I have seen many recipes for these floating around Pinterest, so decided to have a go at making my own, as I thought they would be great for my kids too. These are delicious with a side salad. I love how the pasta really crisps up around the edges.

Mini Lasagne Cups

Slimming Eats Recipe

serves 4 (3 mini lasagna’s per person)

Extra Easy – 1 HEa and 1 syn per serving

Green – 1 HEa and 1 syn per serving (when replacing the beef for quorn or lentils)

Ingredients

• 400g of extra lean beef mince (or you can use quorn or green/brown lentils for a veggie option)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 200g of diced butternut squash
• 4 mushrooms, finely chopped
• fresh herbs (I used a mixture of rosemary, oregano and thyme)
• 2 cups (480ml) of passata
• 1 cup (240ml) of beef stock
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• Frylight/Pam Spray
• 45g of mozzarella cheese (1 HEa)
• 30g of parmesan cheese  (1 HEa)
• 12 flat lasagne sheets (I used whole wheat) *see note
• salt and black pepper

for the cheese sauce:

• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (3.5 syns)
• 250 ml of semi skimmed milk (1 HEa)
• 28g of parmesan cheese (1 HEa)
• salt and black pepper for seasoning

NOTE: choose a lasagne sheet that will make 2 squares when cut in half, if possible

 

Method

Spray a frying pan with some Frylight or Pam spray and add the onions, garlic and carrot and fry for about 5 mins

Add the beef mince and cook till browned.

Add the mushrooms, butternut squash, passata, stock, chilli powder, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar and then your fresh herbs. Cover with some greaseproof paper and cook for approx 1 hour over a gentle heat on the hob.

When the meat mixture has almost finished it’s cooking time you can make  the cheese sauce, Mix the cornstarch with a little of the milk and add to the rest of the milk in a small saucepan over a low heat, constantly stirring until it comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the 28g of parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 180c or 350f (gas mark 4)

In the meantime bring a large saucepan water to a boil and add the lasagne sheets and  cooked until softened. Now comes the tricky part.

Mix your mozzarella and remaining parmesan together in a bowl.

Using a muffin tray, spray with a little frylight or Pam spray. Cut you lasagne sheets in half, so you have 24 squares. Place one half of top of another half so that you have a kind of star shape. Place this carefully in one muffin space and spoon in some of your meat mixture. Top with a little of the cheese sauce and your grated cheese. Repeat for the other 11 spaces. Your mini lasagna’s  will look like this.

Place in the oven and bake until lasagna sheets have crisped up and cheese on top is melted (approx 15-20mins).

Serve with a side salad or your choice of veggies and Enjoy!!

Filed under: beef, below 2 syns, Extra Easy, Green, lunch, main course, pasta, snacks