Jennifer Hudson’s No Noodle Vegetable Lasagna

How did Jennifer Hudson create that delicious vegetarian lasagna without using any noodles?  She did it by substituting hearty, roasted vegetable strips for the layers.  Here is the light and low-carb recipe for the creation that was recently featured on television.  Following our Easy Skinny Life rules for a meal, the Main Protein is the cheese with the combo of thick vegetables as our Main Carb.  Pair it with a large colorful green salad topped a fast homemade salad dressing of apple cider vinegar and mustard for a light, yet filling side dish.  (You know I always need my greens with each meal!)

Of course, I did a little Easy Skinny Life “clean-tweak” to this recipe by using olive oil spray instead of cooking spray and organic dairy products if available.  Also, make certain to use a pure marinara sauce with as few ingredients as possible, so read the label!

Jennifer Hudson’s No Noodle Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Nutritional Information:

  • Serving: 12 equal squares
  • Serving Size:  1 square
  • Calories:  183
  • Fat:  9 grams
  • Protein:  12 grams
  • Carbs:  13 grams
  • Fiber: 4 grams
  • Weight Watchers Old Points:  4
  • Weight Watchers Points+: 5

Ingredients for Original Recipe:

  • Extra virgin olive oil spray (I use my Misto)
  • 1 medium eggplant, trimmed, sliced lengthwise in 1/4-in thick slices
  • 2 large uncooked zucchini, trimmed, sliced lengthwise in 1/4-in thick slices
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 3/4 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
  • Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1/4 cup basil, fresh, cut into thin strips
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 4 cup pure marinara sauce, divided [Note:  Use 2-3 cups for thicker lasagna.  This is my preference!]
  • 1/2 pound shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided.  [Note:  I use organic for eggs and all dairy ingredients when possible]

Directions:

  • Pre-heat oven to 400°F.  Coat two baking sheets with olive oil spray.
  • Place eggplant on one prepared baking sheet and place zucchini on other prepared baking sheet; spritz vegetables with olive oil spray.
  • Roast 8 minutes; turn over vegetables and roast for 7 to 10 minutes more (total roasting time should not exceed 20 minutes or the vegetables will get too mushy); remove from oven and set aside.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine egg, ricotta cheese, red pepper flakes, basil and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; set aside.
  • When vegetables are done, reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
  • To assemble lasagna, coat bottom and sides of a 14×8 inch baking dish with olive oil spray.  Spread a thin layer of sauce (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup) on bottom of pan.  Layer eggplant over sauce (use all the slices, even if you have to overlap them). Cover eggplant with half of marinara sauce and then spread half of ricotta mixture on top; sprinkle with half of mozzarella cheese. Top mozzarella cheese with zucchini and cover zucchini with remaining marinara sauce; spread with remaining ricotta mixture, top with remaining mozzarella, then sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake until the bottom starts to bubble, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove lasagna from oven and allow it to rest for about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Slice into 12 equal pieces

Create 12 filling Easy Skinny portions:  Before the rest of the family dives into the lasagna, slice it in 12 equal squares for dinner (THEN split one for little kids or use two squares for the big dude), and freeze or refrigerate extra squares in individual containers.

Note:  A mandoline is the secret to slice the vegetables.  The recipe suggests if you do not have a mandoline and you cannot cut long, even slices of the eggplant and zucchini with your knife, you can slice them into 1/4-inch rounds instead.

Try it and let me know!  This is the original recipe, but feel free to add more vegetables, especially green ones such as spinach or broccoli for more filling and colorful nutrition.

Enjoy,

Kathy

 

 

 

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18 Responses to Jennifer Hudson’s No Noodle Vegetable Lasagna

  1. Laura @ A Healthy Jalapeno says:
    January 14, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Love it. I have been looking for a recipe just like this. It looks beautiful and exactly like a lasagna should!! nice job.

  2. Nan says:
    January 20, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    This recipe was just awful! I like eggplant, I like zucchini, and I like lasagna. But this recipe just didn’t come together at all. I had to throw out the entire pan.

    • EasySkinnyLife says:
      January 21, 2012 at 3:25 pm

      How sad! My husband is a “meat lasagna” kind of guy, and he loved it. I’m wondering if you roasted the vegetables too long before assembling it? If so, as the recipe indicates, the foundation becomes too mushy. A little roast goes a long way before baking the full dish.

  3. Leah says:
    January 25, 2012 at 9:09 am

    I made this 2 nights ago will be making some changes to the recipe. It came out WAY too runny to even be considered a lasagna, but my family did like the flavor, so I won’t be using the 4 cups of sauce like it calls for (maybe just 2 cups).

    • EasySkinnyLife says:
      February 3, 2012 at 10:25 pm

      I wonder if there was too much moisture in your roasted vegetables? The flavor is a great one, so however this no-noodle pasta dish shapes up as either a “lasagna” or “casserole” is a winner for a healthy family meal. It is terrific to be able to have such a large portion as compared to regular lasagna. Best wishes!

  4. Aline says:
    February 18, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    I agree with EasySkinnyLife that it is very tasty but too soupy and will make it next time with less sauce. I see no one has mentioned that there are no directions on where to use the last of the mozzarella cheese. I also found it difficult to cut through the eggplant skin on the bottom so will peel it first.

  5. Libbey says:
    February 19, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    This was nothing but tasty and perfect! I did use a little less sauce and FF ricotta & it was delucious. Next time I am going to add some spinach & mushrooms.

  6. gayla says:
    February 28, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    I love this recipe…I did tweak it by substituting the riccota with more fat free cheddar and I sliced the veggies in circles. I also topped it with ground turkey. I cut it up in squares and freeze the remainder for a quick fix later. I think the ricotta takes away from it. yum, yum good. Got to go, gettng ready to make some now.

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  8. Pat says:
    July 9, 2012 at 11:43 am

    I have made this recipe several times and always delicious. My parents are vegetarians so perfect when they are coming to dinner. I am making it again today for grandkids who have to eat gluten free and making a few alterations, but always is a great meal and lots of compliments…………….YUMMMMMM

  9. Rosanna says:
    August 23, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    can i prep this in the morning and then cook it later in the day will it still be good?

  10. Kay says:
    September 3, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    I made this last night. But because of limited resources in the the rural area I live in I had to make some slight changes plus it is a long way to the store, so you make do with what you have. I used whole milk ricotta. Also my home grown eggs were small so I used 2. I wasn’t sure what pure marinara was, so had to make my own sauce (probably 3-4 cups) – sauted 2 small onions, 1 gigantic bell pepper, 3 cloves of garlic and large container of baby portabella mushrooms + 8 med/small blanched/peeled tomatoes and basil. I could see my sauce was too chunky and wasn’t going to be saucy enough so I added a small can of no salt tomato sauce. I grilled the eggplant and zuch on the grill outside. I used fresh mozzarella but only 4 ounces and about 2 ounces of grated asiago because I did not have parm. So, I guess I did not follow the recipe at all, but used it as a base and for assembly instructions. It was delicious and held together pretty well. My oven seems a little screwy so I baked it for 30 min at 400, then 20 min at 350, then broiled it for 4 min. My pan was smaller and deeper so it took a little longer. Yum!

  11. Brooke says:
    October 7, 2012 at 12:13 pm

    How many calories per serving ?

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