Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hr 25 mins
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Medium
No red sauce, no problem. This white lasagna swaps the classic tomato base for a silky blended cottage cheese sauce with garlic, cream cheese, and Parmesan. Layered with ground turkey, ribbons of summer squash, and spinach between fresh pasta sheets, it's lighter than traditional lasagna but every bit as satisfying. The fresh pasta absorbs just the right amount of moisture from the vegetables — the layering order really matters here.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 2 summer squash
- 4 oz spinach
- Olive oil
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ¾ tsp white pepper, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1½ tsp onion powder, divided
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 5 cloves garlic
- Fresh lasagna sheets
- Mozzarella, very thinly sliced (mandoline recommended)
- Fresh Italian parsley, for garnish
Directions
- 1Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 2Over medium heat, cook ground turkey with 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp white pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp onion powder until all meat is browned. Set aside.
- 3In a blender, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan, heavy cream, garlic cloves, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp white pepper, and ½ tsp onion powder. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- 4On a mandoline, slice summer squash lengthwise on level 1 into thin ribbons.
- 5Rough chop spinach into small pieces.
- 6In a lasagna pan, add a drizzle of olive oil, then lay the first sheet of fresh lasagna. Layer ⅓ of the squash, ½ of the spinach, ½ of the turkey, then ⅓ of the sauce. Repeat this layering — it is important to layer in this order so the moisture from the vegetables is absorbed by the fresh pasta.
- 7After the layers have been laid twice, add a third pasta sheet, the remaining sauce, a final layer of summer squash, and lastly extremely thinly sliced mozzarella (use a mandoline if possible).
- 8Cover and bake in the oven for about 1 hour.
- 9Garnish with fresh Italian parsley and serve.
Tips & Variations
- The layering order is key — squash goes down before spinach and turkey so its moisture steams up into the fresh pasta rather than pooling at the bottom.
- A mandoline makes the squash ribbons and the final mozzarella layer much easier and more uniform. Level 1 keeps the squash thin enough to cook through without getting soggy.
- Fresh lasagna sheets are essential here — dried pasta won't absorb the vegetable moisture the same way and can come out undercooked.
- Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes after baking before slicing — it holds together much better and the layers stay defined.