How To Make Lasagna With Ingredients You Already Have
People are making our Classic Lasagna like crazy these days. During the month of March, traffic to the recipe was up 386 percent from 2019. And we get it. These days the only thing we're craving is comfort food. In other words, a ton of cheese and all the carbs.
We also understand that some groceries are particularly difficult to find, and that now, more than ever, people are extremely conscious about food waste. We hear you and we're here for you.
As much as we love our traditional lasagna (and strongly recommend it if you have the ingredients), the truth is, you don't need it...or any recipe. You can make a seriously legit lasagna using ingredients and leftovers you already have on hand. Got leftover roast chicken and vegetables? Throw them in. Can't find mozzarella? Use literally any melty cheese. Only have frozen ravioli? Even better. Bottom line: There are no rules.
Below is our basic formula to create your own perfect lasagna.
CHOOSE YOUR NOODLE.
Lasagna noodles: 3/4 pound, cooked to al dente and drained
Frozen ravioli: 2 (12-ounce packages)
Zucchini: 3 large zucchini cut into wide, long strips using a Y peeler and drained on paper towels
CHOOSE YOUR SAUCE.
Marinara: 1 (32-ounce) jar
Alfredo: 2 (15-ounce) jars
If you want to make your own marinara recipe, double this recipe. If you want to make your own Alfredo sauce, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup flour and cook 1 minute, then whisk in 3 cups half-and-half or whole milk. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook until thickened, about 4 minutes.
MIX THE RICOTTA.
There's not a lot of variation in this step, except for the fact that you can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta. It's important to note that most of us in the Delish test kitchen do not like cottage cheese, but Ree Drummond's recipe taught us to love it in lasagna.
In small bowl, whisk together the following ingredients:
Fresh ricotta or cottage cheese: about 16 ounces
1 egg
Grated Parmesan: about 1/4 cup
Small handful of herbs: like parsley, basil, or thyme
CHOOSE YOUR FILLINGS.
If you're looking for guidance, aim for about 3 cups total of fillings—1 cup per layer. But we highly encourage you to just eyeball everything. You. Can. Do. It.
Crumbled sausage
Chopped pepperoni
Cooked ground beef
Cooked ground turkey
Shredded chicken
Chopped bacon
Sautéed onion
Baby spinach
Canned artichokes
Roasted red peppers
Sautéed mushrooms
Sautéed zucchini
Roasted broccoli
CHOOSE YOUR CHEESE.
In addition to melting well, the cheeses listed below are all pretty mild, which means they can go with just about everything. Feel free to go a little funkier like Gruyère, but please don't @ me if/when you don't dig the weirdness.
If you're slicing fresh mozzarella, you'll want about 2 pounds. For shredded cheese, aim for about 3 cups. But remember: There's no such thing as too much cheese.
Mozzarella
Fontina
Provolone
Monterey jack
Muenster
BAKE IT.
Layer everything into a 9x13-inch baking pan and throw it in a 350° oven for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and you just can't stand it anymore.
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