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Just in case you’re interested, this super simple hardly-even-a-recipe has become one of the most popular recipes on my website! And with good reason. Who doesn’t love some good ol’-fashioned low-carb comfort food like lasagna in a bowl?
Need a simple comfort-food lunch? This lasagna in a bowl wants to be your friend.
Click here to pin this recipe!
It’s super easy, takes very few ingredients, and satisfies many cravings.
This idea isn’t original with me, but I can’t remember where I first heard about lasagna in a bowl/mug. Just like you can serve an eggroll or burrito in a bowl without their respective carbs, you most definitely can make lasagna without noodles. Lots of low-carbers have come up with passable substitutions for noodles in lasagna, but to me, it’s just, why bother? Leave the noodles out and give me the good stuff…the sausage, the sauce, the cheese. All the flavors are there, and I never miss the noodles. One of these days (after I get back from Ohio this fall), I will make a large-scale lasagna bake sans noodles (with measurements, this time). I think that would be awesome.
Update: There’s a Lasagna Bake recipe on page 59 of my first cookbook, Necessary Food!
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You can find this recipe in my first cookbook, Necessary Food.
My cookbooks Necessary Food and Convenient Food contain about 400 low-glycemic recipes each, separated by carbs and fats and free of refined sugar and flour (like all the recipes here on my website). I grew up on my momma’s good cooking, and the recipes in these books are mostly just old family favorites made healthy! Now that I’m married, I’m gravitating even more toward quick and easy, and my newest cookbook definitely reflects that! CLICK HERE to check out my cookbooks in more detail and purchase.
- Crumbled sausage of choice (I used pork), cooked and drained
- No-sugar-added pizza sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Nope, I'm not giving you measurements. Use your own good judgment.
- Mix the seasonings into the cottage or ricotta cheese. Layer the ingredients however you want. I did the following: sausage, sauce, cottage cheese mixture, sausage, sauce, mozzarella.
- Microwave for 2 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese is melted. Or you could bake it at 350 degrees F until the same conditions are met.
- Hey, I bet you could do this same thing in a big pan and bake it for your family for supper. Lasagna minus the noodles...who needs noodles?
Click here to pin this recipe!
I just want to say how much I enjoyed this recipe! Because I’m not much of a cook, I’m always scared of recipes that won’t give exact measurements. But I took the plunge. I liked how easy and filling this was, and I didn’t miss the noodles. Great recipe!
That’s great to hear, Alexandra! Thanks for trying it!
It is so hard to find Trim healthy mama recipes for one or two people. ‘their is not many recipes out their , I really think their is a need for a recipe book for signal people and cupels, Especially when it comes to dinner recipes.
is this something you may consider making
Probably not a whole cookbook but maybe an ebook someday. =) I personally really enjoy leftovers so even though it’s just my husband and I (well, and our baby daughter), I usually make large recipes and then just don’t have to cook for a few days…haha.
Here are all my single serve recipes if you’re interested >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/indexes/fuel-type-allergy-info-theme/single-serve
I hear you on this! I like leftovers, but I don’t like them five days in a row. That’s why I appreciate this single serving recipe treasures I find!
I have made this many times, with many variations, and my family always loves it. Tonight I’m trying the addition of coconut panko-crusted, fried baby eggplant.
Thank you so much for sharing this and making it more fun than following a traditional recipe!
That sounds neat! Glad you’re enjoying the “recipe”!
Can you substitute pasta sauce for pizza sauce?? Can’t wait to try this!!
I think they’re basically the same thing. 🙂
Very good! I love this inspiration recipe! I do this frequently with adding what sounds good with no measurements, so having an inspiration like this is very much appreciated. I hope to find more like this! Very good! You’re recipes never disappoint 🙂
Being dairy free would cashew cream: water soaked cashews/vinegar/spices be an appropriate THM substitute for the cheeses, etc.?
You can definitely use that on THM. As far as using a liquid like that in this recipe, I’m not sure how that would work. Feel free to experiment!
I love that you didn’t use measurements! ☺️ That is how I cook, keep it simple!
Aw, thanks, Maggie! <3
I love the flexibility of making a single serving in a bowl. Some recipes just don’t need measurements, just a little thought about what you want. Some people just need everything fed to them. 😉
“Some recipes just don’t need measurements, just a little thought about what you want.” Amen! Thanks for your sweet comment. <3 I personally hardly ever follow recipes, so sometimes I like to share a little of that freedom on the blog to try to inspire others. 😉 However, this post is fairly popular and has gotten so many comments about people wishing for measurements and nutrition counts that I will probably update it sometime in the future when I have time.
It is so frustrating to find a good recipe for keto, labeled as keto, and then you don’t include the grams of protein, carbs or fiber. I can recreate it in my carb counter, but it takes forever. For example, I just copied another recipe from pinterest, called Reuben in a Bowl, and bam! Right after the ingredients is the nutrition count. Disappointing.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m afraid I don’t have nutrition info calculated for my older recipes at this point, but I’ve been adding it to my newer recipes. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll be able to go back and calculate it for all the older recipes as well. 🙂
Eek there’s a lot of disappointed comments posted here! I often struggle with negativity, but I still don’t get being disappointed by the equivilant of a free magazine article, when it’s so easy to just ‘turn the page’? May all you bloggers be blessed with thick skin! 💪😌
I love this idea! I may throw in some sliced zucchini ‘noodles.’
how is this a recipe? There are no measurements or solid directions???
