lasagna Archives - Amanda is Hungry

Holidays were easy in terms of food preparation requirements this year. Each person was instructed to bring an item to share so really each person only had to make one thing! I’m an overachiever that likes leftovers so I made 3.25. I will take credit for 1/4 of this lasagna for contributing to the sauce and being an assembler during layering. This lasagna is saucy from the homemade tomato sauce and ricotta spread, has a good cheese pull from layers of extra cheese, and crispy edges so the center will satisfy your soft-lasagna people and the edges will satisfy your crispy-lasagna people.

We made two lasagnas. The first lasagna was a “classic” spicy Italian sauce and the second lasagna was a vegetarian one with mushroom as our filling. Depending on the size of your dish, you may need to break some of your lasagna noodles. If you use a 9 x 13 dish, you will not need to break any noodles!

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce – use your favorite but I like to make my own by further reducing my Tomato Basil Soup.

Protein – I would suggest a spicy Italian sausage for this if you’d like some meat, but it’s also really delicious with a variety of mushrooms (morel, button, chanterelle) and if you’re feeling adventurous, some olives!

Cheese – I like using a combination of mozzarella, monterey jack, and parmesan.

Lasagna

Print Recipe

Cheesy, saucy lasagna with a gooey center and crispy edges to satisfy any lasagna lover.

Course Main Course

Keyword lasagna, pasta

Cook Time 45

Equipment

9×13 baking dish

Ingredients

32 ounces tomato sauce
16 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
8 ounces monterey jack cheese shredded
8 ounces Parmesan cheese shredded
9 sheets lasagna noodles
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb Italian sausage cooked

Instructions

Par cook your lasagna noodles just a few minutes shy of the required cooking time on the box. Ensure your noodles are in salted water and stir every minute to ensure they do not stick.
If Italian sausage has not been cooked yet, saute until browned and broken into smaller pieces. Remove from any casing if required.
While noodles are cooking, make your ricotta mixture by mixing together ricotta, egg, and Italian seasoning.
Mix your mozzarella, monterey jack, and parmesan cheeses together.
Now that your ingredients are prepped, it is time to assemble!
At the bottom on the dish, add about 1 cup of sauce and spread.
Next, layer 3 cooked lasagna, 1 cup of sauce, and half of ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle about 1 cup of cheese and half of the sausage.
Repeat another layer of pasta, sauce, ricotta cheese, cheese mix, and sausage. You will have used up all of the ricotta cheese and sausage mix.
On the last layer, place your last 3 lasagna noodles on top of the mix, spread the remaining sauce and layer the top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly. If You may need to place a sheet tray under your baking dish in case any cheese bubbles over.
Let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Try some other pasta recipes like Creamy Morel Mushroom Pasta or Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta.

Ingredients

Squash – If you want to use squash, you can really use any. Green and yellow summer squash or zucchini is excellent. Squash could also be substituted with eggplant if you want to keep the lasagna low-carb. If you want a real lasagna, you could use lasagna noodles.

Tomato sauce – Make your own or just use a jar! The sauce is meatless, but you could sear off some extra protein and mix it into the sauce.

Cheese – I used a combination of mozzarella, monterey jack, and parmesan. Use any combination that you like.

Breadcrumbs – I like the breadcrumbs since it gives the “eggplant parmesan” texture and also supports a crispy top. If you don’t want them, don’t use them.

Zucchini Parm Lasagna

Print Recipe

A low-carb lasagna that's actually super hearty and satisfying. The crispy top gives you that "eggplant parmesan" feel.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Keyword lasagna, parmesan, squash, zucchini

Cook Time 30

Equipment

1 9×13 dish or 2 5×8 dishes
mandolin slicer

Ingredients

4 pounds zucchini 1/4 in slices
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup monterey jack
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Instructions

Cut and trim your zucchini. Remove all of the seeds and slice into 1/4 in pieces.
In a dry pan, add breadcrumbs, panko, olive oil, and salt.
Mix and toast mixture until light golden brown. Remove from heat.
Grate mozarella and monterey jack. Mix cheeses together.
In baking dish, add one layer of sauce. From there, add layers in order of:
1. squash
2. sauce (~3 tbsp for 8×5 dish, double for larger dish)
3. cheese (~2 tbsp cheese mix and 1 tsp of Parmesan for 8×5 dish, double for larger dish)
4. breadcrumbs (~2 tsp for 8×5 dish, double for larger dish)
Continue layering. There should be enough zucchini to make 3 full layers.
For the last layer, add extra Parmesan and breadcrumbs to completely cover the top.
Bake @ 350F for 30 minutes until top is golden brown and Parmesan looking roasty. A knife should go through the dish like butter, indicating tender squash. If the top is too dark, cover with foil and continue baking.

Make your own lasagna noodles using Fresh Egg Pasta.