Cauliflower Noodle Spinach Lasagna

This, this is my culinary Himalaya.
This fifteen-layer striation of cauliflower noodles, tomato, spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese, repeated three times, is so delish you won’t even believe it.
Saturday night my friends L+L couldn’t believe how delicious it was, you probably wouldn’t either.
You must though, because this Cauliflower Noodle Spinach Lasagna is homey, comforting, and a total winner.

To be honest, until last year I didn’t know it was possible to make noodles out of cauliflower.
But then it happened, and it was sublime.
I even thought I had peaked. I thought I had reached the heights of my cauliflower crust career.
Boy I was wrong.
Sure, lasagna made with cauliflower noodles, bolognese sauce, bechamel, and Parmesan cheese is delicious. I mean, that’s (almost) how real lasagna is supposed to look and taste.
But the American-style version with spinach/ricotta/tomato can be just as good, maybe even better.

So it surprised nobody more than me that I found my lasagna nirvana in this ragu’ bolognese-free spinach-ed variety, which happened to be light and almost delicate.
I know, ricotta and mozzarella are not the kind of things people associate with a lightweight meal, especially over pasta, but when mixed with lots of spinach and cauliflower noodles, it makes for a surprisingly refreshing meal without making you feel you’d need to take out the fat pants.

I know you’re not going to believe me, but I plead you to consider it: this lasagna feels light, almost impalpable. Though it’s comforting and homey.
Maybe it’s the cauliflower noodles, or the lightness of the spinach+ricotta mixture, but it feels quite decadent, surprisingly delicious, and totally warming.
A lasagna without a lot of carbs and without gluten. Let’s do this.
 
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If you're not sure how to make cauliflower noodles, check this recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 8

Cauliflower noodles

3 cups cauliflower rice, packed
3 eggs
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Lasagna

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
6 oz / 170 gr fresh spinach
1 lb / 453 gr ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 (24 oz / 650 gr) jar marinara sauce or tomato sauce (I used Newman’s Own)
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Fine grain salt
Ground black pepper

Directions

Cauliflower Noodles

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C), line a large baking sheet (or two small ones) with parchment paper and grease it with olive oil. Set aside.
In a food processor rice the cauliflower, until you get a texture finer than rice. Once it’s riced measure it and make sure you have 3 cups packed.
Place cauliflower rice in a bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, give it a good stir and microwave for another 2 minutes.
Place the cauliflower rice in a dish towel (or cheesecloth) and twist it to squeeze out as much moisture as you can (I usually squeeze out over a cup of liquid). This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry.
Place drained cauliflower rice back in the bowl. Add eggs, salt and pepper and mix until combined.
Spread the mixture onto the lined baking sheet.
Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool 10 minutes and carefully peel it off the parchment paper.
Transfer to a large cutting board or work surface.
Depending on the size and shape of your baking dish, cut the cauliflower noodles so that it will fit into the dish. Set aside.

Spinach mixture

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the spinach and sauté until just barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, salt, and nutmeg.
Add the spinach and stir to combine.
Transfer the spinach mixture to a food processor and pulse a few times until smooth (this is optional, but it makes for a very nice texture.)

Assemble lasagna

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC) and place a rack in the middle.
Spread one tablespoon of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Arrange cauliflower noodles side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish.
Spread with ⅓ of the spinach mixture. Top with ¼ of the tomato sauce and sprinkle with ¼ of mozzarella cheese. Repeat to make 3 layers, ending with noodles, sauce, and cheese.
Cover with foil (to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese).
Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove foil, and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
Let stand 15 minutes before serving so that the cauliflower noodles can soak up some of the moisture.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 307 calories, 20 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbs, 18 grams of protein.