Three Easy Homemade Lasagnas
I’m so excited to share a simple and delicious method for cooking not one, not two, but three LARGE lasagnas at once! Does it sound intimidating, messy and time-consuming?! Yes, it does, BUT, it’s NOT!
Out of the three lasagnas that I made, I fully baked one and served it for dinner on the same day, with left-overs for the next day, and froze the remaining two. A few weeks later, we hosted our family for dinner, which meant we needed to make enough food for six adults, three babies and two toddlers. Rather than stress about what to make and devote the whole day to cooking, I knew I would thaw one of the lasagnas the day before and bake it for dinner the next day. On the day of the event, I spent the morning with my family, went for a spin workout, bought groceries for the week and came home to make dinner. It was pretty late in the afternoon by then, and dinner prepping hadn’t even started! So what did I do?…I transferred the lasagna from the fridge into the oven and baked it for an hour and a bit. All I had left to do was set the table and make a salad while the lasagna baked. And just like that, my dinner was done! Everyone enjoyed the meal and were surprised to learn it was made weeks ago and thawed from frozen. I’m therefore excited to share with you how to have a great meal ready to go the next time you host a large group!
Try it out yourself and be sure to share your pictures online, tagging @prepupbymarina
**Disclaimer: It does get a little messy!
PrepUpbyMarina method: Time: 2.5 hrs.
Yield 3 lasagnas (8 servings each).
TIP #1: Timesaving tip: you can substitute the uncooked lasagna noodles with oven-ready ones. I personally find the flavour and texture much better when I use uncooked noodles, but it is about a 30 minute time commitment to boil the large quantity of noodles and lay them out to dry.
TIP #2: If you want to freeze smaller portions, rather than the whole large lasagna as one meal, let the lasagna cool on your counter, then cut it into squares and place the squares on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to freezer for 4 hours or overnight. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap a couple of times, transfer to a ziplock bag, letting out as much air as possible. Label and date and freeze for up to 1 month.
Grocery Items/Pantry Items:**Pull these items out on your counter**
9” x 13” or 9” x 9” baking dish x3
36 uncooked wholewheat lasagna pasta noodles
12 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1.5 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 kitchen towels spread out on available table/counter space
Meat Sauce:
1350g organic lean ground beef (I use the lean ground beef from Costco, 2/3 packets)
3 onions
6 garlic cloves
880 ml x 3 Pasta Sauce (I love Simply Natural Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce from Costco)
398 ml organic tomato sauce
156 ml tomato paste
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 fresh sprigs of Thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme)
salt
Ricotta Filling:
6 cups of Ricotta cheese
3/4 cup fresh parsley
3 eggs
1.5 cup parmesan cheese
4.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Fill 2 large pots with water and bring to boil over high heat. Add lasagna noodles and cook al dente as per package instructions (~8 mins).
While waiting for noodles to cook, chop your onions and mince garlic and set aside.
When noodles are finished cooking, drain completely and drizzle some olive oil over them. Use your hands to coat them to prevent sticking. Lay them out on your kitchen towels to wait until you’re ready to assemble the lasagnas.
In a large pot, brown onion, garlic and beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
Stir in pasta sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, thyme. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and add salt to taste. Remove from heat.
Heat oven to 350°F.
While sauce is simmering, make Ricotta filling by combining Ricotta cheese, 4.5 cups mozzarella, 1.5 cup parmesan, parsley and eggs. I use my hands to mix it all in.
Layer the lasagna:
Lay out your 3 dishes so they’re ready for assembly. If baking one lasagna, layer it first so it’s ready for the oven and while it’s baking you assemble the remaining 2.
To each dish, add 1 cup meat sauce to the bottom of the dish. Layer 3 noodles, 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup cheese mixture (depending on how cheesy you like your lasagna), 1 cup meat sauce and repeat once or twice more depending on how deep your dish is and how many layers you’d like. Finish with 3 noodles topped with meat sauce and sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
While the 1st lasagna is baking, I assemble the remaining 2 on my stovetop like this.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover, and bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbly. You can also broil for 2-3 minutes if you want extra crisp top.
Let it cool 15 minutes before serving.
Freezing Instructions: To freeze unbaked lasagna, let meat sauce cool completely and cover in 2 layers of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of tinfoil. Label and date, and freeze for up to 4 months.
To Cook From Frozen: Take lasagna out of the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Set out on counter for ~30 minutes and bake at 350°F for about 55 mins. Larger lasagnas take longer to bake so take it out at about 50 minute mark and test the inside to see if it’s heated through.
Important: don’t forget to remove the plastic wrap before placing in oven!
Enjoy!
