Who else is craving comfort food? 
MMMMM lasagna. Just because I can’t have gluten doesn’t mean I can’t eat some dang good lasagna. All it takes is some tasty sauce and good fillings.
Instead of using noodles, I used my most favoritest squash of all, the kabocha squash.
I grew up eating kabocha squash, and my mom would roast them for me for breakfast (and still do when I visit her). I used to be able to only find them in Asian grocery stores, but I’ve been seeing them more often at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s recently which makes me so happy. You can cook them like you cook butternut squash, but kabocha squash tastes so much better.
They are quite a b*tch to cut open though since the rind is so hard so use some arm muscles to get that sucker split in half.
You can scoop out the seeds with a spoon. They are really good if you want to save them and roast them to snack on.
The hardest part about this recipe is cutting the squash into thin slices. Make sure you have a sharp knife so you don’t hurt yourself. If you have a mandolin, that could work too.
What makes a good lasagna? I think it’s the sauce. I guess many people would say the cheese, but I really love a good meat sauce.
I added a bit of raw cheese to this but you can leave it out and it’ll still turn out delicious. If you want to learn about how to pick out good quality cheese, check out my last post!
The best part about making lasagna is the moment you take it out of the oven and it’s all hot and gooey and happy to see you. The excitement is overwhelming.
Just kidding. We both know the best part is when you are shoveling it in your mouth as soon as it’s cool enough for you to handle. Duh.
Did you know?
Kabocha squash has less than half the carbs of butternut squash for the same amount. It’s also a great source of beta-carotene which means it provides you with vitamin A. You’ll get a good amount of iron and vitamin CÂ too!
Ingredients
- 1/3-1/2 kabocha squash, depending on it size (other squash types will work), remove rind if you don't like the texture
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 26- oz jar tomato sauce (no sugar added)
- 1 6- oz can black olives
- Cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium high heat.
- Once the butter starts sizzling, add garlic and onions and saute until they are soft and translucent.
- Add in the beef and saute until the meat browns slightly.
- Pour in the sauce, stir and heat until it starts bubbling.
- Add in the sliced olives and turn down the heat to medium low.
- Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes. then remove from heat.
- Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, cut out thin slices of kabocha squash, about 1/8 inch thick.
- In a 9x13 baking dish, spoon and spread out a little bit of the meat sauce.
- Lay the kabocha slices in a single layer.
- Sprinkle with cheese if using.
- Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce.
- Repeat steps 10-12 two more times.
- Top off with some more cheese if using.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Take it out, let it cool a bit before serving!
Delicious!