Lasagna is one of the most popular Italian dishes out there, with its delicious combination of meat, cheese, tomato sauce, and pasta, all layered together, it makes for an incredibly hearty meal that’s also satisfying, and is often a shared dish amongst families.
With lasagna being so heavy on cheese, meat, and pasta, it’s safe to say it’s not a dish that will be low in calories. So if you’re looking to understand more about the calories in your favorite dishes to make more informed decisions, this guide is here to help.
We’ll provide all of the information about the calories found in lasagna, as well as some of the other nutritional information of lasagna, all of which will help you to adjust your diet.
What Ingredients Are Found In Lasagna?
Lasagna is a dish that many people will be familiar with, however, before we can take a look at the calories found in lasagna, as well as the other nutritional information surrounding it, we need to outline exactly what ingredients are found in lasagna first so that you can get a better understanding of what you’re eating.
This classic Italian dish is known for its layers, which consist of pasta sheets, meat (typically beef mince) in a tomato sauce, white béchemal sauce, and grated cheese on the top.
The pasta sheets are thin sheets of pasta that get cooked inside the lasagna. While the meat in sauce typically consists of beef mince, with diced white onions, minced garlic, tomato sauce, and depending on the recipe, red wine.
The béchemal sauce is made using flour, butter, milk, and grated cheese, and is used to help hold the lasagna together, and to help provide that cheesy taste throughout, in conjunction with the layer of grated cheese on top which helps to provide that crisp outer layer once cooked.
It is worth noting that there are often a lot of variations upon this traditional base, which can include various vegetables, such as carrots, sweet peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, or spinach.
Different adaptations of lasagna can also include different meats too, with turkey or chicken mince being common replacements for the beef, as well as vegetarian or vegan mince replacements for those looking to cut out meat altogether.
For the sake of this guide, we’ll stick to evaluating the nutritional information of the traditional lasagna recipe, which should provide you with a rough guide on what calories can be found in this dish, but just be aware that it might fluctuate depending on the ingredients used.
How Many Calories Are There In The Average Lasagna Dish?
As previously mentioned, the actual number of calories found in a lasagna can vary on many different factors, especially things such as the recipe, but also the portion size too.
The typical serving of homemade lasagna is a roughly 3-inch square piece, and will contain somewhere between 350 and 400 calories per 100 grams.
This amount of calories is perfectly reasonable and is just a small amount of the calories you should intake throughout your day, so never feel guilty about enjoying a delicious slice of lasagna along with your dinner.
The calorie count might rise if your lasagna is store-bought, however. This is because they will typically contain additional preservatives, fats, and oils to help the food keep for longer than it usually would.
Most store-bought items will have the calorific content of the item listed on the packaging, so always check before you buy it.
Vegetarian dishes, which remove the meat from the dish and replace it with vegetables or meat substitutes may have lower calorie counts too, which is something to consider if you’re looking to enjoy a low-calorie lasagna.
If you’re ever struggling to guess the calorific content of your lasagna, then the recipe you use will most likely include the calories per serving as a part of the recipe, so keep an eye out for any information you might be able to find.
Nutritional Information Of Lasagna
If you’re wondering about the other aspects of lasagna’s nutritional information, then this section will help you to understand what sort of nutrients you can expect to find in your lasagna.
Again, this all depends on the ingredients used in the lasagna, as well as the size of the portion you eat, but it should serve you well as a basic guideline to estimating what you can find in your lasagna.
For a 3-inch square piece of lasagna, you can expect to find: 13 to 15 grams of protein, 20 to 25 grams of carbohydrates, 12 to 15 grams of fat, 2 to 3 grams of fiber, and 400 to 500 milligrams of sodium.
This can vary depending on whether you decide to eat homemade lasagna, or a pre-made lasagna bought from a store, so always check the nutritional information on the recipe or packaging for the exact details of the lasagna you’re eating.
How To Reduce Calories In Lasagna
If you think your lasagna recipe contains too many calories, then there are a couple of different ways you can help to reduce the overall amount of calories.
The first way is to use leaner meat. Leaner mince meat contains less fat, and therefore fewer calories, so try to opt for lean ground beef over high-fat options such as turkey or pork.
Another thing that will help to reduce the calories is to cut back on the amount of cheese. While it is a vital part of any lasagna, you can always use reduced-fat or lighter cheeses to help cut back on the calories.
Hopefully, with these two steps, you’ll be able to make your lasagna even healthier than before!
Final Thoughts
We hope you’ve found this guide to the calorific content of lasagna helpful.
Just remember, it’s important to eat the right amount of calories per day, and if you feel like you’re struggling with eating too many or too few calories, consult a professional nutritionist!
One of the most common things I talk to my clients about is calories, but so few of them actually know anything about them.
Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.
We need calories to live and thrive, and knowing how many to consume is important to ensure that you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
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