Many people are choosing to eat lower carb for a variety of reasons. There are so many substitutions available now, but there are some things that are hard to replicate. I have found low carb pasta to be extremely disappointing, and often have zucchini noodles instead of some other kind of processed option. Years ago I discovered someone who threw out the idea of making lasagna with pieces of deli meat. I know it sounds weird, but hear me out! You just layer slices of deli or chicken instead of the flat lasagna noodles, and it turns out almost exactly the same. If you don’t believe that you can make low carb lasagna this way, keep reading!
Low Carb Lasagna Recipe
I really encourage you to give this a try before you knock it. I wasn’t sure, and now I don’t make lasagna any other way. It adds some extra protein and almost completely cuts out carbs from this meal, making it perfect for a keto or low carb meal plan. Additionally, it’s gluten-free, so those who are following that food plan can eat this as well!
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The first step is to cook the sausage, crumble it, and drain the grease.
Did you know that you can almost always substitute cottage cheese for ricotta in recipes like this? The texture will be slightly different, but you truly can’t tell the difference.
I add some thickness to the cottage cheese by adding a bit of regular shredded cheese. Add the cottage cheese, egg, 1 cup Italian cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, and parsley to a food processor and puree.
In a 9×13 pan, spread a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce on the bottom of the pan, and then lay half of the chicken slices over the sauce. You may need up to 12 oz of slices depending on the thickness of the cut. Note: I did not get pictures of every layer, but I have them all listed at the end!
Then spread half the cottage cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup of Italian cheese.
Then spread about a cup of sauce over the cheese, half of the sausage, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Then add the rest of the chicken slices.
Spread the rest of the cottage cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup of Italian cheese. Then add the rest of the sauce, sausage, and mozzarella cheese.
If you need a quick description of the layers, here you go!
Sauce – a few spoonfuls
Chicken slices – half of them
Cottage cheese – half of mixture
Italian cheese – 1 cup
Sauce – 1 cup
Sausage – half of it
Parmesan – 1/4 cup
Chicken slices – half of them
Cottage cheese – half of mixture
Italian cheese – 1 cup
Sausage – half of it
Sauce – 1 cup
Italian cheese – 1.5 cups
Cook at 425 for 30 minutes covered in foil, then 20 minutes uncovered. Let sit for 15 minutes before trying to slice.
The chicken slices have almost the same consistency as al dente lasagna noodles. Make it for your family and see if they notice the difference!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage, crumbled, cooked, and drained
- 1 26 oz jar pasta sauce
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- 3.5 cups Italian/mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 8-12 oz deli chicken slices, thinly sliced
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Add the cottage cheese, egg, 1 cup Italian cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, and parsley to a food processor and puree.
- In a 9×13 pan, spread a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce on the bottom of the pan, and then lay half of the chicken slices over the sauce.
- Then spread half the cottage cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup of Italian cheese.
- Then spread about a cup of sauce over the cheese, half of the sausage, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Then add the rest of the chicken slices.
- Spread the rest of the cottage cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup of Italian cheese. Then add the rest of the sausage.
- Finish the layers with the rest of the sauce (about 1 cup) and 1.5 cups of mozzarella cheese.
- Cook at 425 for 30 minutes covered in foil, then 20 minutes uncovered. Let sit for 15 minutes before trying to slice.