As I’m sure you all can guess by how often I post about them, Mexican and Italian are two of my favorite cuisines. I’m always looking for ways to combine them and Mexican lasagna has been on my “to do” list for quite a while. It got me thinking about the Lasagna Rolls I made back when my blog was still new and after remembering how fun it was to have your own personal rolled up lasagna, these were inevitable. I really wanted a creamy filling and tomato-based sauce to mimic traditional lasagna, but with Mexican flavors and ingredients for a fun twist. These Mexican Lasagna Roll-Ups turned out perfect! The beans and chicken make them hearty enough to satisfy and the sweet bites of corn and spiciness from the chili powder in the sauce is a great flavor combination. You could also easily make these vegetarian by leaving out the chicken and doubling the corn and beans or adding other vegetables if desired.
These turn out pretty enough to impress company (I love the “ruffled” look the rolls get on the sides) and they’re so tasty you’re sure to get compliments. Plus, for only 271 calories or 7 Green, 6 Blue or 4 Purple myWW Weight Watchers SmartPoints, you can indulge in all the flavors you crave and still have room in your calorie budget for dessert. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here! Don’t forget to check out my Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken post- the perfect way to make shredded chicken for this recipe!
Filled with hearty beans and chicken, sweet bites of corn, and spiciness from the chili powder in the sauce for a tasty cuisine mashup!
Yield: 8lasagna roll-ups
Ingredients
8uncooked lasagna noodles
8oz1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
½cupfat free plain Greek yogurt
6teaspoonschili powder, divided
2teaspoonscumin, divided
1 ½teaspoonsgarlic powder, divided
1teaspoononion powder
1cupshredded cooked chicken breast
½cupcanned black beans, drained and rinsed
½cupcorn kernels, fresh or frozen and defrosted
15ozcan crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, if you can only find diced fire-roasted tomatoes, don’t fret! You can pour them in a bowl and break them down in a few seconds using an immersion blender like I did or just toss them in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to smooth them out a bit
8ozcan tomato sauce
1teaspoonsalt
2teaspoonsdried oregano
2oz50% reduced fat sharp cheddar, shredded (I used Cabot 50% sharp)
Optional: sliced scallions for garnish if desired
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Set aside a 9x13 baking dish.
Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Rinse, drain and lay out to dry individually on parchment paper.
While the water is boiling for step one, combine the cream cheese and yogurt in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Add 3 teaspoons of the chili powder, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, ½ teaspoon of the garlic powder and the 1 teaspoon of onion powder and mix well. Mix in the shredded chicken, black beans and corn and stir until combined. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the crushed fire-roasted tomatoes and tomato sauce with the remaining 3 teaspoons of chili powder, teaspoon of cumin, teaspoon of garlic powder, salt and oregano and stir together. Set aside.
When the noodles are no longer wet and are cooled enough for you to touch them, spoon 1/3 cup of chicken filling from the first mixing bowl onto each noodle and spread evenly down the middle of the noodle. Starting with one end, roll each noodle over the filling until it forms a complete roll.
Spread about ¾ cup of the tomato sauce from the second mixing bowl across the bottom of the baking dish from step 1. Place each of the 8 lasagna rolls seam-side down on top of the sauce in the dish. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the top of the lasagna rolls and sprinkle the shredded cheddar over the tops. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes until heated through.
Notes
To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!Nutrition Information:271 calories, 31 g carbs, 5 g sugars, 9 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 17 g protein, 4 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)MyWW SmartPoints per (1 lasagna roll) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 7 SmartPoints/ Blue: 6 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPoints (if using wheat noodles, if not then use the Blue points)Weight Watchers Points Plus: 7 per roll (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)