Who loves lasagne? Who fancies a few bite-sized mouthfuls after WLS? Yes? Well then here’s a new bariatric treat for you – mini cupcake-sized lasagne with all the taste of the former indulgent type but made lighter and more digestible with the crafty use of wonton wrappers (often called spring roll wrappers) instead of pasta. And Mama Mia! – they are quicker and easier to use too, since they don’t require any pre-cooking.
You can make this recipe from scratch by cooking 225 g/8 oz lean minced/ground beef with 11/2 tsp Italian herb seasoning until tender, or,
like I have, use a generous similar quantity of leftover bolognese/meat ragu or even chilli mixture instead. Go ahead and use quorn or veggie mince if you want a vegetarian option. I often have a generous single portion leftover after making a mega batch that often isn’t enough to serve alone for a family meal but just perfect for preparing these dinky little savoury ‘cupcakes’ when mixed and matched with a tomato sauce, cheese and mushrooms.
Serve with salad or vegetables in season for a more hearty meal.
CRAFTY ‘CUPCAKE’ LASAGNE
Ingredients
METRIC/US
low-fat cooking spray or mist
100 g/1 cup sliced or coarsely chopped mushrooms
225 g/generous 1 cup prepared bolognese or meat ragu sauce (or see intro for basic cooking from scratch)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 wonton wrappers (often called spring roll wrappers) – I used Blue Dragon ones
100 g/1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
8 oz/1 cup ready-made canned or bottled tomato pasta sauce
100 g/1 cup grated/shredded reduced-fat Mozzarella cheese
40 g/1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
chopped basil, parsley or spinach leaves to garnish (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190 C, 375 F, gas mark 5.
- Lightly spritz a non-stick 8-cup muffin tin with the cooking spray or mist and set aside.
- Generously spritz a pan with the spray or mist, heat, add the mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in the bolognese, ragu or meat mixture, mixing well.
- Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the 8 sprayed muffin cups. Top equally with about half of the ricotta mixture. Follow by topping equally with about half of the meat mixture. Cover each with about half of the tomato pasta sauce, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat all the layers – ricotta, meat sauce, tomato pasta sauce, Mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin to serve. Sprinkle with chopped basil, parsley or spinach to leaves garnish if liked.
VARIATION: Add a small handful of baby spinach leaves to the layers if liked – there’s no need to cook them before adding.
MAKES 8
WLS PORTION: 1
V suitable for Vegetarians if using Quorn Mince
CALORIES PER ‘CUPCAKE’ LASAGNE: 148
PROTEIN: 13.7g
CARBOHYDRATE: 12.1 g
FAT: 4.8 g
Tracie Fairfax-Henry says
Can u tell me what wonton is please
CAROL says
Wonton wrappers are extra thin pastry-like wrappers that are used in Asian cuisine and come ready made in supermarkets, Asian and speciality stores. They are used for making rolls stuffed with shredded meat, vegetables and the like. They are frequently used for making pancake rolls. Hope that helps. They make a great lighter substitute to pasta sheets like lasagne. C x
Judy Parry says
Hi Carol, love this recipe (cup lasagne)
One question, can you prepare and freeze before or after cooking. DEFINITLY a recipe I will do as I love small mouthful meals with this much protein. Thank you, Judy x
CAROL says
I would be tempted to freeze before cooking Judy so that the wonton cases crisp nicely after cooking and if you freeze them afterwards they might be just a tad chewy. I’ll try some both ways next time I prepare and see what happens and then report as a blog update. I love these little morsels of high protein like you do and have eaten them cold with salad too! C x