Keto Lasagna that tastes like the real deal without the carbs! The ‘noodles’ are actually layers of deli meat, making this low carb lasagna super easy to assemble, protein rich, and very filling.
Lasagna. It’s a whole thing.
People FIGHT over lasagna…everyone has their special family recipe and how dare someone make it the WRONG way?!
Well, I’m going to risk your Italian grandma shouting at me here, because I just can’t not share this keto lasagna with you!
No noodles in this guy! Instead, we’re using deli meat…sounds strange, but just trust me! And trust the reviews on this one…
“This was SO SO good!! My mother in law (of Italian descent) makes a killer lasagna and it’s an event in our house when she makes it. I made this tonight and was so impressed, thinking there was no way I could have a delicious low carb lasagna. I will be making this over and over again! My husband (who has been eating his moms lasagna all his life) had a second helping! And its sooo easy! Thank you!!!!” – Emily
I saw the idea for using deli meat in one of the many Facebook groups I’m in, so I can’t take credit for this genius idea. The recipe itself is one I created, but the idea to use deli meat came from someone more clever than me. 😉
Speaking of Facebook groups, have you joined mine yet? Everyone is so kind and supportive and there’s so many recipes shared each day. Join here!
The true test: What did my picky husband and kids think?
They LOVED this low carb lasagna!
My son didn’t realize he wasn’t eating regular lasagna, but my husband and daughter knew something different was going on. They all said it tasted amazing and would 100% eat it again. This dish is now on rotation in our house!
Ingredient Notes:
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Ground Beef – We grew up with lasagna featuring beef. You can use half Italian sausage or ground pork, if you prefer.
Keto Marinara Sauce – Any thick, sugar free marinara will work nicely but I use and recommend Rao’s Marinara Sauce. It’s not the cheapest marinara, but it’s for sure the best!
Keto Lasagna Noodles – What could be simpler than using deli chicken (or turkey!) in place of lasagna noodles? The deli meat doesn’t add a ton of flavor and it holds together pretty well in this low carb lasagna recipe. There will be a bit more liquid in your lasagna, since the deli meat doesn’t soak it up quite the same as traditional noodles would.
Cheese – We’re using a mixture of ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella.
- All the flavors of a classic lasagna, but without the carbs!
- The deli meat really does separate the sauce layers nicely and has a very neutral flavor, like pasta.
- This one feels like a big pasta dinner without leaving you feeling bloated and gross.
- This one isn’t just for the low carbers – the rest of the family enjoys this one too!
How To Make Keto Lasagna:
- Meat Sauce: Brown your beef and onion in a skillet and stir in the marinara.
- Cheese: Stir together ricotta, Parmesan, egg, garlic, and parsley in a small bowl.
- Assemble: Start layering your keto lasagna, just like you would a traditional lasagna! Begin with a bottom layer of the meat sauce, followed by a layer of the keto lasagna “noodles”, then a layer of the creamy cheese mixture. Sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce, cheese. <—Easy peasy.
- Bake: Now all that’s left is to cover the baking dish with some foil and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. You can then remove the foil and continue baking uncovered for 15 minutes to get that perfect melty cheese topping!
- Serve: Let your keto lasagna set for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. There will be liquid at the bottom of the pan, so you may want to use a slotted spatula to serve. Of course, you can’t have lasagna without a side salad! Top it off with my low carb salad dressing!
FAQs:
This keto lasagna recipe should last for about 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator if well sealed. You can reheat it in the oven like you would a normal lasagna.
I have not tried it myself but some readers have commented that it works! I would just prepare it up to the point of baking and then cover it well and freeze. It should last for at least a couple of months.
Substitutions:
- Use half ground beef and half Italian sausage.
- Both deli turkey and deli chicken work well in this recipe.
- Homemade marinara sauce will be delicious here, if you like to make your own.
- Swap the ricotta for cottage cheese – the carb count is very similar among most brands.
