Get the Recipe: Fresh Pasta Lasagna
A quick and easy fresh pasta lasagna using refrigerated, fresh lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese and a quick-cooking meat sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 6 oz mild Italian sausage, casing removed, about 3 links
- 6 oz ground beef or ground pork
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, or see Note 1 below
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon white sugar, optional
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 fresh lasagna sheets
Ricotta filling:
- 1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup fresh spinach or parsley, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. (non-convection).
- Heat olive oil in an oven-safe skillet or stove-top and oven-safe casserole dish, about 10-12 inches top diameter. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30-45 seconds. Add the ground beef and sausage. Cook, stirring and breaking up larger chunks with your spoon, until well browned. Spoon off and discard the excess fat in the pan.
- Add the tomato paste, stir in and cook for about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, herbs, and sugar (if using) and generously season with salt and freshly ground pepper. *Add a bit of water to your empty can of crushed tomatoes, swirl it around and set aside in case you need to add a touch of liquid to your sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer while you make the ricotta filling.
- In a medium bowl, add the ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan, chopped spinach or parsley and salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir to combine well and set aside.
- Remove your skillet from the heat. **Make sure your sauce is not too dry at this point. It should have some saucy liquid along with the meat. If you think it needs it, add some of the water in the tomato can that you set aside, as needed. I generally add a splash to loosen a bit.
- Remove most of the meat sauce to a bowl, leaving a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the skillet. Place two sheets of fresh lasagna noodles on top of the meat sauce, crossing them over each other in an "X" shape. Top the noodles with some of the sauce, followed by another layer of noodles in an "+" shape (shifting the position of the noodles in the pan.). Top with the ricotta mixture, spreading it out into an even layer. Top with another layer of noodles in an "X" shape. Spoon the last bit of sauce on top, then top with shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake uncovered at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden. *If your skillet is jam-packed to the top, bake with the skillet on top of a baking sheet to catch any bubble-overs. Remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Note 1: If you don't have crushed tomatoes, you can use canned diced tomatoes, though you may need to simmer the sauce longer to cook off some of the extra liquid from the diced tomatoes.
Tips!
- Using fresh pasta sheets means that your sauce doesn't need as much liquid as you might be used to using for the dried "no boil" noodles. That said, you do want to make sure it isn't dry. I generally add a splash of water to the finished sauce before adding the noodles, just to loosen it up. Also, you want to make sure to spread a bit of sauce over all the noodle surface on the top, so they cook properly.
- I haven't added the typical egg to the ricotta filling, simply because of the short cooking time of this dish. I haven't missed it, especially with ricotta which is nice and thick right out of the container.
- Don't forget to season the sauce and the ricotta filling well with salt and freshly ground pepper, to bring out all the great cheese flavour.
- Add another layer of flavour to your lasagna with basil pesto! Simply spread a thin layer between the noodles and the ricotta cheese layer.
- Don't feel locked into a skillet for this dish. You can certainly cook the sauce and then assemble it all in another dish to bake it. It won't be "one-pan" but it will still be delicious
- I love the crispy bits of pasta, so I left some sticking out and uncovered. I suspect not everyone would be a fan though (my husband thought it was a slight flaw, rather than a feature :). So if you don't want crispy pasta bits, simply trim the pasta to fit the pan (so it doesn't stick out at the edges) and make sure it's covered in sauce.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 562kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 125mg, Sodium: 759mg, Potassium: 751mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 846IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 385mg, Iron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Leaving a review is always appreciated and so helpful for our fellow cooks!
