Low Carb Lasagna w/ Grain-Free Noodles

Today was a fairly relaxing day. It was dark, gloomy and overcast all day long. The one good thing about that is that our high today was only 75 degrees! My sons just left around 10:00 this evening and it's already down in the low 60s and it actually feels chilly outside, especially since it was in the 90s just yesterday.

I worked on a new fall project this afternoon and then decided to make my Low Carb Lasagna using my grain-free "noodles" for dinner. If you aren't a big fan of using veggies for noodles in low carb lasagna, you will love this version. I honestly can not tell the difference. After browning my ground beef, I added the sauce and simmered it uncovered in the sauce for about 45 minutes to an hour while I worked on my other recipe project. It cooked down until it was super thick and rich without any juice at all. Besides concentrating the flavors and making the beef super tender, it ensures that my lasagna will not be watery at all whatsoever, which is a common problem with grain-free lasagnas, particularly when using zucchini as noodles. Too much sauce is your enemy when not using regular wheat type lasagna noodles which suck up the sauce as lasagna bakes. If you like more sauce, serve it alongside the finished lasagna instead of adding it into the lasagna. Also, it's important to let any kind of lasagna "rest" after baking. When the cheeses get hot and melted while baking, serving it piping hot out of the oven will certainly ensure a "landslide" on your plate as the layers go slip sliding away. So, the 2 most important tips for nice neat lasagna are..."less sauce is more" and "patience is a virtue by allowing your lasagna to rest a bit before cutting and serving."

I snapped a few photos of tonight's lasagna below. You can layer it and add whatever your favorite cheeses are as long as you don't go wild with the sauce. I used about 1-1/3 pounds of ground beef and about 32 ounces of sauce (that I cooked down and reduced by about a third). My lasagna had 3 layers of "grain-free noodles." I made 10 grain-free tortillas ("noodles") and used 3 for each of the first 2 layers and used 4 for my top and final layer of "noodles." This is how I layered mine: scant meat sauce in the bottom of my lasagna pan; 1st layer of grain-free noodles; layer of thinly sliced provolone, meat sauce, broken up fresh mozzarella; 2nd layer of noodles; layer of meat sauce, dollops of ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese; 3rd and final layer of noodles, final layer of meat sauce (mixed with 1 cup of plain sauce to spread and completely cover the top), shredded mozzarella and topped with finely grated Parmesan. You can use as much and whatever type you personally prefer. I used 1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta, a little over 8 ounces of fresh sliced mozzarella, 6 thin slices provolone cheese, and about 1/3 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese. You can use more or less depending on your personal preference. In addition to the photos below, I've added my recipe for the grain-free tortillas I used as my noodles. Enjoy!

Note how thick the meat sauce is cooked down to (bottom layer)

Top layer of meat sauce has 1 cup of extra sauce stirred in to spread on top

Topped with final layer of cheese (shredded mozzarella and Parmesan)

Baked uncovered at 325 degrees F for about 1 hour (until browned)

Topped with fresh sliced basil leaves

Grain-Free Lasagna Noodles/Tortillas
Makes approximately eight 8-inch noodles/tortillas

Ingredients:

1 cup egg whites or Egg Beaters
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons ground golden flax
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Parmesan (powdery style)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Dash of onion powder or garlic powder, optional

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl to form a smooth, thin batter (makes approximately 1-1/2 cups batter). Lightly spray a 10-inch non-stick skillet with olive oil spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour a few tablespoons batter into hot skillet, tilting the pan and using a circular motion to evenly distribute the batter in the bottom to make an approximate 8-inch tortilla/noodle. Cook approximately 1 to 2 minutes, until very lightly browned and cooked around edges. Carefully loosen and flip using a rubber spatula; cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat for remaining noodle/tortillas (lightly re-spraying pan for each). Makes approximately eight 8-inch tortillas.