More Low Carb Italian Inspired Recipes:
If you enjoyed this keto lasagna recipe, try out these low carb lasagna stuffed peppers!
My keto chicken Alfredo is a hit with the husband and kids and this keto chicken Parmesan and mozzarella stuffed meatballs both go great with my Italian cauliflower salad.
And if you enjoy easy air fryer recipes then you’ll definitely like these savory Italian sausage stuffed mushrooms or this crustless pizza!
Follow me on social for more recipe ideas & inspiration!
Keto Lasagna
This lasagna skips out on the carb-heavy noodles and uses deli meat instead! So satisfying and filling and it tastes like a traditional lasagna!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ cup minced onion
- 24 ounces marinara sauce, such as Rao’s
- 8 ounces chicken deli meat
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the ground beef to a skillet over medium heat. Crumble the meat as it cooks. Once meat is about halfway through cooking, add the onion and continue cooking until meat is cooked through. Drain grease and return to the pan.
- Add the marinara to the beef and stir to combine. Spoon 1 cup of the meat sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish to coat the bottom.
- Place a single layer of deli meat over the meat sauce.
- Add the ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan, garlic, and parsley to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the deli meat. Top with a ⅓ of the remaining meat sauce. Top with ⅓ of the mozzarella. Repeat layer once.
- Create a third layer of deli meat, meat sauce, and mozzarella.
- Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes.
- Let set 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with additional parsely before serving, if desired.
Notes
The nutrition information is based on 6 servings. This is very hearty and filling and could easily serve 8 with a side salad and some veggies. Macros based on 8 servings would be 382 cal, 25g fat, 31g protein, 6g carbs, 1g fiber, and 5 net carbs.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 509Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 783mgCarbohydrates: 9gNet Carbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 41g
I don’t normal write reviews but this was “THE BOMB”!!!
Can’t wait to make this again.
So glad you enjoyed this one, Jim! Thanks for the review! 🙂
This is soooo good, I was really surprised. Thanks for the recipe.
Haha, very surprising, I know! Glad you gave it a try!
I finally made this last night. Delicious!! I’m not too good with portioning out the cheese so I used a little more mozzarella than the recipe called for, but this is really an easy and delicious recipe. Will definitely be making again.
So glad you enjoyed it, Clare!
Has anyone tried it with sliced roast beef deli meat?
So this turned out great! She’s not the prettiest girl at the ball, but it’s lasagna, it’s not supposed to be pretty. It IS very runny, as expected, but it held together reasonably well in the bowls we used. The flavor was awesome. I did use an extra pound of meat in it with the italian sausage I added (1 pound 80:20 beef an 1 pound bulk italian sausage), and the “noodles” were a little thick, I’ll have to use thinner deli meat next time, but honestly if you hadn’t told me it was not pasta, I wouldn’t have known. I also didn’t have fresh parsley on hand, so I used some dried italian seasoning mix instead, about 2-3 teaspoons (I just gave it a couple good shakes).
Has anyone double batched this and frozen the second pan? I had a 2lb frozen block of ground beef and thinking ahead…
I haven’t tried freezing this one, but hopefully someone else will chime in.
I did a double batch and froze one for several months and it turned out perfect…
Love to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this was super delicious! My teenager and husband also loved it! Yes, a bit watery but the flavor was spot on. Thanks so much!
Thanks, Becky!
Very good. Seemed to have allot of liquid in the pan after cooking. water production? More eggs? Less ricotta?
The marinara sauce seemed to separate when I added it to the ground beef into tomatoes and water.
Perhaps I used too much ricotta? What can I do to cut down on the water production? How do I keep the Marinara from separating ? Should I add more eggs or use less ricotta?
Hi Gregory!
I’d try a different brand of marinara. It shouldn’t separate when cooking with beef.
This is a bit wetter than a traditional lasagna, because the deli meat doesn’t soak up liquid like pasta would.
There is a discrepancy between the carbs on the printed recipe and the nutritional info chart. Would you please clarify which is correct? Thank you in advance . looks tasty!
