Kale Lasagna with Spicy Butter Tomato Sauce
KALE LASAGNA WITH SPICY BUTTER TOMATO SAUCE
There are a ton of things you can do with kale. Turns out, it’s really good for you too. Thanks to this lasagna I whipped up last night, it’s our favorite way to eat kale now. I even made a homemade tomato sauce with minimal ingredients, and it’s so much better than canned stuff. Let’s make our own y’all, we have the time these days!
Plus, I use no boil lasagna noodles. Because who needs all those boiling hot noodles to touch and try to arrange in your lasagna pan? It’s exhausting. See below for the perfect weeknight or weekend family dinner!
Grate your cheese! It’s so much better.
A little bit of fresh ground black pepper goes a long way. Don’t be shy to sprinkle some before you eat.
KALE LASAGNA WITH SPICY BUTTER TOMATO SAUCE RECIPE
Ingredients
2 large bundles of fresh kale
4 garlic gloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, divided
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
28 oz can plum tomatoes or 2 15oz crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups or 32 oz ricotta cheese, low skim
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated and divided
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
package of no boil lasagna noodles ( I use 9 sheets)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Prepare the kale by first washing the leaves and removing the lower stem bases. Bring a large pot to a boil that is well salted. Boil the kale leaves for 2 minutes, and remove from heat, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Dry pat or squeeze the leaves with paper towels to get out the excess moisture. Roughly chop all of the kale, and season with 1 teaspoon of the salt and pepper.
Next, let’s do the homemade tomato sauce. In a deep saucepan, sauté the garlic, onions, red pepper and the remaining teaspoon of salt in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add in the plum tomatoes and butter. Simmer for about 10 minutes. If you used plum tomatoes like I do, now’s the time to use an immersion blender. Blend the tomato sauce ingredients until smooth. Add in oregano, basil and lemon juice, stir to mix.
While the sauce is set aside, now it’s time for the cheese filling. In a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan, half of the mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and black pepper.
Lastly, assembling the lasagna. Spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a sprayed non-stick 9”x13” baking dish. Cover the sauce with a layer of noodles. I tend to use 3 per layer. Cover the noodles with half of the cheese mixture, then half of the kale, and half of the tomato sauce. Start your second round of layered noodles. Add the remaining cheese, then the remaining kale, and top with one more layer of noodles, then add the remainder of the sauce. Sprinkle the top of the sauce layer with the remaining half of mozzarella cheese and parmesan.
Bake for 45 minutes until light brown and bubbling. Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving. IT’S HOT. Enjoy.
