Try this lightened spinach quinoa lasagna casserole for a no-hassle, protein-packed dinner that’s sans gluten and filled with so much flavor!
Can we talk about stress for a minute?
Holy man am I feeling it right now. I’m feeling it in my work, in my skin, in my sleep, in my eating…basically in every single crumb of my life. This kind of stress is a bizarre feeling where I have so much going on in my brain that I just can’t keep all my thoughts in a straight line. I’ve already made a bunch of lists – its the first thing I do when I’m feeling stressed. The second thing I usually do is nap. I try and nap it off to see if it will calm me down, but I just haven’t had the time. You see, I think that is part of the problem. I’m not carving out enough time to do non stressful things like nap and get my toes done (which actually really does help!). I’m hoping that my weekend away in Milwaukee with Man Candy will bring me down a few notches. I put way too much pressure on myself to do too much at once and when I am with him it all sort of just goes away…until I land back in Minneapolis on Monday, then it starts all over again 😛
So…cheers to the almost freakin’ weekend, frands! First- let’s talk casserole —> Naked Spinach Quinoa Lasagna Casserole.
Why the word naked, you ask? Whelp- we didn’t use any lasagna noodles however we did use all other classic lasagna ingredients such as marinara, ricotta, and mozzarella….hence naked! We subbed the noodles for quinoa for a gluten free better-for-you grain…er seed. I can’t say enough good things about truRoots’ quinoa. Once you go sprouted you will never go back…just saying. I truly feel like sprouted quinoa cooks and tastes better.
The sauce in this casserole rocks. We lightened up the cheese portion by using part 1% cottage cheese. I went for the full-fat ricotta because the nonfat kind tastes really bad…and that just isn’t the point. My personal opinion. If you don’t mind nonfat ricotta…go for it!
One reason why I love using quinoa in casseroles is because there’s no precooking involved. Ain’t nobody got time to precook quinoa for a casserole…I don’t, anyways.
We decided that this casserole serves about 6 HUNGRY people. That’s what we did the nutrition information breakdown for, anyways.

Spinach Lasagna Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups truRoots Organic Sprouted Quinoa
- 2.5 cups bella mushrooms diced
- 4 cups spinach fresh
- 1/2 medium yellow onion finely diced
Marinara Mixture
- 2 cups organic marinara sauce
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
- 1 cup ricotta cheese full-fat
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
For the Top
- 4 medium tomatoes sliced
- 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and spray your casserole dish with coconut oil cooking spray (be generous!).
- Next, prep veggies by chopping the mushrooms and finely dicing the onions. Place the veggies (including the spinach) into the greased casserole dish.
- Next, add truRoots Whole Grain Sprouted Quinoa into the casserole dish. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together all ingredients for the marinara mixture.
- Add the marinara mixture to the casserole dish. Use a large spoon to mix all ingredients together, making sure everything is (mostly) covered.
- Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove and stir. It will still be a little soupy, but don't worry this is how it's supposed to be! Place back in oven for 30 minutes, covered.
- Remove, add sliced tomatoes and mozzarella to the top and place it back in the oven for 2 minutes.
- Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh basil and a glass of red wine for best results 🙂
Nutrition facts
STORAGE
Refrigerator: Store in an air tight container, such as a glass pyrex, for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Freezer: If you plan to freeze, we suggest baking this in a disposable/aluminum casserole dish. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of cooked, cooled casserole and press out all of the air. Then, wrap the entire casserole in tin foil and place in the freezer. Write the name and date of casserole on the tin foil. To reheat, take the frozen casserole out of the freezer and let thaw in the fridge over night. Either reheat single servings of the casserole in the microwave, or reheat the entire thing in the oven.
PRODUCT FINDER
Looking for a specific truRoots product? Use their product finder feature on truRoots.com!
Casserole Week 2016 is in partnership with truRoots. I was compensated and all opinions are my own. Thank you so much for supporting Fit Foodie Finds and making this website (and my job!) possible! Don’t forget to check out day 1, day 2, day 3, and day 4.
Loooove this casserole! Such great flavors and also great for meal prepping! I like to add a little extra marinara when I reheat the leftovers too. So much yum! Thank you!
This might be my favorite recipe of all time!
what do you think about subbing kale for spinach?
I don’t see why not!
Hi! I’m making several of your recipes today for my sweet best friend who just had a baby! I can’t wait to see how they turned out. For the freezer version of this meal, what re-heating instructions would you suggest? Also, would you suggest waiting to add the sliced tomatoes and cheese at the end after reheating? Thanks!
I would make this in a disposable casserole tin dish! Just cook as is and then freeze. For reheating instructions, let thaw completely and then reheat in the oven at 400ºF for like 20 minutes or until the sauce begins to bubble!
Would it be a good idea to add ground meat in it? like turkey or beef? or would it be overkill?
You could, but it already has SO MUCH protein and flavor!
Made this and then had to forward to friends and family as it’s AMAZING! Even my meat loving-needing husband gave it 5-stars. On to the next casserole tonight 🙂
Going to try this recipe this week! One question, does yhe quinoa have to be cookes before going into casserole dish?
Uncooked!
We made this last night. It was firm enough to cut with a spatula and tasty! We only used 1.5 cp of the broth if that helped with the firmness.
Hey Robin! Thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed <3
I made this yesterday as part of my weekly meal-prep – and it’s so delicious! I substituted mushrooms for zucchini that I chopped up in very little pieces, turned out fantastic. Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper
Yay!!
Hello! I’m a total mushroom hater – do you have any suggestions for mushroom substitutions?
I hate mushrooms too and I swear you can’t even taste them in this! You could either omit or sub another veggie of choice!
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing. I ran out of time and cooked the quinoa first in the broth and then just baked the casserole 20 minutes. Turned out amazing.
So glad your modifications worked!
I failed miserably at this. I don’t know what I did wrong. After an hour it was soupy. I ended up adding more quinoa and cooking for a total of 2 hours. It still was not solid. I wish I knew where I went wrong.
I never liked quinoa before because it always had a dirty taste before, even if I washed it and soaked it, etc. This recipe definitely didn’t taste like dirt. THANKS! I had to switch dishes though when I was adding my spinach and realized my casserole dish wasn’t gonna cut it.
YES!!! This is one of my favorite recipes with quinoa!
A lasagna out of quinoa? Wow! That is a bold innovation. I would try it. Thanks a lot for this amazing recipe.
Just made this recipe and it is AWESOME! It does look a little soupy when finished but sets up nicely before serving. Now I need to get my kiddos to eat quinoa and I’ll be set! Thanks Lee for your great recipes!
College = basically the pinnacle of stress. FEEL YA GIRLFRIEND. But yes, cooking is such a therapeutic practice that I would never ever sacrifice!
How did you get yours to be so solid? We made it but it was very liquidity, not solid like slice in picture.
Did you use sprouted quinoa or normal quinoa?
If using the non sprouted truroots shpuld you reduce the liquid or cook longer? I only have the regular one. Thx
This recipe looks amazing! I will definitely be giving this a try. 🙂
Ok, I *hate* all domestic chores, especially cooking, but there was something about this recipe that told me to MAKE IT. So I did. I even knocked off of work early to get ingredients. And I cooked. For once. OMG. This was AWESOME. Thank you! Even my picky kid liked it. Winning!
OMG. This is the best comment, EVER!
This recipe looks awesome. Quinoa is an amazing grain. Good for you to come up such a great casserole.
Oh stress is the WORST and wreak total havoc on your life! I am all about writing out lists and mani/pedis. They are the BEST and total help me relax, especially when it involves a good massage! I hope you’re able to destress this weekend!