Butternut Squash Lasagna

Who needs pumpkin when you have butternut squash?! Ok, I do, but seriously, sometimes I think butternut squash is left in the dust during the Fall, because everyone forgets about its ease of use in so many recipes (ahem, butternut squash cookies!) And now, one of my favorite dishes; butternut squash lasagna. Replace the noodles with pre-cooked butternut squash slices and you’ve got a healthier version of an Italian favorite. Enjoy! Butternut Squash Lasagna

Author: Adapted from an AllRecipes recipe

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped **
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained **
• 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce **
• 1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese **
• 1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese **
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 medium butternut squash (skin removed, cut into thin ¼-1/2″ slices) **
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Line the butternut squash slices on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, cook and stir turkey until brown. Add mushrooms and onion; saute until onions are transparent. Stir in pasta sauce, and heat through (about 5 minutes after the turkey has browned)
4. In a medium size bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and eggs.
5. Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan. Layer with par-baked butternut squash slices, then the cheese mixture, then the mozzarella cheese, and continue this layering until all ingredients are gone (end with a layer of the cheese mixture or mozz cheese).
6. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for one hour, ten minutes. Uncover, and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes (or until butternut is cooked and cheese is bubbling!). Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

** If you are following a low FODMAP diet omit the onion and use an onion and garlic free spaghetti sauce (Rao’s Sensitive Formula is great!). The mushrooms contain polyols but I truly believe there aren’t enough in this recipe to make a difference. If you are really sensitive to lactose this isn’t a great recipe for you, but if you are like me and only slightly intolerant, use the Lactaid brand cottage cheese for both the cottage cheese and the ricotta (omit ricotta and use extra cottage cheese instead). Lastly, butternut squash contains Oligos and Polyols at high levels when consumed in amounts greater than ¼th cup. If you are sensitive to either of those, you could cut the butternut squash in half and use some layers of gluten free lasagna noodles.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1/12 of recipe Calories: 450 Fat: 13 g Saturated fat: 6 g Carbohydrates: 50 g Fiber: 3 g Protein: 31 g

I made this and froze the leftovers. We ate this on about three different occasions (and when I say “we” I mean the entire family, even Paige. She loves anything with cheese, and she happens to also love butternut squash).