This Keto-Friendly Lasagna Makes a Comforting Fall Meal

Lasagna on a keto diet? It’s possible, and in this episode of Prep School, Megan Mitchell shows you how. She smartly swaps in cabbage leaves for sheets of noodles, and amps up the tomato sauce using aromatics like garlic, onion, meaty mushrooms, and red wine. After just one bite of this ketogenic-friendly lasagna, we’re betting it’ll become a staple in your meal rotation for the cooler seasons ahead. So uncork a bottle and get cooking!

Mushroom Bolognese Lasagna With Cabbage Leaves

Yield: 45 minutes
Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

For the sauce:
4 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large carrots, scrubbed, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves
Thrive Market Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more if needed
Sea salt
Thrive Market Organic Ground Pepper
1 ½ pounds assorted mushrooms (such as cremini, oyster, chanterelle, shiitake), cleaned
¾ cup dry red wine
1 cup whole milk
Pinch Thrive Market Organic Ground Nutmeg
1 (28-ounce) can Thrive Market Organic Crushed Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Tomato Paste

For the lasagna:
2 ½ to 3 pounds green cabbage, cored
3 cups full-fat ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Thrive Market Organic Ground Pepper
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Make the sauce:
Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic to a food processor and pulse until vegetables break down into small pieces, but don’t purée it into a sauce.

Heat olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. If the mixture looks dry, add more olive oil as needed. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are golden.

Add red wine to deglaze the pan, then add milk and nutmeg; cook until milk is almost fully absorbed. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper; stir. Reduce to simmer and cook for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the sauce so it doesn’t reduce too quickly. If sauce bubbles up too much, cover pot partially with a lid so it doesn’t splatter.

Make the lasagna:
While the sauce cooks, prepare the cabbage leaves. Bring a large pot of water to boil; carefully lower the cabbage head into the water. As it cooks, cabbage leaves will start to fall off from the head; you can help this along by carefully pulling the leaves off with tongs. Place leaves onto a sheet tray lined with a clean kitchen towel. Do this until the entire head is pulled off into leaves.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. To assemble, set out a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and spread a ladle of mushroom sauce to the bottom. Next, arrange a few cabbage leaves on top, followed by ⅓ of the sauce, ⅓ of the ricotta mixture, and ⅓ shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat the process twice, tearing cabbage leaves to fill in any empty areas as needed.

Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven, drizzle with olive oil, then broil on high until golden and bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Recipe by Megan Mitchell