Keto Lasagna Made with Palmini Pasta

I avoided lasagna for years because of obvious high carb reasons until I discovered palmini pasta! I am so excited to share this low carb lasagna recipe so you can enjoy this comfort food without the guilt again. If you are thinking your family won’t like this…my family liked it, even a very picky teenager ate it without any complaints. This keto lasagna can easily be adapted for a low carb, lower fat lasagna as well. I’ll tell you the adaptations needed throughout the directions in the post.

What is Palmini Pasta?

Palmini pasta is a traditional pasta substitute that works really well for low carb lasagna, made from the hearts of palm. And, by palm, yes, I actually mean palm trees! Hearts of palm are harvested in a way that doesn’t kill the tree. The choice of using hearts of palm pasta instead of traditional pasta for me is to reduce the carbs and insulin spike from a traditional white flour pasta.

How does Palmini taste?

We are really happy with how this lasagna turned out! The taste is a little nutty and actually adds another nice dimension of flavor to a delicious lasagna dish. It’s definitely good enough to use regularly so we can enjoy lasagna without the insulin spike from the white flour traditional pasta.  The palmini is a little more dense than regular pasta, but not so much it feels unnatural for lasagna.

Where can I buy Palmini Pasta?

I was surprised it wasn’t in all of my normal grocery shopping stores, but maybe it will be soon. I found the palmini pasta at Walmart and Publix. You can also conveniently order it online from (affiliate link) Amazon.

How to prepare the hearts of palm pasta for baking

While this doesn’t take a lot of effort, it is very important to ensure the best-tasting lasagna, so don’t skip this – it just takes a little planning ahead.

1. You’ll want to drain the can of pasta and then place it in a bowl of milk for at least 30 minutes.
2. Next, you’ll want to drain again and lay the sheets on paper towels in a single layer to allow to dry.
3. It’s also a good idea to turn the pasta sheets over after a few minutes to help the drying process.
4. Then, the pasta is ready to use for your dish.

How to make Keto Lasagna with Palmini Pasta

While the pasta is soaking and drying, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients. Start by chopping the onion and saute. Add in ground beef or ground turkey, you can use either that you prefer, (nutritional info on ground beef vs ground turkey can be fairly similar). Add the spaghetti or marina sauce to the ground beef or turkey. Next, mix together the ricotta cheese and eggs. For a keto diet, I choose to use full fat or whole milk ricotta cheese, otherwise, I would use reduced-fat ricotta cheese. Now, you are ready to begin to assemble the lasagna for baking. Start with a light coating of your favorite spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan. Next, place a layer of Palmini pasta on top of the sauce. After the pasta is layered, add a layer of the ground beef mixture. You’ll want to spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture on top of the ground beef mix. Next, add a generous layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. The remaining layers will be a repeat of the first layer and then you’ll want to top it off with another layer of pasta, a thin layer of sauce mix, and a generous layer of mozzarella cheese. Next back the lasagna in the oven for 30 min or until it’s bubbling nicely on all sides. Then, turn to broil for about 10 min or when it’s lightly browned. Be sure to watch it carefully, it can go from nothing to burnt in the time it takes to break up a fight between the kids in the next room. It’s best to allow the lasagna to cool for 10-15 min before cutting into portions for serving. I hope you will find this new way of preparing low carb lasagna as delicious as we did. It is a little different but in a good way. The palmini gives it a bit of a nutty taste that gives the lasagna more depth than traditional pasta. Give it a try and let me know how everyone in your house likes it!