Skinny Lasagne Recipe

4 people
1 hr 15 min

This skinny lasagne is made with a butterless bechamel sauce and it's still so creamy and delicious!


You can find my full details on my Slimming lasagne here.

I love lasagne, but it's not always healthy. However, I've found a way to make it lighter. And that is, to create it with lean minced beef and a skinny bechamel sauce.

The Skinny White Sauce


My skinny white sauce is made up of blended oats, milk, cheese and seasoning. Then simmered and stirred until it thickens.


It's also lovely with added mustard sauce, too. And I build my lasagne layers as normal and spread the butterless bechamel as normal.


I hope you enjoy our famiy favourite as much as we do!

Recipe details
  • 4  people
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 1 Hours Total time: 1 hr 15 min
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Ingredients

  • Frylight
  • 500 g beef mince meat 5% fat (extra lean) *Or Quorn for a Veggie Lasagne
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 carrot peeled and diced
  • 500 g passata
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 red wine stockpot
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 9 lasagne sheets *Or sliced courgettes or aubergines for a low carb lasagne
  • 40 g cheese
  • Pinch Sea salt
  • Black pepper
Butterless Lasagne White Sauce
  • 500 ml milk
  • 2 tsp mustard powder
  • 30 g oats blended
  • Dash Sea salt
  • Dash Ground black pepper
  • 40 g reduced fat cheese grated
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 40 g low fat cheese grated
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Instructions

Preheat oven on gas mark 4 or 180 degrees celcius (fan).
Saute the onion and garlic in Frylight and plenty of sea salt and pepper until softened.
Add the beef to brown, then add the carrots and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Pop in the red wien stock pot, passata, herbs, puree and balsamic vinegar and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix all the white sauce ingredients together in a tall 1 litre microwavable jug, excluding the cheese and microwave in 1 minute short bursts, stirring in between until thickened.
Remove the bay leaf and stir in the cheese.
Now spoon a 3rd of the meat mixture into a lasagne dish approx 28cm x 20cm, then add three sheets of lasagne or more if needed.
Spread on top 1/3 of the butterless bechamel, then repeat until you finish with the remaining white sauce.
Top with 40g of grated cheese and bake for 40 minutes or until everything is golden and bubbling before serving.
Tips
  • This recipe was originally published in 2015 with the following quark ingredients and has now been updated in 2020.
  • 250g quark
  • 50ml skimmed milk
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 100g natural yogurt (fat free)
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Mix all the ingredients together in a jug and spread a 3rd on each lasagne layer of pasta sheets. Then once you get to the top, sprinkle with 40g of cheese and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees celsius or gas mark 4.
  • Here’s a few of my tips on how to layer a lasagne.
  • Don’t use a dish that’s too big as you’ll have fewer lasagne layers.
  • I prefer to use my 28cm x 22cm Pyrex baking dish which makes a great lasagne dish.
  • 3 or more lasagne layers gives a more appealing lasagne.
  • For layering lasagne, refer to my picture below:I spread 1/3 of my beef ragu on the bottom, add 3 lasagne sheets, spread over 1/3 of the butterless bechamel on top and repeat.
  • The top should be the lasagne’s white sauce, then a good sprinkling of grated mature cheddar cheese.
  • Yes, you can thicken this white lasagne sauce in a pan! However, I prefer to use the microwave as it’s quicker and easy to control. Just place all of your cold milk and blended oats in a saucepan, then slowly bring it to a simmering point.
  • You’ll need to gently simmer while stirring, keeping a close eye that it doesn’t boil and spill out of the pan. Note, this is also why I only use a tall 1 l litre microwave jug. Then continue making the rest of the lasagne.
  • You’ll be very surprised that there is only a very subtle porridge taste. And that it actually lends to a super creamy and cheesy white lasagne sauce.
  • And it’s even better with extra flavours, such as mustard, a bay leaf, cheese and freshly ground salt and pepper. I also often use oats to thicken my favourite healthy beef stew recipe and they totally disintegrate in the pot.
  • You can’t even tell it’s in there and with it being fibre, it’s perfect on many Slimming plans.
  • Freezing lasagne is a great solution if you want to make ahead before cooking. Simply follow the steps to preparing your beef lasagne ragu and bechamel sauce.
  • Then leave it to room temperature and layer the lasagne in a freezer-safe container or lasagne dish and cover. It should be ok to freeze for up to 3 months. For cooked lasagne, leave to cool and store like above.
  • If you’re looking for alternatives for a white sauce, you could instead create a spinach and ricotta lasagne. However, this is typically in place of meat and is usually beautifully created as a veggie lasagne.
Tastefully Vikkie
Want more details about this and other recipes? Check out more here!
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Comments
  • Cso51108026 Cso51108026 on Mar 25, 2023

    Your oat trick is *brilliant!* Question - do you blend the oats, i.e. in a blender or food processor, or do you actually mill them into more of an oat flour?? THANK YOU!!! I am definitely making this - I adore a lasagne with a bechamel, but all the calories. Ouch! Cheers!! ~Chrissie PS I will let you know my results!! :) Thank you for posting! Grazie!

  • Lydia Lydia on Mar 25, 2023

    I don't understand the "skinny" lasagna and then you serve it with French fries?

    I think I am old school. Just give me good old lasagna.....hold the fries!

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