Hearts of Palm Lasagna is made using low carb, plant based lasagna noodles and homemade rich sauce.
National Lasagna Day
National Lasagna Day (yes…there is a National Lasagna Day!) happens to be July 29th. Because I’m so current I had to come up with a recipe for lasagna. Right?
This had to be an uber special lasagna. I mean, it was for a National Holiday, holidays mean special food. Just because it wasn’t a biggie like Passover didn’t negate the huge magnitude of a National Holiday.
I also wanted this recipe to be transitional in the sense that you could adjust it according to your dietary needs. So, if your family is gluten intolerant, dairy free, plant based or beef eaters, you could adjust the ingredients to accommodate what your family likes. My only requirement was that, according to Kosher dietary laws, milk and meat were not to be combined.
Searching for the right ingredients
It should surprise no one that I have a fairly well stocked pantry. I wouldn’t say grocery shopping is an addiction, more like a guilty pleasure.
I’m a self professed grocery cart snoop and love to peruse the aisles for new and innovative food items. Especially since Covid has put the kibosh on in person food trade shows. They’re just not the same online.
So I spend more time “researching”.
Hearts of Palm Lasagna Sheets
We live in an age where you can make something out of anything. It turns out you can even make lasagna sheets out of hearts of palm. Even I (who is rarely shocked but is always delighted by new food innovations) was kind of surprised by this one.
I’ve seen hearts of palm pasta during field trips to Trader Joe’s, and we often get canned hearts of palm that we love to eat in salads and just out of the can.
Yup, it’s true…and it’s low carb too.
But…lasagna sheets???
I mean…how big are hearts of palm that lasagna sheets can be made from them? I wanted to know!!
So…I Googled it!
Here’s an awesome video I found:
It turns out they can get pretty big. Who knew?
This is what they look like right on the shelf.
This is what they look like in the can. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but they are smaller and thinner than my brain thought they would be.
Making the Hearts of Palm Lasagna
Given that the “lasagna sheets” were more like lasagna strips, I understood that this was not going to be a huge lasagna. That was ok, it just meant that I had to adjust the quantity of ingredients.
I decided to make the whole thing plant based. I used plant based meat (from my freezer) and plant based cheese.
I found this at Whole Foods during one of my explorations. I’ve used Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat and other brands of plant based beef. They’re all good!
I also made my own sauce. It wasn’t as complicated as you might think. I used canned tomato paste, water and Italian seasoning. Many jarred sauces contain ingredients that I can’t (and won’t) eat. I like tomato paste. It’s has a really rich tomatoey flavor without any additives. Italian seasoning contains marjoram and oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary. It packs a big flavor punch without any onion or garlic…which I have trouble with.
I solved the issue of not adding fresh onion or garlic by using garlic oil and green onion, which I can digest. You can use fresh onion and garlic if you choose, but truthfully, it was delicious with those ingredients.
Remember:
You are the executive chef in your kitchen. Substitute ingredients according to your family’s needs. I promise I won’t come to your house to check! (Unless you’re Margo Strahlberg).
Assembling the Hearts of Palm Lasagna
I ended up using a slightly smaller 7.5-inch x 11-inch ceramic pan. I normally would have used a 9-inch x 13-inch lasagna pan, but this turned out to be a perfect dinner size for the four of us.
I started with a layer of hearts of palm lasagna noodles, followed by a browned “beef” and green onion mixture, homemade sauce, then plant based mozzarella, finishing with sauce and cheese on top.
This is what a middle layer looks like before adding the vegan mozzarella.
My biggest issue was that plant based mozzarella (almost all, brand independent) doesn’t melt well. For some reason it melted great on the inside but not on the top. The cheese did get softer and had a melty consistency but still held it’s shape.
I think we were all surprised by how tasty it was. Just like any lasagna noodle, the hearts of palm pasta served as a support for the rest of the ingredients and absorbed the flavor of the filling.
Delicious!
We obviously couldn’t wait to eat it! But…check out the cheese on top…
Here’s the recipe
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Hearts of Palm Lasagna
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Filling Browning Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 lasagna 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
- Diet: Kosher
Description
Hearts of Palm Lasagna is made using low carb, plant based lasagna noodles and homemade rich sauce.
If your family is gluten intolerant, dairy free, plant based or beef eaters, you can adjust the ingredients to accommodate what your family likes. My only requirement is that, according to Kosher dietary laws, milk and meat are not to be combined.
Ingredients
- Nonstick vegetable spray
For the lasagna noodles
- 2 (14-ounce) cans hearts of palm lasagna noodles
For the filling
- 1 tablespoon garlic oil
- 1 pound ground beef (plant based)
- 1 large egg (or 3 tablespoons JUST egg)
- 1 cup sliced green onions
For the Sauce
- 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups water
For the Cheese
- 3 cups mozzarella (plant based)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray a 7.5-inch x 11-inch lasagna pan with nonstick spray.
For the Sauce
In a medium bowl whisk together the tomato paste, Italian Seasoning and the water. Set aside.
For the Filling
Over medium/high heat, heat the garlic oil in a large skillet. Add the beef and sauté until browned.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Stir in the egg and green onions.
To Assemble and Finish
Place a layer of hearts of palm lasagna noodles on the bottom of the prepared lasagna pan. Follow with a layer of meat mixture, sauce and cheese.
Repeat finishing with a layer of hearts of palm lasagna noodles and sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the lasagna to rest for 5-10 minutes then serve hot.
Equipment
Konhard Stainless Steel Hand Whisk 6-inch
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FE Baking Dish, Rome Pillar Casserole Dish, Ceramic Bakeware 11×8 Oven to Table, Lasagna Pan
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Classic Farmhouse Ceramic Bakeware Set of 3
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Happy Belly Italian Seasoning Blend
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Mozzarella Shreds, 365 by Whole Foods Market,
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Palmsticcio Heart of Palm Lasagna |
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Colavita Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Low FODMAP, 32 Fl Oz
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Pyrex Prepware 8-cup Measuring Cup
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Buy Now → Notes
You are the executive chef in your kitchen. Substitute ingredients according to your family’s needs.
You can use fresh garlic instead of garlic oil. Simply substitute one clove of fresh garlic and one tablespoon of olive oil replacing the tablespoon of garlic oil.
You can use a small, diced onion instead of the green onion. Sauté the onion with the ground beef instead of adding it after browning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 slices
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 8.3 g
- Sodium: 859.1 mg
- Fat: 12.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.7 g
- Protein: 35.9 g
- Cholesterol: 41.2 mg
Up close and personal! It’s rich, flavorful and cheesy! I added a little extra plant based mozzarella on the slice for this photo.
Here are some more Plant Based recipes
You can make these plant based or not…totally up to you!
- Savory Instant Pot Chive Cheesecake
- Stir Fry Bowtie Pasta with Chickpeas and Corn
- Broccoli Mushroom Cheese Pie
- Tofu Parmesan
- Fried Mac and Cheese Balls
- Asparagus Basketweave Quiche
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Hearts of Palm Lasagna…simply delicious.
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