Turkish-Inspired Lasagne Bake
A flavourful twist on traditional lasagne with Turkish-inspired spices and a yoghurt topping.
Servings 4 serves
Ingredients
- 250 g lasagna noodles
- 2 cups plain Greek yoghurt
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ cup frozen spinach thawed and well-squeezed
- 500 g extra lean beef mince
- 1 brown onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp each cumin paprika, and oregano
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 250 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Boil noodles until al dente, drain, and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine yoghurt, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, and spinach. Stir until smooth.
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft (~3–4 min), add beef and cook until browned. Stir in cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and tomatoes; cook 5 min, then remove from heat.
- In a baking dish, layer: thin yoghurt mixture → noodles → beef-tomato mixture → yoghurt-spinach filling. Repeat, ending with yoghurt on top.
- Melt butter with olive oil in a small pan, add chilli flakes, swirl 30–60 sec on low, and drizzle over the lasagna.
- Bake 30–35 min until golden and set. Cool 5–10 min before slicing.
Notes
UPF-Friendly Swaps
To keep this recipe closer to minimally processed foods, choose:
- Lasagna noodles: Choose dried pasta made with simple ingredients such as durum wheat semolina and water.
- Plain Greek yoghurt: Choose plain, unsweetened Greek yoghurt with minimal ingredients, ideally just milk and live cultures.
- Butter: Choose plain unsalted butter made from cream, without added oils or spreads.