PALEO CROCK POT LASAGNA RECIPE

Paleo Crock Pot Lasagna Recipe image

I got really excited about this recipe because I have all these fresh veggies waiting for me. However, I didn't realize it meant no cheese, no cottage cheese, and turkey in place of sausage. So my paleo is probably not quite right, but I did love this. I will post the recipe as written, but just know that I doctored mine up with a lot of mozzarella, sausage instead of ground turkey, and I threw in a bag of baby spinach too. Plus I skipped the onion and added hot peppers instead. Serving size is estimated. YUM!

Provided by AmyZoe

Time 2h30m

Yield 12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
7 cups tomatoes, diced
1/2 teaspoon raw honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
18 basil leaves, chopped
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 small onion, chopped
1/2 summer squash, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk, divided
1 egg
4 medium zucchini

Steps:

To make the marinara: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the onion and salt and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds more. Add the tomatoes and honey and reduce heat to medium. Let the sauce cook down for about 20 minutes, or until no longer watery and slightly thick. Check seasonings and add more salt, if needed.
To make the meat filling: Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and break apart with a spatula. Cook the turkey for 2 minutes then add the onion, salt, and pepper.
Continue cooking until turkey is cooked through (make sure it has been broken up into small crumbles) and the onion is soft. Remove the pan from heat and toss the fresh basil into the mixture.
To make the paleo cheese sauce: Heat the olive oil to medium in a small saucepan. Add the chopped onion, summer squash, salt, and garlic to the pan and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes until the onion is translucent. Do not brown. Add 1/4 cup of the coconut milk to the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until more than half the liquid is absorbed.
Place the mixture in a blender with the remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk and puree until very smooth. Add the egg and puree until well blended.
To assemble lasagne: Lightly grease the inside of a crock pot. Cover the bottom of the crock pot with about 3/4 cup of the marinara sauce, spreading it out evenly.
Place about 5 zucchini noodles side by side over the marinara sauce. Spoon a layer of the cheese sauce over the zucchini noodles.
Sprinkle about 1/2 heaping cup of meat over the sauce. Spoon about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the marinara sauce evenly over the meat mixture. Repeat this layering process until you have made 5 layers (zucchini, sauce, meat, marinara) ending with the marinara sauce.
Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours remove the lid. Using a turkey baster or a ladle, remove all excess liquid that has pooled in the crock pot (the zucchini will let off quite a bit of liquid) and place it in a shallow frying pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes or until reduced into a thick creamy sauce. Pour the sauce over the top of the lasagna in the crock pot and serve.