Enjoying Lasagna Without the Carbs

The filled loaf pan just before going into the oven. Be sure to place it on a baking sheet or you’ll have burned cheese on the floor of your oven.

After dropping carbohydrates from my diet (except for beer, which I have to drink for work), I also dropped a bunch of weight, going from a size 36 trouser waist to a 30.

I occasionally miss the idea of a deep-dish pizza or a sub sandwich or even a slice of buttered toast with morning coffee, but I can easily live without that stuff.

However, the thought of lasagna often entered my brain, to the point where I was ready to make a giant pan of lasagna. I could not come up with an idea for replacing the all-important lasagna noodles. It’s easy to come up with noodles for spaghetti – spiralize a zucchini for zoodles.

Could I use a mandoline to cut planks of zucchini in place of lasagna noodles? Maybe, but how to get rid of the extra liquid the zucchini will undoubtedly provide?

I found some zucchini lasagna recipes and another that used cabbage in place of noodles, and one that substitutes eggplant.

And then I found Just Like the Real Thing Low Carb Keto Lasagna on a website called peaceloveandlowcarb.com. A combination of baked cheeses and eggs replace the wheat noodles. After reading the recipe several times, I convinced myself that it was both doable and potentially delicious.

The directions call for mixing eggs, cream cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder, pouring that slurry into a 9”x13” parchment-covered pan, baking, cooling and then cutting into three noodles.

How, I wondered, does it work with three noodles? Do I have to make a bunch of these cheesy slabs?

Going back to the recipe, I learned I had previously glossed over that this is a bread loaf pan lasagna, which suddenly made perfect sense. The three cheese “noodles” were the perfect size for a loaf pan.

The result was a pillowy, deliciously cheesy lasagna that deeply satisfied my lasagna craving. I will be making this again, probably sooner rather than later.

Here, courtesy of peaceloveandlowcarb.com, is Just Like the Real Thing Lasagna.

“Noodles”

4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1¼ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 9”x13” baking dish with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together cream cheese and eggs. Add Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in mozzarella cheese and mix until well incorporated.

Spread the mixture into the baking dish, forming an even layer.

Bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes.

When the “noodles” are done baking, cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then cut into thirds. This makes three perfectly sized “noodle” layers for a loaf pan.

Three Cheese Garlic Marinara Sauce

28-oz can crushed tomatoes
6-oz can tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley