Low FODMAP Fall Zucchini "Lasagna"

Use up that pumpkin puree that you have in your pantry on this delicious, healthy, and easy dinner!

Want a cozy, but healthy fall dish? Look no further than this Low FODMAP "lasagna." This dish makes some fun and interesting swaps to a classic lasagna to create a protein-packed and delicious meal that can be prepped or served right away. It looks like a lot of steps, but it's truly pretty easy!

Cozy Vibes for a Fall Dinner!

The dish layers zucchini strips, a pumpkin sauce with ground turkey, sautéed spinach, a greek yogurt cheesy filling, and a cheese topping to create a healthy and low fodmap version of a fall lasagna. To decrease lactose in the dish I used lactose-free plain greek yogurt with a bit of parmesan and herbs to create a creamy filling and to eliminate the fructans in the wheat I used zucchini instead of pasta. It is very hard to find chickpea, lentil, or different "floured" lasagna sheets though I do find that these are more prevalent for other pasta shapes! I also added spinach for some vegetables! Check out the recipe below and enjoy while pumpkin is on sale!

Low FODMAP Fall Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

Yield:

4 servings

Prep Time: 30 Mins

Cook Time: 45-50 Mins

Total Time: 1 Hr 15-20 Mins

Tools

• Potato slicer or mandolin

• loaf pan or equivalent

• spatula

• wooden spoon/spatula or meat spatula

• measuring cups and spoons

• large sauce pan

• skillet

Pumpkin Sauce

• 1 tablespoon Garlic Infused Olive Oil

• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion

• ½ cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

• ½ cup Pumpkin Puree

• ½ cup of lactose free plain greek yogurt

• ½ tsp paprika

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 1 chopped fresh sage leaf

Meat

• ½ pound Ground turkey

• 2 tsps oregano

• 1 tsp thyme

Spinach layer

• 1 five ounce container of Baby Spinach

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Optional (1 tablespoon of oregano).

Greek Yogurt "Cheese" layer

• 1 Cup Lactose Free plain greek yogurt

  • ( you can also whip up lactose free cottage cheese in a blender or food processor for this, I just find that harder to find in stores unless it's plant based)

• 1 and ½ tsps thyme

• 2 chopped fresh sage leaves

• Whites of one egg

• ¼ cup of lactose free milk

• ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese

Zucchini and top cheese layer

• 1 large zucchini

• Shredded Cheese (enough to cover top of lasagna)

  • I used Sargento aged Italian blend, which I thought worked very well, but if you have gouda, asiago, or fontina alone, those would work as well.

Directions

Meat (If you are able to multitask this can also be done at the same time as the pumpkin sauce below).

1. Using a non-stick skillet/pan, add in your ground turkey (or if you prefer chicken or beef can also be used). I used 93% lean so mostly pretty healthy but a little fat to add more flavor.

2. Add in your oregano and thyme.

3. Let it cook as a chunk on each side for about 1 minute on medium heat.

4. Break up meat into small chuck and continue cooking on medium for 2 minutes.

5. Turn down heat to low for another 5 minutes or until the meat is just browned.

Make the Pumpkin Sauce (If you can brown your meat while making this that is probably the most time efficient!)

1. If you need to make the vegetable broth do that first however you may choose to do so. You can also easily buy some, it just may not be the most Low FODMAP. I used half a cube of knorr vegetable bullion cubes to make a little vegetable broth.

2. Pour the oil into the sauce pan and let it heat up for 30 second on medium heat. Add in chopped green onion, stir, and let simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Add in the the pumpkin puree and stir. Let simmer for two minutes.

4. Add in the vegetable broth and stir. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.

5. Turn the heat to medium-low and add in the greek yogurt and spices.

6. Let that simmer, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes.

7. Turn heat to low and add in browned meat. Stir so that the meat is fully coated and let that simmer, covered if possible, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spinach

1. Wash the skillet/pan used for the meat or use another pan.

2. Add in oil and let that simmer/heat on medium/low heat for 1 minute.

3. Add in spinach and optional oregano.

4. Shuffle/stir spinach in pan until each leaf is mostly soft and wet. It should only take a few minutes.

Greek Yogurt Cheese layer

1. Again, this may be better with whipped cottage cheese, but I find that harder to find lactose-free unless it's plant-based which I don't think quite has the same taste.

   1. If doing whipped cottage cheese, whip that up first (same 1 cup amount) in a blender or food processor on medium for a couple of minutes until it has a smooth consistency.

2. Add Greek yogurt or whipped cottage cheese to a bowl.

3. Add in spices/herbs, egg white, parmesan, and milk.

4. Mix thoroughly.

Zucchini

1. Use a potato slicer or mandolin to slice zucchini (not the skin) into thin strips. (I needed 8 or 9 per layer).

Layer it up/Pre-heat

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F.

2. Spray a loaf with olive or cooking oil so that the sides and bottom are coated.

3. Layer one layer of zucchini.

4. Add in what is now your Pumpkin Bolognese sauce (aka your meat/pumpkin sauce mixture). Cover the zucchini layer with this mixture using a baking spatula. (about half)

5. Add in a layer (about 1/2) of your spinach. Spread on top of the pumpkin sauce layer.

6. Add in about half of your greek yogurt mixture and cover.

7. Add another zucchini, then spinach, then yogurt, and then pumpkin sauce mixture layer.

8. Cover the whole top with shredded cheese.

Cook

1. Cover pan with foil and place in over for 30 minutes.

2. Remove foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes to get the top cheese all melty!

Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve or let cool for 1 hour and then cover and refrigerate or freeze for meal prep!

Try it out!

Let me know if you make this cozy and delicious recipe by commenting below or DMing me on Instagram! Happy Fall Cooking!