I was craving pesto lasagna, but I was in a hurry and wanted a quick cooking time (it’s hot today! 😃) so I decided on quick pesto lasagna.
A dish that in this quick version is certainly not gourmet cooking, but we really enjoyed it so much that my kids complained because… there was no second serving! 😄
Of course, in this case, the ‘no added salt’ is only half true, I have to say, because I used ready-made pesto (so not low sodium), but this same recipe can easily be made with homemade pesto (and by clicking the link, you can see what a beautiful lasagna you get!).
However, as always, the béchamel is homemade; béchamel is one of those basic recipes that I never buy and never will. For this lasagna, I made light béchamel with the microwave. Therefore, yes, it is a no salt béchamel. 😉
Are you ready? Do you want to make quick pesto lasagna? Come on, let’s start!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 package thin egg lasagna sheets (250 g)
- 150 g pesto
- 250 g ricotta
- 500 g béchamel
- 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- cheese (Edam or similar)
Tools
- Baking Pan non-stick
Steps
Prepare the light béchamel following the procedure I gave you here or if you prefer the butter béchamel, the recipe is here (dose for half a liter of milk). Both made with the microwave and ready in 5 minutes.
👉 Tip: make a fairly soft béchamel since the lasagna sheets are used directly, and a not too dense filling helps with cooking.
Mix the ricotta with the béchamel.
Cut the cheese into cubes or strips or grate it with a coarse grater; you decide how you prefer to use it. In the ingredients, I didn’t give you the amount of cheese because I added it by eye and didn’t remember to weigh it. It could have been about 100 or 150 grams.
👉 The cheese is optional; if you decide not to use it, you will reduce the salt content and still get excellent lasagna that is just a bit lighter and more delicate.
Spread two or three tablespoons of béchamel on the bottom of the baking pan. Also, add a couple of teaspoons of pesto, or a drizzle of oil.
Place the first layer of pasta, spread the béchamel over the pasta quickly leveling it with the back of a spoon, add the pesto by pouring it with a teaspoon… a bit… in spots, i.e., without spreading it, kind of randomly, then for each layer, add a sprinkle of Parmesan and the cheese.
For this baking pan of 4 servings you see in the photo, I used a package of 12 lasagna sheets. As you can see… I had some béchamel left over, because fearing it wouldn’t be enough, perhaps in the first two layers I didn’t use enough… 😅
Continue until the ingredients are used up and finish with béchamel, Parmesan, and cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 428 degrees Fahrenheit (with my oven).
Let the lasagna rest in the baking pan for a few minutes before portioning. 🙂
Enjoy your meal!
UPDATE: I remade this pesto lasagna in a version without cheese (only béchamel and Parmesan), and since we liked it a lot, I decided to put the photos here. 😊
And again… Enjoy your meal!!! 😃
No Salt Tips
Before saying goodbye, as always, I leave you my no salt tips, reminding you that ready-made pesto, whether in a jar or from the deli counter, contains salt like every packaged product. However, achieving these lasagna in a completely no added salt version is possible and not even difficult, it just takes a little more time to prepare the ingredients. It will be sufficient to use:
– a homemade no salt pesto like my basil pesto
– homemade no salt ricotta (or fresh cheese made at home)
– béchamel, which in addition to the two microwave versions can also be made without salt following the classic recipe
– finally, for those who have a bit more time to dedicate to preparation, clicking here you’ll find the homemade egg pasta recipe. 😉
Enjoy!
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Decrease salt gradually, the palate must gradually get used to it and not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my no salt vegetable granule and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that don’t disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid putting the salt shaker on the table!
▫ Allow yourself a break from the rule sometimes. It’s good for the mood and helps perseverance.
If you don’t want or can’t give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes, salting according to your habits.
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In my new WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page and Pinterest, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Exactly what I was looking for! and if you want… subscribe to my Newsletter.