It’s an idea – an inspiration – not a recipe. It’s supposed to be fun. 😉 If this isn’t your speed, feel free to move on to another website that offers what you’re looking for. Or check out the full-size Lasagna Bake recipe on page 59 of Necessary Food, my first cookbook. It’s the same concept as this single-serve lasagna but in a family size with measurements.
This look delicious but I can’t seem to find the nutritional info. Might have missed it but would like some help finding it.
Thank you
Dianna
Hi Dianna! I don’t usually calculate nutrition info on my recipes since the healthy eating lifestyle I follow doesn’t require it (Trim Healthy Mama), but MyFitnessPal is a super easy way to find nutrition facts! If you sign up for an account, under the Recipes tab there’s a place where you can just add the link to a recipe and it will pull up the ingredients for you to confirm, then generate the nutritional info! 🙂 This one may be a little harder to calculate because the amounts of ingredients used are entirely up to you.
Thank you so much for posting this! So simple, but it wouldn’t have occured to me if I hadn’t come across your post! It helped me stay on plan, was quick and easy and so delicious! I added a little sauteed spinach in the bowl and beat an egg and parmesan cheese in with the cottage cheese. Lazy lasagna for one in less than 5 minutes! Brilliant!
Sometimes I wonder if I should post the simple recipes, but you’re right – they’re good reminders if nothing else! I’m so glad you liked it!
Great idea to add spinach (veggies) and an egg (or next time, maybe I should drain my cottage cheese! tehehe. And yes, me too, about it not occurring to me until I ran into this recipe. And I was hungry, as my plans had changed, and I got home past the usual dinner time, and it was SO QUICK!! Thank you, Brianna!!
This was very tasty… Added cauliflower rice as my pasta replacement and it was
De-Lish!!!!
That is a great idea, also!! Thanks for mentioning that!
I make the same, but use spaghetti squash as the noodles. So delicious!!!
I had a craving for lasagna and this fit the bill! Super easy and filling. I used cottage cheese and it was a little runny at first, but I let it cool down for a few minutes and it thickened a little. I’ll try ricotta next time. So many possibilities for add-ins/substitutions. Another tasty keto keeper!
Oh wow! Rude much? This is so easy! My 9 year old could do this in a pinch without measurements. It’s all about what you like. If you like more sauce add more sauce or less cheese. That is what is so great about this dish! Make it your way!
Lol I never measure either and always tweak recipes my way. I did not know how to cook for a long time and I learned the easiest way and that is teaching myself.
Love your recipes!
I couldn’t agree more, April. 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by!
I did it for my family. I didn’t miss th noodles. Thx who needs measurements?
I was bummed there were no measurements but I tried it anyway in a casserole dish.
Here’s what I did and it turned out great. 6 servings
1 lb ground turkey (original recipe is sausage)
1 jar low sugar pizza sauce
1 container of ricotta cheese
1 12 slice pack of mozzarella cheese
added 4 zucchini spiralized (not in original recipe)
Directions:
Brown turkey.
Sautee zucchini if desired.
Mix turkey and zucchini together with the jar of pizza sauce.
In separate bowl, Mix ricotta with spices and I actually added 1 egg.
Finally, layer meat mixture, then cheese mixture, top with the slices of mozzarella and back for @ 20-30 until top browns.
Thanks! Very cool idea. I’m going to try it with deer sausage
This sounded amazing. I made it, but I thought, make it like ziti too. So I added, black olives, pepperoni and mushrooms. It was delicious. I made a whole pan.
I did something wrong. Mine separated and turned into curds in watery tomato sauce. I ended up making some zoodles and putting the less watery parts on top of that. It tasted good thankfully.
It sounds like you may have heated it too long. 🙂
For those of us that aren’t great cooks or not cooks at all need help with measuring out ingredients. Sounds like a great recipe especially for us low carb people but cannot make this due to no measurements
Do you think this would freeze well (individual portions)?
Never tried it, but I don’t see why not! It may be a little more watery than making it fresh, but it should still be good.
This just sent me to my happy place ? I had everything I needed, including turkey Italian sausage. I thought for sure I’d miss the noodles, but, no, it’s amazing without!*!*!*! Thank you SO much! Would have rated it for you, but my phone is being quirky.
I am definitely going to make this! But “crumbled sausage” sounds weird to me. I grew up eating Lasagna made with just ground beef.
I like using shredded cabbage when I don’t feel like using regular noodles for spaghetti sauce. Bulks it up a little, tastes kind of like stuffed cabbage minus the rice.
Made this today, and im suprised to say that i dont miss the noodles. Im a big pasta fan, and I can agree it would taste amazing with noodles, it is still AMAZING without them!! 🙂
I made this and had it with asparagus. It was wonderful!
