Recipe: Tempting Lasagna Roll Ups


Simple to make, easy to serve and no resting time required.

Lasagna is an Italian dish that has become a staple in the American diet, thanks to the Neapolitan immigrants who brought the recipe with them when they came here in the early nineteenth century. It originated in Bologna, Italy, but this week we’ll present a few new twists on the classic dish.

Lasagna Roll Ups

Lasagna Roll Ups combine the best of classic Lasagna but they are so much easier to serve, bake faster, and can be enjoyed right away – no resting time required!  They are make-ahead, freezer-friendly, and reheat well.

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles cooked to package instructions

16 oz ground beef 85% lean

24 oz marinara sauce

½ c diced onion

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp sea salt or to taste for red sauce

½ tsp black pepper or to taste

½ tsp dried oregano

15 oz ricotta cheese

1 large egg

¼ c parmesan cheese shredded

3 c mozzarella cheese shredded, divided

¼ c parsley chopped, plus more to garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Cook noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package instructions then drain and fill pot with cold water to stop the cooking process and keep noodles from sticking together.
  2. In a deep pan or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink, breaking up with a spatula (2 min). Add onion and cook until softened (3 minutes). Add garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp oregano and sauté another minute. Add marinara, bring to a simmer and turn off the heat. Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together: ricotta, 1 egg, ¼ c parmesan cheese, 1½ c mozzarella cheese and ¼ c parsley.
  4. To contain messiness, arrange noodles over a large baking sheet in a single layer. Spread ¼ c (1 scant ice cream scoop) of cheese mixture over the top of each noodle. Add a heaping Tbsp of meat sauce in a strip down the center of the noodle. Roll noodles up and arrange in the prepared casserole dish.
  5. Spread remaining meat sauce over the tops of roll-ups and sprinkle on the remaining 1½ c mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil, making sure foil isn’t touching cheese (if your pan is on the shallow side, you can put toothpicks into rolls to keep the foil away from cheese.
  6. Bake covered at 375˚F for 40 minutes. Remove foil and broil another 2-3 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden. Garnish with parsley to serve.

Natasha Kravchuk and husband Vadim started Natasha’s Kitchen www.natashaskitchen.com in 2009. Natasha came to the US from the Ukraine when she was 4 years old.  She developed her cooking talents through family and friends, and reading cookbooks to find unique recipes.  Even though she’s not Italian, Natasha has a flair for cooking the cuisine as you will see if you try out any of the recipes.

 

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