Discover the ultimate deep dish keto lasagna recipe, easy to make, perfect for freezing, and deliciously keto and gluten-free.
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Keto Lasagna
Before adopting a keto and gluten-free lifestyle, lasagna was my ultimate comfort food. However, once I transitioned to gluten-free eating, lasagna disappeared from my menu, perhaps due to the challenge of finding a suitable gluten-free noodle or simply not taking the time to look for one.
For years, I missed indulging in a hearty slice of lasagna.
Creating my own keto lasagna recipe took about a year, but it all started with a burst of inspiration from a fantastic cookbook (The Craveable Keto cookbook) — if you don’t have it yet, I highly recommend picking it up.
While this recipe is a bit more time-consuming compared to others I’ve shared, the effort is truly rewarding. Allocate around 90 minutes for preparation—it’s well worth the time.
What are Keto Lasagna Noodles Made Of?
The secret to this lasagna lies in the homemade cheese-based noodles. They provide consistency that is close to regular lasagna noodles and are easy to make. Simply prepare the dough using our modified version of the Fat Head Pizza Dough recipe.
Other keto lasagna recipes use zucchini noodles as well, but I find that they don’t give the right overall consistency. There are a ton of options out there as well. I personally think the cheese-based ones have the closest consistency to regular lasagna noodles.
How to Make This Keto Lasagna Recipe
We won’t walk through the whole recipe, but I’ll give you some tips!
First, you might be thinking – how in the world can a cheese-based product double as a noodle? I definitely asked myself that same question.
I took my pizza crust recipe, which was based on the Fat Head Pizza Dough recipe, and modified it to make the noodles. First, the flour had to go. I mean, we don’t want a crust, we want a noddle! A few other tweaks and this beauty was born!
This is what the keto meat lasagna “noodle” layers will look like before it is cooked.
Once cooked, you simply slice this into pieces that you will then use to layer the lasagna.
Now, in the recipe, when I mention cutting these noodle layers into an 8×8 and 8×4, you simply need to make one cut (below right), unless it is too big, in which case you need to trim off the end (below left).
Additionally, you might have to trim the edges a bit more as you try to place it in the dish!
Now let’s take a peek at assembling each layer. I went old school and modeled this after our family lasagna recipe!
The first layer is the noodle:
Next comes ricotta cheese. It is SO easy to spread:
Third, we put the meat sauce:
And finally comes the Mozzarella cheese. Now we repeat these steps (mostly) 3 more times. The final layer is a bit different, but the instructions below will explain that!
Just about ready to take out of the oven. Perfectly baked. 20 minutes at 350 and 10 minutes at 375.
RELATED – How to Eat Keto When Your Family Doesn’t (Hint – IT IS EASY)
Can You Prepare This Keto Meat Lasagna Ahead of Time?
You can absolutely make this keto lasagna recipe ahead of time. The best part? After you prepare it ahead of time, you can freeze it for later. It’s a great option for busy weeknights when you want a hassle-free dinner.
Do You Need to Cover Lasagna When Baking It?
The answer to whether or not you need to cover keto lasagna when baking is – that depends. You do not need to cover this keto lasagna recipe while baking since the initial temperature is only 350 and it is only at 375 for a short time.
Now, if you were to prepare the lasagna ahead of time and not cook it, then you’ll need to cook it much longer in which case I’d probably cover it for 35-40 minutes at 350 and then uncover it for 10 minutes at 375.
Kitchen Essentials
Baking Dish You will need a deeper 8×8 baking dish! Glass or ceramic will do just fine. If it is not a deep dish, no worries, just set the dish on a baking sheet in case it spills over while baking! This type of baking dish will work just fine too, just set it on a tray!
Baking Sheet Any old baking sheet will do – times TWO!
Parchment Paper – Even though my pictures show the white parchment paper, I have since switched over to the nonbleached parchment paper like this one.
Are you in awe yet? Look how thick this delicious keto lasagna is. The layers and layers and layers!
Keto Marinara Sauce
This sauce can actually be a standalone sauce and is more or less what I use for my keto pizza recipe. A little different (thicker) but the same idea. It works amazing as a marinara sauce, pizza sauce, keto flatbread sauce- you name it!
Pro tip – double or triple the batch and save some!
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Keto Deep Dish Meat Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 14.5 ounce can Rotel
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup – 1 cup water your preference on consistency
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Noodles
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
The Rest
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1 cup ricotta cheese divided
Instructions
Sauce
- Add Rotel, tomato sauce and tomato paste to a food processor. Blend for 15 seconds to get rid of chunks.
- Add tomato mixture, water, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to a medium sauce pan.
- Mix well and simmer for 15-20 minutes (or however long you want/need).
- Set aside when done
Noodles
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 13×9 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Melt Mozzarella cheese and cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl.
- In a small bowl, add eggs and Italian seasoning. Beat with a fork.
- Add egg mixture to cheese mixture.
- With CLEAN hands, continually squish the dough between your fingers until WELL blended. Don’t worry – it will get there!
- Split dough into 2 equal parts.
- On each prepared baking sheet, spread mixture out to approximately 12×8. Meaning, you don’t need to go all the way to the edges.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Let cool for about 10 minute and then cut each sheet into 8×8 and 8×4 chunks. So you’ll just make one cut around the 4 inch mark and that will make the 2 perfect size sheets. You may end up trimming the edges when it is time to put it in the baking dish. I always do!
- Set aside when done.
Meat Mixture
- In a large pan, combine the ground beef, ground sausage, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook over medium-high heat until meat is fully cooked.
- Drain excess grease and add 2 cups (not the whole batch) of marinara sauce to the pan with meat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Save the remaining sauce.
Putting it all together
- Spray a deep dish 8×8 baking dish with Avocado oil or olive oil.
- Place the first noodle in the dish. Use one of the larger 8×8 pieces.
- On top of the noodle layer, add 1/3 cup ricotta cheese and spread evenly.
- Then layer 1/3 of the meat sauce, followed by 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.
- Next place the 2 noodles that are 8×4 side by side and repeat the exact layers (noodle, ricotta, meat layer, Mozzarella).
- Finally place the remaining noodle, add ricotta and meat sauce.
- Add remaining sauce on top of meat layer.
- Finally top with last 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese.
- Sprinkle with oregano (if desired).
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then raise temperature to 375 and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Trina Krug is a Holistic Nutritionist, Integrative Health Coach and host of the Carbless Conversations Podcast. With a Master’s Degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, her single mission in life is to facilitate self-healing in herself and those around her through awareness, lifestyle shifts and low-carb eating. As a current Doctor of Science student, she continues her studies in functional nutrition.
