages. So what meats work best?
- Ground Beef: We love 80/20 ground beef because it has a ton of fat, which helps it stay juicy while cooking.
- Ground Pork- This is going to be most authentic as the real thing normally has 80/20 ground pork sausage.
- Ground Chicken/ Turkey- We group poultry together as it is a bit drier when cooking normally.
FAQs
- “Can I use Cream Cheese?”– Rather than trying to sub cream cheese for ricotta, you can sub a small curdle cottage cheese.
- “Why is my Keto Lasagna Watery?”– Zucchini has a very high water content. When cooked too much, it releases all the water stored inside.
- “Does Keto Lasagna Taste Like the Real Thing?”– We worked hard to make this recipe as accurate as possible.
- “Can I Make Low Carb Lasagna Ahead of Time?”– Yes! We’ve made this recipe ahead of time and stored it in the fridge.
- “Is Low Carb Lasagna Gluten-Free?” This warming comfort food is 100% gluten-free.
Storing and Freezing Keto Lasagna
If make-ahead meals are your thing, look no further. This keto lasagna stores great in the fridge or freezer for the perfect addition to this week’s meal prep. Plus, with just a few extra steps, you can reheat it to taste just like new!
- Storing– Keeping lasagna fresh is pretty simple and straightforward. Once it has cooled from cooking, transfer leftovers into an airtight container and place in the fridge. It lasts refrigerated for up to a week.
- Freezing – Freezing low-carb lasagna isn’t much different from normal lasagna. You’ll want to follow a few simple steps to ensure it freezes and reheats as best as possible:
- Allow lasagna to cool once