I made this tonight! So good! I did add a layer of cooked broccoli to get in veggies! Love your recipes:)
What do u mean, when u say “pizza sauce” ? How does it look like?
It’s a seasoned tomato sauce used on pizza. Comes in a jar.
This is so simple, yet I have never thought about it. I think I will pre-cook some ground meats on Saturday and divide them up into single serve portions for things like this during the week. I am good at fixing family meals, but seem to struggle with single serve ones. Yes, I think I will make my Saturdays “pre-prep” days!
Either frozen spinach or pepperoni slices, or both added would be good, too.
you could use Spaghetti Squash
What are miracle noodles ?
I have no idea, but they sound miraculous. 😛
Miracle noodles… look them up on Amazon. 🙂 They are made with konjac root flour (completely fibre) also called gluccomanan. They are reminiscent of Asian rice noodles, in my opinion, except for nutritional content! They can also be called Shirataki noodles, but make sure you get the ones with only konjac flour as ingredients.
Oh, my…this looks WONDERFUL. I would not miss the noodles….or the guilt from knowing I am eating them! I definitely could be satisfied with just the meat, sauce, and cheese. I can’t wait to try this…I would never have thought of it! God bless you, sweet friend. 🙂
Kindred spirits <3
I like to make a bread in a bowl, then add sauce and toppings, such as taco, pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, ham n cheese… I just chop and stir it all up. The bread gives it the added dimension of pasta, and makes it more filling.
Great idea!
All the best parts of the lasagna with no guilt. Love it!
This looks super delicious and I’m going to attempt it. It’s hard without the measurements though. I never follow a recipe exactly anyway, but it’s good to have a starting point or at least the ratios… 1 part sausage, 2 parts cheese, etc. This is one problem I have with the THM book, often skeleton recipes with suggestions. I don’t mean to sound negative. It’s just an extra cooking challenge. It usually ends up tasting good, but I’m not a great judge of appropriate serving sizes. I’m learning to listen to my body, but guidelines are helpful.
Understood, and that’s why pretty much all of my recipes contain measurements. I happen to be one of those people who doesn’t measure unless she has to, so it’s quite annoying sometimes to have to measure when I’m making something for my blog. 😛 Sometimes on super easy recipes, I allow myself the freedom to just cook without measurements, and that’s where this recipe falls.
Well, that really sucks for those of us that hate to cook and have no idea about measurements. I’m trying to get started on a low carb meal plan, and this sounded delicious, but having never made any type of lasagna before, I have no idea what to measure out so that it tastes good, and I won’t waste money on ingredients if I don’t know what I’m doing. So in other words, Thanks. For. Nothing.
This also means I won’t look through any other of your recipes or blog posts, as I don’t want to waste my time.
Oh my! That is not very nice. Ouch!
I hate to say it but I agree. It came off very snide and left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Sometimes on super easy recipes, I allow myself the freedom to just cook without measurements, ”
Good for you. But I assume you want others besides yourself to make the recipes? We all aren’t you. And if it’s such a hassle, why bother?
Y’all cant throw meat, cheese, sauce, and a little ricotta mixture in a bowl in the microwave? It’s barely even cooking. If you make it and it needs more meat, add some? More cheese, toss it on? It’s not like you can ruin this and need to throw it out.
Roll with the punches, learn what you like and go in that direction. Have fun with it. Geez.
Thanks again for another delicious-sounding dish! BUT. I AM a noodle lover, so to me, this is leaving out a VERY important ingredient! I am planning to make this, adding some Miracle Noodles (0 carb, 0 fat)! That should take care of my noodle fix!
I’m definitely blessed to not be a pasta fan…makes my life easier. 😉 Sounds like you have a great idea there, adding a noodle replacement.
This will be delicious with zuchinni noodles or sliced ( long ways) zuchinni. My hubby and I both love it, but I do use a spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce and hamburger instead of sausage.
Where can I find these miracle noodles?
they sell them at walmart! 🙂 or online too
Thanks! I’ve been looking everywhere for these things, but obviously not Wal-mart. Can you narrow it down to what section? Dairy maybe…
All the Walmarts I have been to carry them near the produce section, usually close to where they keep the tofu. Good luck, hope you find (or have already found!) them!
Amazon
The noodle question, for me the noodles would be noticeably missing. I guess I am a pasta girl. Now I think would enjoy this even though!
You can always add a low carb noodle replacement of some sort…I think I’m blessed to not be a pasta fan…lol
You might want to try shredding some zucchini in the place of your noodles. They are really watery, so you can sprinkle some salt on them and put them in a colander to let the water drain out, or just cook them quickly in the microwave for just a few minutes on a bacon dish so that the water is able to drain away
I also found out that you can bake the zucchini to get the water out. I think this would be much better than either microwaving them or using salt. I am going to try it the next time I make this. Yum
I am going to make this recipe this week for the first time (so excited:) I think I am going to put spaghetti squash on the bottom to replace the noodles. My husband, who loves pasta, actually likes the spaghetti squash better.