Things have been a little hectic around here lately, as I understand is par for the course when someone in your household is preparing to defend his or her PhD dissertation. The good news? Mr. Cake Pants passed his defense and is now officially Dr. Cake Pants! In the days leading up to (and after) the big day, I’ve been busy supporting him the best way I know how: by cooking and baking all his favorite foods! We’ve had chicken pot pie, mango carrot cake, Jamaican jerk chicken pasta, tart cherry pie, and last but not least, this three-cheese turkey lasagna with broccoli. On a related note, I’ve also been busy going for a lot of runs, because we’ve been eating like kings.
I first shared this lasagna three years ago, so I decided to take some new photos and update the post. One of the things I love about lasagna is how excited everyone gets about it. Homemade lasagna is a true labor of time love, and people know it! Despite the fairly long prep time, however, I’m reminded every time I make this recipe that it’s well worth the effort—it’s so hearty and satisfying that a little bit goes a long way.
This three-cheese turkey lasagna with broccoli was originally inspired by a Martha Stewart casserole. Before I came across that casserole, I had some vague notion that tomato-based dishes and broccoli were incompatible, but that recipe proved me wrong! I decided to create a lasagna along the same lines, because I’ve never really been a fan of spinach lasagna. I like spinach well enough (stop laughing, Mom and Dad, it’s grown on me!), but the idea of small, dark masses of limp spinach in between layers of pasta has never really thrilled me. Broccoli, on the other hand, retains its color and texture much better when cooked, which I think makes for a more appealing lasagna.
Which dishes do you turn to when you’re preparing for or celebrating a big day?
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes (diced tomatoes are also fine)
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 pound broccoli
- 8 ounces mozzarella, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup grated parmesan, divided
- 1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 package (12 ounces) oven-ready lasagna noodles
- salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan (at least 2 inches deep) with oil or cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add diced onion and thyme. Sauté until onion pieces are translucent and soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and ground turkey. Break up the turkey with a wooden spoon and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add flour and stir until the flour has been incorporated.
- While the turkey is cooking, prepare the broccoli by removing the tough outer skin and separating out bite-size florets. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and parboil the broccoli until soft (but not overly so), about 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Once cooled, chop roughly.
- Add canned tomatoes (along with the juice) to the skillet and gently break the tomatoes into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, parsley, and oregano, and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, egg, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan.
- Spread about 1 to 1 1/3 cups of tomato and meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer ingredients in the following order: a single layer of oven-ready lasagna noodles, one half of the cottage cheese and egg mixture, a single layer of noodles, half of remaining tomato and meat sauce, half of chopped broccoli pieces, a single layer of noodles, remaining cottage cheese and egg mixture, half of remaining broccoli (one quarter of total amount of broccoli), half of mozzarella cubes, a single layer of noodles, remaining tomato and meat sauce, remaining broccoli, remaining mozzarella cubes, remaining parmesan.
- Coat one side of a piece of foil with oil or cooking spray. Cover the baking pan with foil, with the coated side facing down. Bake for 50 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Inspired by Everyday Food (November 2009).
This looks delicious, and congratulations to Dr. Cake Pants!
Thanks! I’ll pass along the well wishes 🙂
YAY! Congratulations to Dr. Cake Pants! You guys must be so happy 🙂 Lasagna truly is a labor of love. Funnily enough, I made it for us last weekend! It’s one of my favorite dishes. I’ve never tried cottage cheese before, I may have to give it a go!
Thanks, Heather! Yes, we’re both quite relieved that his defense is now behind us. That’s funny that you also made a lasagna last week! This weather we’re having is perfect lasagna weather, isn’t it?
I love that you used ground turkey in this recipe Mara and that you added some broccoli so we can get in our greens! Looks delish!
Broccoli is one of my all-time favorite veggies, so I love incorporating it into recipes whenever I can. Thanks for stopping by, Mary Ann!
Congrats, Dr. Cake Pants! He’s really lucky to have a great supporter like you on his side and not have to worry about being satisfied with his next meal 😀 I’m all for adding veggies to lasagna! Spinach or broccoli, it doesn’t matter as long as there’s cheese 😉
Thanks, Patty! He obviously had to do the heavy lifting in writing the actual dissertation, but I like to think that I did my part by making sure he was well fed 🙂 And yes, I’m good as long as there’s cheese!
First of all, congrats to your fiance! That is awesome!! Second of all, this lasagna. This looks like a masterpiece, Mara! In fact, I say this lasagna should be awarded a PhD. (Nevermind the whole lack of comps, coursework and dissertation…minor details!) Seriously, though, the broccoli in here looks so awesome! It does indeed take a while to make lasagna, but then you get some awesome leftovers for the week. Oh, and well done on the new pictures, my friend! 🙂
Mmm…but can you imagine how delightful lasagna coursework would be? Thanks so much, David! I’ll pass along the congratulations 🙂
This lasagna looks so tasty and nourishing! I love making/eating lasagna, and I love making it for others too. I’m sure Mr. Cakepants appreciated it! 🙂 I have not tried adding broccoli to my lasagna before, but it looks delicious!
He most certainly did appreciate it! I hope you get a chance to try broccoli in your lasagna sometime – I really love it! Thanks for stopping by, Jenny 🙂
WHOA! I am so impressed with your food photography! HOW ON EARTH did you get that to look GOODDDD!!!!!
Thanks so much, Gigi – I’m blushing! The lasagna really did most of the work. The pops of green from the broccoli really brightened things up 🙂
Very cool. Congratulations!
Thanks, Mimi 🙂 I’ll pass along your well wishes!
This is one delicious looking lasagna Mara!
Thanks, Julie! Have a great weekend!
I love the sound of this! What a filling meal. I could eat the whole pan. 😀 Thanks for sharing, Mara! Happy FF! x
Thanks so much! Happy Fiesta Friday to you too 🙂
Good choice for a re-visit because this looks crazy good. Photographing lasagna in an appealing way is the holy grail of food photography and you nailed it friend! Congrats to Dr. Cake Pants!
Thanks so much, Jess! That means a lot to me, coming from you 🙂 Since I don’t work particularly quickly, I typically shy away from shooting foods with lots of cheese on top, so I was a little nervous about this one!
Omg! This lasagna looks soo good, especially with all that cheese on top! And I love that there’s a balance between the meat and the veggies! Thanks for sharing with us at FF!
Thanks, Jess! Yes, I agree – gotta love dishes that are balanced and a meal in and of themselves!
this sounds perfect for celebrating! i think anything homemade does the trick, but anything with a bit more thought and effort is so much more special. i typically don’t use broccoli in lasagna, but agree that it adds such a nice color!
Agreed! It’s the thought that counts. I hope you have a chance to try this sometime 🙂