Lasagna!! Who doesn’t love lasagna, and now I have a way for you to enjoy it anytime, and guess what it only takes 15 minutes from start to finish! I knew you would be excited! This low carb cauliflower lasagna has paleo options, is gluten free, grain free and is so simple to make.
Growing up we ate the same 5-6 meals on rotation in my house. Most nights were pot roast, mashed potatoes (which I would always get seconds of) and some kind of veggie. But every once and awhile my mom would go out of her way to make lasagna. This was a serious upgrade from the usual spaghetti night and I was always so excited for lasagna! Even now, my mom will make lasagna for special occasions and I get so excited.
Finding a gluten free lasagna noodle that didn’t upset Dave’s stomach, well that has been pretty impossible. So instead I turned to my best friend in the kitchen, cauliflower! Yup this cauliflower lasagna is a combination of grass fed beef, cauliflower rice, frozen bell peppers and homemade pasta sauce. And everything comes together in about 15 minutes! These are the kinds of meals I try to create to bring excitement to dinner without making me want to pull my hair out.
Seriously have you made lasagna lately? It’s like 10 steps, then it has to bake for 45 minutes then you have to let it cool. OMG who has time for that! Not me. So instead we are making a no bake cauliflower lasagna (almost one pot) that is perfect for weeknight dinners!
What are some of my tips? Tip one, buy some cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s. It’s the best investment of my time yet. Although it only takes a few minutes to make cauliflower rice from scratch, not needing to clean the food processor on a weeknight is seriously high on my list of things that make me happy!
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Cauliflower Lasagna Recipe Tips
I’ll give you my tips on cauliflower rice thought:
- If you are in a hurry, use bagged cauliflower florets. This means you don’t need to break out your knife and cutting board, just open the bag, pour in the food processor and pulse for about 20 seconds until it looks like rice. You might need to scrape down the sides once or twice.
- If you have a ton of cauliflower (like from the CSA), remove the green leaves, cut the florets away from the stalk, then rough chop them (no need to make it pretty, it’s going to be rice). Then add the florets to the food processor, pulse until form a rice like consistency. You may need to work in batches.
- Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes with 1/2 lemon squeezed on it before you microwave. This will save you from smelling the cauliflower as much :) You are welcome!
To make this an almost one pot meal, you will need to brown the grass fed beef then use a paper towel to remove some of the fat from the pan. Push the meat to the side and add the frozen sliced bell peppers. You will want to cook until the liquid given off by the peppers is slightly evaporated. Once the peppers are soft, push them out of the center of the pan and allow the water in the pan to boil off for 2-3 minutes. Then add the cauliflower rice and pasta sauce. Everything will be all good if you follow those steps!
You can make your own pizza sauce following the recipe I provided or you can just use a jar of your favorite sauce. Just be sure to check the sugar and added ingredients! They tend to sneak high fructose corn syrup in a lot of those sauces!
You could also use ground chicken or turkey or even use lentils to make this dish, it would be equally as delicious!
Low Carb Cauliflower Lasagna!
Ingredients
Pizza Sauce
- 14.9 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
- 1/2 tube tomato paste - about 4 tbs
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/4- 1/2 tsp salt
Lasagna
- 1 lb grass fed ground beef - lean
- 1 bag chopped frozen bell peppers
- ½ white/yellow/red onion - sliced thin
- 1 pizza sauce recipe
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp. salt
- 3 cups cauliflower rice - or one bag Trader Joe’s Frozen Riced Cauliflower
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup optional mozzarella cheese - I used Goat’s milk cheddar
Instructions
PIzza Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a small pot and stir well. Heat over medium heat until just starting to bubble. Remove from heat and add to the lasagna.
Lasagna
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef and break up beef stirring occasionally until no longer pink. Push beef to the side of the skillet. Remove excess fat (if any) with a few paper towels.
- Add the onions and cook 2 minutes. Add the frozen peppers and cook 6-7 minutes until most of the water has cooked out of the pan. Stir together with the beef, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, salt and add cauliflower rice.
- Add the pizza sauce and stir.
- Turn on broiler
- Add optional grated cheese to the top and broil 1-2 minutes (if you are using a stainless steel pan with a stainless handle). If you aren’t using a stainless pan you can just add the lid and allow to melt, no broiler needed.
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Nutrition Information
What about you?
- What special meal did your mom/dad make for you when you were growing up that always got you excited?
- Do you have a Trader Joe’s near by? Have you gotten the cauliflower rice yet?
- What’s your favorite jarred pasta sauce?
Kim
My husband ate two bowls. Enough said :) It was really good and so healthy. I used extra lean grass-fed beef and Arabiatta Sauce from Trader Joe’s. We like spicy, which also means fresh jalapeños or crushed red pepper.
Elaine
I love how you can create family favorites/comfort food and make them good for you too!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope to see you again tomorrow! Pinned!
GiGi Eats
OKAY HELLO GENIUS!
But seriously! I am ALL about this!
Pam
This looks wonderful! Thanks for the great recipe and the terrific photos to go with it. Will need to try this!
Quirky Homemaker
Sounds SO good right now! Love the idea of using cauliflower. Would love it if you’d link it up to the Balanced & Healthy Living Link Up party. We’re live now! Stopping by from Show Off Friday this time. Have a great weekend!
Mila
Such a simple concept, but looks terrific– yummy and healthy. And fast, which is a must here. I don’t have Trader Joe’s nearby but I almost always have cauliflower on hand. Off to explore more of your recipes. I am excited to be adding to my menu plan!
jill conyers
I’m always amazed by what you can make with cauliflower. This looks delicious Sam!
Cathleen @ A Taste Of Madness
Everyone is buying cauliflower now! I really want to try this sometime!
Sammi @ Grounded & Surrounded
YUM! Any kind of lasagna is something I would like, but cauliflower?!?! Oh yes! I am making this ASAP! Thanks for the healthy dinner recipe :)
Emily
I found your blog through a linkup…and I am so excited I did! I have been trying to eat low carb since August and am always looking for new ideas. I haven’t seen that rice at Trader Joe’s, but now I am curious! Off to TJ’s I go… Thanks for sharing! Have a great day!
Audrey
This is about the only way I could get my family to eat cauliflower. But it sure looks tasty. Thanks for sharing on the Creative K Kids Tasty Tuesdays Linky Party. I hope you will join us again next week.
Crystal Escobar
So simple, I love it! Definitely a great little recipe!!!
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious
I just discovered cauliflower rice at Target. Total game changer!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Faux-sagna! I like it!!!
I wish I had a TJs, but alas, I’ll rice my own cauli ;) Although I see Green Giant brand makes it too! (But so silly and a waste of money!)
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table
This is my kind of lasagna! Easy, fast enough for a weeknight dinner and has some bonus veggies! Love the use of cauliflower rice here – so creative! Pinning and can’t wait to try this!
Susie @ SuzLyfe
I cannot wait to dive into something like this!
Jen
We always had lasagna growing up and it was so good. My mom’s was the only kind I liked. Now, the gluten and dairy are not my friends, so making something like this is such a good idea. I can’t wait to try this out!