35 Decadent Lasagna Recipes That Are Surprisingly Healthy

We stick to part-skim mozzarella for our lasagna and add just a touch of Parm-Regg to the top so its salty flavor is prominent. In the filling, we use fat-free ricotta but stir in a bit of melted butter to enrich it—it tastes great and still has less fat and sat fat than part-skim ricotta.

The best part of this vegetable lasagna—aside from the flavor—is the low-cleanup: Vegetables take turns cooking in a single cast iron skillet, not several. A stovetop simmer quickly cooks the noodles through, so there's no need for a separate pot to boil them. Then the pan shifts easily to the oven for a last-minute broil to melt and meld the cheeses. Perfection!

"Fresh" is a word not often associated with lasagna, yet that's exactly the sensation this one offers. Sweet-as-candy grape tomatoes burst and release their moisture and flavor, while earthy-bitter broccoli rabe and milder Broccolini balance the taste.

Silky roasted butternut squash stands in for noodles in this more nutritious take on the starchy pasta casserole.

For a lighter take on this classic, we substitute hearty butternut squash for butter, which becomes velvety and creamy when blended with garlic and milk. Our saucy lasagna packs more than 2 cups of vegetables into each slice, is overflowing with melty cheese, and has half the calories of the original.

We were surprised and delighted by how well lasagna cooks up in the slow cooker. Be sure to use traditional noodles, and place them in the cooker uncooked. We tried the recipe with specially formulated no-bake noodles, and they didn't work as well.

For this gluten-free vegan lasagna, thinly-sliced zucchini is a great stand in for noodles. When salted, the excess moisture is drawn out, leaving you with a lasagna just as firm as the noodle version. Mashed tofu, when seasoned correctly, tastes eerily similar to ricotta, but with significantly fewer calories and fat. It holds its own against traditional recipes and will wow dinner guests all the same.

Your family will love this fun departure from the Italian classic—and you’ll love its ease and simplicity. Want to make it in an Instant Pot? Get the recipe here.

This is a fresh, summery take on lasagna. We call for seeding one-third of the tomatoes to get just the right amount of juciness.

This reader favorite has half the carbs of classic lasagna. If you bake the squash ahead, store the squeeze-dried strands in a zip-top bag, and stack the empty squash “boats” between damp paper towels before refrigerating.

Ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella combine to give this lasagna an irresistible gooey factor. Store-bought tomato sauce offers convenience and is perked up with a little fresh basil, garlic, and ground red pepper.

Lemon rind brightens the sauce, making for a more delicate lasagna. To save on salt, use frozen artichokes, which contain a quarter of the sodium of the canned variety that are usually packed in brine.

Chicken thighs poach until tender in stock, which becomes the base for a creamy béchamel sauce. No-boil noodles absorb more liquid during baking for a sturdy slice after freezing and reheating.

We played it straight with this lasagna standard, which retains all of its meaty, cheesy, saucy goodness but has less than half the calories.

Sweet squash contrasts beautifully with Smoky Marinara in this butternut squash lasagna. You can make the marinara in advance, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Ramekins help keep these cheesy, decadent layers in portion-perfect shape.

Grilling the vegetables deepens their flavors, which makes for a delicious vegetarian entrée. To speed preparation, use no-boil lasagna noodles; the baking time remains the same.

Gruyère-spiked Béchamel drapes over the noodles and squash to give this dish velvety richness. Hearty, earthy kale perfectly balances the sweet squash. Crunchy toasted pecans on top? Yes, please!

Okay, this won't win any beauty contests. But we guarantee your family will go nuts for it. With ricotta cheese and spinach already tucked inside each ravioli, this is a shortcut way to a well-rounded lasagna.

This layered pasta dish is a great way to add both color and vegetable servings to your dinner plate.

Your family will love this light comfort meal—and you'll love that it's a great use for all that summer squash and zucchini. This cheesy veggie lasagna so good that they won't miss the traditional dish.

Rich porcini broth and nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano add deep umami taste to this vegetarian lasagna. Plain white button mushrooms will work in place of cremini. Serve with a simple green salad for a satisfying meal.

This polenta lasagna is a great way to work extra vegetables into a weeknight meal, as it calls for chopped zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and red bell pepper.

Don't press out extra water from the tofu for this recipe; that way, the cheesy layer will remain moist and creamy.

A small amount of pancetta adds richness and depth to the mushroom mixture; feel free to omit it—and swap in vegetable stock for beef—for a vegetarian version.

This zucchini eggplant lasagna makes use of fresh summer produce in a filling meatless entrée.

These rolls require some assembly time, but are a nice change of pace from layered pasta. Use baby spinach to eliminate the task of trimming stems.

The mild flavor and creamy texture of this spinach lasagna will appeal to kids and adults alike. You may want to reduce or increase the pepper amounts according to your family's preferences.

Butternut squash, sweet potato and onion blend together with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses for a flavorful vegetarian lasagna. When selecting a wine to serve at this meal, keep in mind that root vegetables pair well with earthy varieties such as tempranillo, pinot noir and sangiovese.

You don't have to spend a lot on truffle oil; look for small 2- or 3-ounce bottles, which are less likely to go bad before you use up the oil.

Named for the town from which it hails (Amatrice in central Italy), this sauce typically combines pancetta with tomatoes. Imported San Marzano tomatoes were used to test this recipe. Use cured bacon to allow the tomatoes and heat to star, or add a smoky note with smoked bacon. It's best to cook pasta sheets one at a time. Then build the individual lasagna portions, and bake them all together. Don't worry if the pasta tears as you build each dish—just patch it together and continue assembling.

Use different salsa to vary the flavor for this meatless lasagna. Make it smoky with chipotle salsa, or spice it up with the hot stuff.

You can always splurge on fresh crabmeat, but we tested this dish with canned Chicken of the Sea lump crabmeat and liked the results. Shrimp shells render a quick stock to flavor the sauce. We used oven-ready lasagna noodles to save time.

You don't think of lamb when you think of lasagna, but that's one of the reasons you'll love this dish. The meat plays exceptionally well with rosemary and feta.

Spicy sausage gives this dish some kick, though you can also go with mild. Three cheeses—ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan—make it wonderfully indulgent.