How to make Cabbage Lasagna, Low Carb and delicious

This recipe is one I found online some time back and I’m not sure who the author was. Hubby and I both love pasta dishes, which of course we don’t eat anymore since going low carb. There are many low-carb substitutes for pasta, but one of my favourites is using cabbage. You can slice it long and thin like fettuccine, or wide like lasagna noodles, which is how we did it today. The original recipe called for boiling the cabbage first, then sautéing it in oil for a few minutes as well. But I figured to save time, effort, and dirty dishes, I would just boil it until softened to my liking. It’s taking the place of lasagna noodles here, so you definitely want it very tender. It was ready a few minutes before the meat sauce, so that worked out well. Hubby said this one’s a keeper for sure, we both really enjoyed it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs ground beef (907g)
• 32 oz jar No Added Sugar pasta sauce (907g - I just used two 500g jars)
• 1 head of cabbage (mine was large)
• 1 egg
• 6 oz (170g) shredded mozzarella or tasty/cheddar cheese
(set aside 2 oz / 57g for topping the finished lasagna)
• 6 oz (170g) shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup thick Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Remove outer leaves of cabbage, wash it, and cut into quarters. Remove core from each section. Once the water is boiling, add the cabbage and cook until very tender (mine took 25 minutes). Drain.
2. Meanwhile, brown the ground/minced beef in a medium-large saucepan. Drain fat. Put the browned meat back on the heat and add the pasta sauce. Cook on medium heat about 15 minutes or until sauce reduces somewhat and thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. When cool enough to handle, blot any excess water with paper towels, and cut cabbage into large pieces, or lengthwise into thick lasagna shapes.
4. Combine the egg, cheeses and yogurt or cottage cheese in a bowl.
5. Spray a rectangular baking dish with non-stick spray. The original recipe recommended a standard 9”x12” dish, but required placing a baking sheet under it while it was in the oven, likely because it’s a tight-fit for a 9”x12” pan and might boil over. I used a slightly larger baking dish that had more room so this was not a concern.
6. Layer half of cabbage, half the meat sauce and half the cheese mixture in prepared baking dish. Repeat layers with remaining cabbage, meat sauce and cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved mozzarella cheese on top.
7. Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly.
8. Cool 10 minutes then serve and enjoy.