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Chipotle Spiked Mexican Lasagna with a twist

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I’ve experimented with a number of different Mexican style lasagnas over the years – some with pasta others with tortillas –  all yummy.

But this time, I wanted to do something different.

The inspiration for this dish came from chipotle – or smoked chili pepper – one of my favourite ingredients.  I was in the mood for something bold, flavourful and comforting (it is fall after all), but without the traditional carbohydrates (the ultimate comfort food).

Although we’ve now completed our grain free experiment, we are still looking to moderate our overall intake of sugar.  One of the things that’s critical to successfully balancing carbohydrate intake is obtaining sufficient amounts of protein and natural fats as a way of ensuring nutrient adequacy and achieving a sense of satiety.  If you go through the day feeling hungry all the time, you will not be happy nor, ultimately, successful.
For this recipe, I chose protein rich tofu as my lasagna ‘noodles’ and…before you run away, you should know that it turned out very well both in texture and taste.  In fact, my husband didn’t even realize that it was tofu in the lasagna until I told him (mind you, he doesn’t usually notice when I get my hair cut either. Nevermind that).
It’s amazing what a few tasty ingredients and seasonings can do.  Hope you enjoy.

 

Chipotle Spiked Mexican Lasagna with a twist
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbs chipotle pepper adobo sauce
  • 1 block extra firm tofu (approximately 500 grams), sliced lengthwise
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and salted
  • 3 red bell pepper, roasted using this method
  • 2 cups black beans, thoroughly rinsed if using canned
  • 1/2 cup chopped green chilies
  • 1/2 chunky salsa
  • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
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Important Notes:

This lasagna has 6 layers.  Depending on how much time you have and your taste preferences, you can pick and choose whatever layers appeal to you – and leave the others behind or modify as desired.
If you are going to do the full Monty, I suggest preparing the roasted bell peppers (according to instructions linked above), ahead of time. Similarly, you can prepare the tofu sheets and zucchini in advance as well, to simplify.
Zucchini is a lovely vegetable and a very nice addition to this lasagna.  However, like most vegetables, zucchini contains a lot of water.  Gently salting the zucchini is helpful in absorbing some of the water and minimizing the issue of pooling water at the bottom of the cooked lasagna.  One technique is to spread sliced zucchini on a kitchen towel or paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt.  After 5 or 10 minutes, you can wrap zucchini with towel to gently squeeze out excess moisture.
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Heat oven to 400 F.
Begin by holding tofu block upright and slicing tofu lengthwise into approximately 1/8″ slices.

 

Place tofu slices on a lightly greased foil lined baking sheet. In a small dish combine adobo sauce and olive oil. Brush mixture onto one side of tofu slices.

Bake tofu for approximately 10 minutes, remove from oven, flip and brush the other side with adobo sauce.  Return tofu to oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove tofu.  Allow to cool slightly and then use tofu sheets to line bottom layer of your lasagna dish (mine is transparent glass below).  You may have to cut/trim slices to size.

Combine cottage cheese and ricotta in a bowl, mixing to combine.  Spread cheese mixture over tofu layer and then add some chopped cilantro over top.

Layer zucchini slices over the cheese.

Combine black beans, green chilies and salsa in a bowl and gently spread over zucchini layer.

Place roasted red peppers and Kalamata olives over black bean layer.

Finally, add grated cheddar cheese over peppers and place lasagna in the oven at 350 F for approximately 45 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the edges of the lasagna are beginning to bubble.
Remove lasagna from oven –

Allow lasagna to cool and settle for 20 minutes before cutting (the waiting is the hardest part…)

Comments

  4. Thank you Amalia – as I look over my blog, I’m realizing that Mexican and Thai are probably our favourite inspirations… so delightfully flavourful.

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  6. tofu pizza… what a brilliant concept! Talk about a healthier version of North American carb rich pizza. I’ll have to investigate further. thanks beautiful Nami!

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  7. Wow, this looks amazing! Thank you Kelly! I am finally catching up on my blog reading. :-)
    I would love this and I am wondering if I could pass this off on my husband, he is not a tofu fan at all. But it seems to be hidden in a bunch of mouthwatering flavors!

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  8. What a huge twist on mexican lasagne! Very creative and tasty looking recipe! I would definitely go with the full Monty. :)

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  9. Ok, this looks amazingly delicious! I love lasagna, but I never thought of mixing it with Mexican food. It’s GENIUS! I love it, what a fabulous idea :)

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  11. I am so going to try this! Using tofu for lasagna is a really cool twist Kelly!!! LOVE IT! In Japan we makes tofu pizza (just put ketchup on top of tofu and put ham and cheese on top) and that’s actually pretty good. I am sure lasagna is 100x better!!

