Simple, Weeknight, Low Fat Lasagna Marinara

I will admit this is not my absolute best Lasagna with Marinara Sauce. My absolute best Lasagna takes over three hours from start to finish to make and it is also much higher in fat and calories. With that said I reserve that Lasagna for very special occasions.

This recipe is a good solid Lasagna recipe which is pretty easy to make and great for a week night dinner. It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake.

Lasagna Marinara
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided (about 6 oz)
1/4 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (about 1 oz)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
24 oz marinara sauce 
4 teaspoons minced garlic
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, parsley, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and egg.
3. In a medium bowl combine marinara sauce, basil and garlic.
4. Carefully break the lasagna noodles to about 7 1/2 inches in length, discard unused pieces.
5. Coat an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom of pan. 
6. Place three noodles across the top of sauce. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat the noodles, cheese, sauce process two more times ending with sauce. 
7. Sprinkle top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for 40 minutes, until lasagna reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. Heat broiler and place lasagna under broiler for 2 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.
9. Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Notes:

• For the marinara sauce I use the homemade marinara sauce recipe I placed on this blog. I make the sauce in bulk and freeze it. You can use any low sodium marinara sauce.
• I do not boil the lasagna noodles I put them in uncooked, I use Healthy Harvest by Ronzini
• To save even more time you can layer this the night before and store covered in the refrigerator. Then all it takes is popping it in the oven the day for an even quicker dinner.