Servings: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef (I use 90-93% lean)
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced finely (¾ cup)
- 5 garlic cloves, minced (~1 ½ tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 ½ cups water*
- 3 ounces fresh spinach (2 large handfuls), roughly chopped
- 8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles (not the ‘No boil’ type), broken into small pieces**
- 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup cottage cheese, lightly drained if there is a lot of liquid***
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil leaves, optional for garnish
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, spray generously with cooking spray then add the ground beef, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Use a spoon or spatula to break up the meat as it cooks, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until the onions start to soften and the beef is cooked through. Drain excess fat, if there is quite a bit in the pan.
- Mist the slow cooker insert with cooking spray then add the cooked ground beef and vegetable mixture to the bottom.
- Next, add the marinara sauce, water, spinach, noodles, and 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese to the slow cooker. Stir well to combine.
- Dollop the cottage cheese over the top of the meat and noodle mixture then very gently fold it into the mixture – being careful not to mix completely.
- Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese (about ½-¾ cup) and ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese on top and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or until the noodles are tender. Turn off the heat and serve.
- Garnish with fresh basil and additional parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve.
Notes
* Tip: Add the water directly to the empty sauce jar and shake to get all of the sauce from the jar before pouring it into the crockpot
** If gluten-free is needed, use gluten-free lasagna noodles, or use gluten-free bow-tie pasta
*** May substitute part-skim ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the recipe (about 1 1/3 cups)
- Calories: 380
- Fat: 15 g
- (Sat Fat: 6 g)
- Sodium: 699 mg
- Carbohydrate: 31 g
- (Fiber: 3 g
- Sugar: 6 g)
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 57 mg