This easy lasagna roll-up recipe is filled with a delicious spinach and cheese filling and rich meaty tomato sauce. It's the perfect make-ahead meal for busy families since you can assemble and freeze it for an easy dinner later.
PREP TIME 20 minutesminutes
COOK TIME 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
TOTAL TIME 1 hourhour50 minutesminutes
YIELD 8servings
Ingredients
12dried lasagna noodles
1tbspolive oil
Meaty Tomato Sauce
2cupstomato sauce
1/2poundground beefsee notes
1tspminced garlic
2tspdried Italian herb blend
1/2tspfennel seeds
Spinach Cheese Filling
1egglightly beaten
1(15 oz) container of ricotta cheese
2cups(8 oz) shredded Italian cheesedivided, save half for the top of the lasagna
1(10 oz) package frozen spinachthawed and squeezed dry
Instructions
Prepare the Lasagna Noodles
Boil the pasta noodles according to the package directions.
Brush the olive oil over a large baking sheet. This will help the pasta to not stick together while you assemble the dish.
Drain the pasta and lay each noodle flat on the prepared baking sheet.
Prep the Meaty Tomato Sauce
While you're waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Break it up as it cooks. Drain the fat as needed.
Add the minced garlic and stir. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and fennel seeds to the skillet and stir. Remove from the heat and set the mixture aside.
Prep the Spinach Cheese Filling
In a medium bowl, combine the egg, ricotta cheese, and a dash of salt & pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the Italian cheese blend and the thawed and drained spinach.
Assemble the Lasagna Roll-Ups
Spread 1/2 of the meaty tomato sauce on the bottom of a 2 quart (8 x 11-inch) baking dish.
Working one pasta noodle at a time, spread the cheese filling over the length of the noodle and roll it up starting at the skinny end. Lay it seam side-down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles and cheese filling.
Pour the remaining meat sauce over the top of the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the remaining cup of Italian cheese over the top.
Baking Instructions
Cover the casserole dish with nonstick foil or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray so that the cheese topping doesn't stick while baking.
Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes or until bubbly and heated through.
Freezing Instructions
Cover the assembled lasagna with plastic wrap and then cover with aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months.
Thaw the assembled lasagna in the fridge overnight.
Remove the plastic wrap, cover with nonstick foil sprayed with cooking spray, and bake according to the instructions above.
Recipe Notes
Prepared Ground Beef Packets:
This recipe is even easier if you use my prepared ground beef packets instead of freshly browned ground beef. The mixture includes diced carrots, celery, and onions which gives the lasagna roll-ups even more flavor.Store them in your freezer and you can just thaw and stir into the canned tomato sauce.
Variations
To make this dish vegetarian-friendly, simply omit the ground beef altogether.You could also substitute ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork for the ground beef if you prefer.