An easy and delicious deconstructed lasagna. Ricotta-filled pasta, brushed with pesto and baked on a base of marinara sauce.

deconstructed pesto ricotta lasagna

Perfect for Meatless Monday, this deconstructed lasagna is a simple and easy take on an Italian classic – mandilli de seta, which is homemade, paper-thin pasta sheets (fazzoletti or “handkerchiefs”) served coated in pesto. If you ever have the time, it’s well worth making this dish with all homemade ingredients, from pasta, to pesto to marinara. For easy, weeknight fare though, this simple version is still a wonderful dish!

My version starts with short, egg pasta lasagna sheets, that are boiled, then bathed in a store-bought pesto. Simply fill with a ricotta filling and bake on some marinara sauce. Make easy by using a good-quality, store-bought marinara sauce and pesto.

Of course, if you have more time and/or energy, you can make your own marinara and/or pesto, as you like. With the availability of great store-bought marinara and pesto these days, I love being able to make this dish quickly and easily some times.

Cook’s Notes

I used my own Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce that I cooked up and froze late last summer. It’s been great having a ready supply throughout the winter for dishes like this! If you want to make your own marinara, you can use that same recipe, but make a smaller batch.

Speaking of smaller batches, did you know that the newer recipes on Seasons and Suppers have the ability to easily scale the recipe up or down with the simple slide?! If you click on the number next to the “Serving” on the recipe card, you can move the slider up and down to automatically scale the recipe ingredients. The adjusted ingredients will transfer to the print view as well, so you can print your adjusted amounts. Cool, eh? And handy for those of us cooking for two these days :)

Store-bought pesto is just fine here and a great time saver for a weeknight meal, but feel free to make your own, if you prefer.

Look for the short, ruffle-less pasta sheets in with the regular dried lasagna noodles. They are usually 6 or 7 inches long. You could use regular length and simply cut in half once boiled. Fresh lasagna noodles are another good option and feature the added benefit of a super-quick boiling time.

deconstructed pesto ricotta lasagna

deconstructed pesto ricotta lasagna

Get the Recipe: Deconstructed Ricotta Pesto Lasagna

An easy and delicious meatless meal, this deconstructed lasagna features ricotta filled pasta, brushed with pesto and baked on top of marinara sauce.
4.80 stars from 5 ratings
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Yield: 2 people

Ingredients

  • marinara sauce, store-bought or make your own
  • pesto sauce, store-bought or make your own
  • 3 lasagna sheets, about 6-7 inches long(or use 2 regular length sheets and cut in half after boiling)

Ricotta filling:

  • 1 cup ricotta
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated, for topping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 450 F.
  • Boil a large pot of salted water and cook lasagna sheets until al dente. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
  • While pasta is boiling, prepare ricotta filling by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Spoon a bed of marinara sauce on to the bottom of your baking skillet or dish. Take a sheet or cooked and drained pasta and lay on a plate. Brush both sides well with pesto sauce. Spoon a generous dollop of ricotta mixture on to one half of the lasagna sheet. Fold the other half over top. Lay the packet on top of the marinara sauce. Repeat with two more lasagna sheets, over-lapping them slightly. Sprinkle top with grated Mozzarella.
  • Cover skillet/dish with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (or until sauce is bubbly and ricotta is melting). Remove foil and pop dish under the broiler for a a minute to brown up the cheese. Remove and enjoy!

Notes

Be sure to read the “Ingredient and Cook's Notes" (above the recipe card!), where I share more detailed  tips, variations and substitution suggestions for this recipe!
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Main Course
Author: Jennifer
Calories: 447kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 93mg, Sodium: 479mg, Potassium: 150mg, Vitamin A: 835IU, Calcium: 544mg, Iron: 0.7mg
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