Crazy-healthy casserole: zucchini quinoa lasagna

Quinoa is all the rage these days—and once you’ve made a few quinoa recipes, it’s not hard to see why. It cooks in 15 to 20 minutes, which means it is a truly convenient whole grain, and makes itself at home in lots of different kinds of recipes—soups, salads, casseroles, even desserts (Hello, quinoa blondies.)

When the EatingWell Test Kitchen was testing the new quinoa recipes in the  March/April issue of EatingWell
magazine and putting the results out for lunch at our office, the Quinoa Lasagna was a huge hit. A pan of it disappeared in minutes and people clamored for the recipe to make it at home.
For this quinoa lasagna recipe, the quinoa stands in for lasagna noodles. To assemble, you spread cooked quinoa in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. (Get our tips for how to cook quinoa perfectly every time.) Then you cover the quinoa with either jarred tomato sauce or make an easy mushroomy tomato sauce. You follow that with a layer of thinly sliced zucchini, a mixture of cottage cheese and Parmesan, a layer of spinach and top it with melty mozzarella. The result is not only simpler to put together than traditional lasagna, it’s a great vegetarian main dish that’s less than 300 calories a serving!

Quinoa Lasagna
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This healthy quinoa lasagna recipe has a layer of quinoa (rather than noodles) along with vegetables, cheese and herbs. Though it tastes like comfort food, don’t worry, this quinoa lasagna recipe is not too heavy—you’ll still have room for dessert. To save time, use your favorite jarred tomato sauce in this vegetarian lasagna. (Adapted from “Quinoa Revolution” by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming; Pintail Books, 2012.)