Spinach Pesto Lasagna Recipe (Keto Friendly) | Sip Bite Go
Say hello to your new favorite keto pasta dish. It’s my Spinach Pesto Lasagna and my family can’t get enough of it. Make this keto lasagna with almond flour lasagna noodles. Or use regular non gluten free lasagna sheets if you’re not doing the low carb diet. Either way, this dish is bright and flavorful.
9ozlasagna noodles gluten free almond flourpasta or regular noodles
15 ozricotta (low fat or regular),divided
2cupsmozzarella cheesedivided
6cherry tomatoeshalved
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set out an 8x11 oven safe casserole dish for the lasagna. This recipe makes 3 layers of lasagna noodles in this size dish.
Prepare the pasta noodles if needed. See notes for details… Long story short, some varieties of lasagna sheets do not need to be pre-cooked. Other brands need to be boiled before adding them to the casserole dish. The box will tell you what to do.
Make the spinach basil pesto. Add walnuts to a small skillet on the stove and heat on medium-low for about 3-5 minutes until walnuts are lightly browned and fragrant. Then add fresh basil, spinach, toasted walnuts, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, and water to a food processor. Puree pesto ingredients until smooth.
Assemble the first layer of lasagna. Spread ½ cup of spinach pesto with a spatula to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Add a layer of lasagna noodles. (Each layer of the low carb gluten free lasagna sheets from Capello’s took 2 sheets of pasta.) You will probably need to cut the sheets to make them fit in a flat layer, which is perfectly fine. Add a flat layer of half the ricotta, ¼ cup pesto, and ¼ cup mozzarella cheese.
Assemble a second layer of lasagna noodles. Add the noodles so they form a flat layer. Then add the remaining ricotta, half of the remaining spinach basil pesto, and half the remaining mozzarella cheese.
Assemble the top layer of regular or gluten free lasagna noodles. Add the final layer of lasagna sheets topped with the remaining spinach pesto sauce and mozzarella cheese. Add the sliced cherry tomatoes (cut side down) to the top.
Bake the spinach pesto lasagna. Add the lasagna dish to the oven, covered with tin foil, and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. To serve, use a spatula around the edges to separate the melty and delicious “lasagne pesto ricotta” from the edges of the baking dish. Then cut the lasagna through the middle in pieces and enjoy your lasagne al pesto e spinaci, as the Italians say!
Notes
Prepping regular flour or gluten free lasagna noodles. For the Sip Bite Go photos in this recipe demonstration, I used a 9 oz box of Cappello's Lasagna Sheets. This made 3 layers of two sheets per layer. You can make this recipe with regular flour lasagna noodles as well. Some lasagna noodle sheets come ready to assemble. Others need to be cooked (boiled) first, then added to the lasagna. Read the box to learn how to prepare the lasagna sheets. If you use Cappello's gluten free lasagna sheets like I did in this recipe, you don’t need to cook them first.
Using low fat ricotta works fine for me in this recipe, but some people swear by using regular fat ricotta for lasagna