Butternut Squash Lasagna

Craving lasagna? Here’s a completely healthy, Paleo-approved recipe featuring thin slices of butternut squash as noodles and plenty of the really good stuff: tomatoes and beef with lots of garlic, basil, and oregano for flavor. If you do dairy (not everyone tolerates it), you could also add some cheese, but it’s just as delicious without.

If you want some extra vegetables in the mix, you can also feel free to toss in whatever else you feel like adding. Lasagna is brilliant at hiding spinach, mushrooms, or anything else the picky eaters in your family might have declared to be “icky.” And while you’re at it, you could very easily throw a little liver in there too; just blend it up into a puree in a food processor and mix it with the other ingredients. Nobody will ever taste the difference!

Like all good lasagnas, this one freezes well and reheats like a champion. If you wanted to really get proactive about it, you could even cook it in four single-serving tinfoil or glass pans. Then pull out each pan and pop straight into the freezer for easy, delicious Paleo comfort food ready whenever you need it.

Butternut Squash Lasagna Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 15 min. COOK: 45 min.

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Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. ground beef;
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into thin slices;
• 4 cups tomato sauce;
• 4 oz. tomato paste;
• 1 onion, minced;
• 3 garlic cloves, minced;
• 1 tsp. dried basil;
• 1 tsp. dried oregano;
• Cooking fat;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 400 F.
2. Melt some cooking fat and  sauté the onion and the garlic until softened, about 5 minutes, in a skillet or a saucepan placed over medium-high heat.
3. Add the beef and cook until browned, about 6 minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat down to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. To prepare the lasagna: alternate layers of butternut squash slices with layers of the meat sauce in a baking dish. Keep making layers until you’ve used all of the ingredients.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes (or until the squash is soft) in the preheated oven.