Hi Vanessa! There is no discrepancy. The notes are including nutrition info for 8 servings and the nutrition label is for 6 servings. We don’t normally include different serving sizes, but we though this was right on the edge, as far as serving sizes go, and could be a little bigger or smaller depending on the meal. 🙂
I really like your site because you make really approachable recipes! They just seem to fit for families. Thank you so much! Looked at a bunch of similar recipes but came back to yours. In the oven now! ❤️
Thanks, Nicole! I love to hear that – that’s my goal for the site!
I totally agree with this. This recipe was simple to follow and turned out fantastic! There weren’t any obscure ingredients that I had to mail off to Bangladesh for. 🙂 Yours is one of the few sites that is great for folks that don’t have a lot extra to spend.
Thanks so much, Ron! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes! 🙂
Have you tried heart of palm lasagna sheets omg so good
I’ve been wanting to try those, but haven’t yet. Glad to hear they’re good!
Is there any reason why you cook on a hot plate??
Yep! I don’t have studio lighting in my kitchen and I don’t have a regular cooktop in my studio. 🙂
This was SO SO good!! My mother in law (of Italian descent) makes a killer lasagna and it’s an event in our house when she makes it. I made this tonight and was so impressed, thinking there was no way I could have a delicious low carb lasagna. I will be making this over and over again! My husband (who has been eating his moms lasagna all his life) had a second helping! And its sooo easy! Thank you!!!!
Yay!! I love that this was a hit!
This idea just BLEW MY MIND, I am sooooooo excited to make this for dinner tomorrow for the family. I think this has just solved my non lasagne eating keto life!
Hope you love it!!
So many of the Keto recipes seem to use ingredients that are high in sodium (i.e. deli meats). Would love to see that kept to a minimum along with lowering the carbs.
Keto tends to have a diuretic effect, so keeping your electrolytes in balance can be important. Many people on keto eat a higher level of sodium than those not on keto. If that doesn’t work for you, you can always use lower sodium products. 🙂
This is so strange, working on making up my meat for lasagna tonight plan on making it tomorrow using cauli rice. I don’t have any deli sliced chicken so unable to try this but pinned it so I can try it in the future. Might just freeze some of the cheese to save for making it with sliced deli chicken. Great minds . . .
Could keto pizza dough be used in the place of the deli turkey/chicken slices?
Assuming you mean fathead dough? It could work, but you’ll want to roll it very thin. I’m not sure if you’d need to bake it first…I haven’t tried it myself, but my gut says you’d want to parbake it.
My plan was to pre-bake for about 5-6 min. I just needed someone to say, why not, give it a try. haha If after step one it doesn’t look just right I will make a chicken pizza with the deli meat and sauce. Win/win.
Check out kirbiescravings
He has a cheese noodle base for his lasagna that is very good.
What is Fathead dough? I can’t find any!
Also, can you make this ahead and bake it later?? I can’t wait to try it!!
It’s the recipe for the dough in this pizza: https://thatlowcarblife.com/fathead-pizza/
I think this would be fine to make ahead and then bake later. 🙂
Awesome!! Thank you! Lasagna for dinner tomorrow!
Hope you love it!
Made it last night – delicious!!! We loved it and will make it again!!
i’m just beginning keto. i am absolutely loving your recipes. thanx Karly
Funny that I saw this today…planning to make my low carb zucchini lasagna (long slices of zucchini instead of lasagna noodles), but maybe I’ll try part of it with deli meat…just happen to have some in the fridge! I love so many of your recipes…thank you!
I’ll be curious to hear how you like it compared to zucchini! Please come back to let us know! 🙂
Just curious, did you use presliced or have the deli cut the chicken?
I always get my deli meat from the deli, but I see no reason the pre-packaged kind wouldn’t work. 🙂
I believe this is where the inspiration originates!
https://mariamindbodyhealth.com/protein-noodle-lasagna/
Oh that could be! I’ve just seen people in groups trying it and thought they were all so smart! Haha!