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  17. Eggplant is nice too, isn’t it – you can vary the zucchini and eggplant easily. What I liked about the firm tofu (apart from the protein & chipotle flavour :) is that it has a nice stability that was helpful for cutting and slizing the lasagna.

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  20. Thanks Linda – they did turn out well in the oven – and you know what really helped was adding a bit of olive oil to the adobo – it seemed to crisp them up beautifully without the need to fry.

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  21. aflutter – you’re funny. I buy the kind that I find in the store :) -I do notice a difference between the soft varieties that I use in muffins – moussey indeed; light, delightful – and the tougher ones (firm, extra firm) that I used in this recipe for some strength and resistance.

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  23. Thanks Sissi – i try to mix in a little humour and levity with my preaching – hee-hee…

    Love the idea of tofu and miso for breakfast – mmm….

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  25. I wonder if one of your grocery stores would stock them in a can? I know I can usually find mine with the bottled stuffed peppers and artichokes. You can do a version just with beans and salsa if time is tight. Very tasty even when simplified!

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  29. They provide great stability – particularly for that first layer when it comes to cutting and removing the pieces – they grill up nicely too!

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  31. Put it to you this way, there were – almost – no leftovers and we fought over what remained :)

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  32. Yes, I’ve heard of tofu in place of ricotta but haven’t tried it myself – thanks Laura!

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  34. I must admit to not being the biggest tofu fan but you have definitely swayed me into a lover of it with this recipe! fantastic idea – can’t wait to give it a try!
    have a great afternoon.
    :-) Mandy

    Reply

  35. Tofu as lasagna, eh? Sounds kinda crazy…but also sounds super loveable! Especially with the chipotle adding TONS of flavor!

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  38. I’ve done a version of lasagna where I used eggplant instead of noodles but I’ve never even thought of tofu. That is such a great idea.

    And then you took it even further by brushing it with chipotle chiles in adobo? Genius!

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  39. Kelly,
    please come and cook for me!
    WOW, this looks exquisite.
    I am beginning to get into “chipotle” WOWWWWWWWW>

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  42. Wow…this looks delicious!! How clever to use the tofu! Just looking at the tofu pic I thought it was fried, it looked so crispy! I too carefully balance out my carbs – getting more from complex carbs than pasta and breads. Tho, I can stay away totally :)

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  43. That looks so beautiful – the cottage cheese and ricotta shot with the slices of zucchini is making me all aflutter :D Do you use a specific type/brand of tofu? I find the stuff can be really hit and miss – some types, even if marinaded they just cook dry and retain no flavour and it’s like eating damp cardboard. Other types have an almost “moussey” texture inside the outer cooked layer and they’re amazing.

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  44. Another great recipe to try. Love the Mexican twist along with this low carb/high protein version. Bring it on!
    BTW – made your West African Veggie Stew…. Gorgeous! It was delish – thanks!
    Lynn

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  45. Kelly, the last bit about your husband is hilarious :-)
    Frankly I love tofu, I have it every other day for my breakfast in miso soup and it’s the best nourishing breakfast I can imagine.
    I would have never thought of putting it instead if lasagna sheets. Although I often “cheat”, substituting half of the lasagna sheets with courgettes… I must test your recipe on my husband ;-) Your lasagna looks really fantastic!
    Do you know aji panca? It’s a Peruvian pepper with a very pelasant, slightly smoky aroma. I make lots of strawberry hot sauces with it in the Summer.

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  46. Now this looks fabulous! I wonder if I could trick Mike into eating tofu. Miss A and I are both fans. :) This does look like a great comfort meal and one that’s easy on the waist line. I’ll put this on our menu next week and let you know how it goes.

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  47. Wow, what a great idea! I love chipotle peppers in adobe but can never find them in the markets in nyc when I need them. I should stock up on some when i see them. I will def give this recipe a try when I have enough time to prepare it. Looks delicious!

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  50. Loved the “before you run away”…. Indeed, if I was to bring tofu home, I’d have to hide it in the fridge. No way my beloved would welcome it with open arms… I only used tofu once, in a spread, a low fat derivative of the spinach artichoke mayo spread. It was great,by the way – recipe from 101 Cookbooks site

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  51. I do like the smokiness of chipotle peppers. Very creative lasagna – using tofu as the noodles. I’ve seen tofu used in place of the ricotta before, but not for the noodles.

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  52. I’m totally loving the mexican twist on this delicious and healthy-looking lasagna!

    Reply

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