Rachael Ray: Rachael's Daytime Talkshow

Bob Greene's No-Cheese Vegetable Lasagna

Aired on: January 12, 2009

Lasagna, without cheese? You may be skeptical but this dish is pure comfort food -- with less fat and cholesterol, and fewer calories. You don't even need to precook the lasagna noodles! This is a great recipe to make ahead, store and reheat before serving. You can also make this with rotini.*

Ingredients

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup water
1 cup store-bought marinara sauce, such as Barilla
4 ounces uncooked, whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups spinach, washed thoroughly
2 cups fresh tomatoes, sliced and chopped or canned, no-salt-added diced tomatoes

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9-inch square or a 10x8" pan with cooking spray.

Combine the almonds, walnuts, onion, garlic, basil, nutmeg, salt, pepper and water in a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute.

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan. Cover with half of the uncooked noodles, spinach, tomatoes and nut mixture. Repeat the layers again and transfer to oven. Bake for 50 minutes, until lightly browned.

*For baked rotini, use 4 ounces fiber-enriched or high-fiber rotini, such as Barilla Plus or Barilla Whole Grain (four ounces is about 1 heaping cup dry). Cook pasta according to the package directions. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the marinara sauce. Cover the bottom of the pan with 1/2 cup marinara sauce, top with the pasta mixture and finish with the remaining 1/2 cup marinara sauce. Bake for 40 minutes, until lightly browned.