With a new baby due next month, I have been busy making meals to put in the freezer so that when baby arrives, I will have one less thing to worry about (on most nights). These lasagna roll-ups are one of our favorite freezer meals. Italian dishes in general make great freezer meals; another family-favorite is this freezer-friendly stuffed manicotti recipe.
I came across this recipe on Pinterest; it’s from Cooking Classy. I modified it a bit to fit my needs and to make it a bit simpler to make.
*The original recipe says that this recipe serves 12 rolls. I managed to get 24 rolls out of it. I ended up making 2 pans of 12 and took one to our neighbors that just had a baby.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
2 cloves of minced garlic (or 2 tsp. of garlic powder)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbls. Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
6 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (red sauce)
24 uncooked lasagna noodles
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 Tbls. parsley flakes
3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Directions:
1. Brown meat and add the garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper as you brown the meat. Drain.
2. Add 4 cups of pasta sauce to the meat and heat through.
3. Prepare cheese mixture by stirring the Ricotta cheese, egg, parsley, 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.
4. Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions (add a bit of olive oil to the water to help prevent sticking after draining).
5. Drain and line noodles on a sheet of waxed paper.
6. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over all the noodles (I used the same spatula I use to frost cakes).
7. Then spread the meat and sauce mixture evenly over all the noodles.
8. Spread 1/2 cup of pasta sauce in a 13×9 baking dish (1/2 cup for each pan you are making; remember, I got 2 pans out of this recipe)
9. Roll up noodles and place seam side down in baking dish.
10. Cover noodles with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and parsley flakes.
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
- 2 cloves of minced garlic (or 2 tsp. of garlic powder)
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbls. Italian seasoning
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 6 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (red sauce)
- 24 uncooked lasagna noodles
- 15 oz. Ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbls. parsley flakes
- 3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1. Brown meat and add the garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper as you brown the meat. Drain.
- 2. Add 4 cups of pasta sauce to the meat and heat through.
- 3. Prepare cheese mixture by stirring the Ricotta cheese, egg, parsley, 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.
- 4. Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions (add a bit of olive oil to the water to help prevent sticking after draining).
- 5. Drain and line noodles on a sheet of waxed paper.
- 6. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over all the noodles (I used the same spatula I use to frost cakes).
- 7. Then spread the meat and sauce mixture evenly over all the noodles.
- 8. Spread 1/2 cup of pasta sauce in a 13×9 baking dish (1/2 cup for each pan you are making; remember, I got 2 pans out of this recipe)
- 9. Roll up noodles and place seam side down in baking dish.
- 10. Cover noodles with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and parsley flakes.
- 11. If you are freezing the meal, this is the point where you would do that. Cover with foil, seal well, and label with date, item, and cooking instructions.
- 12. If not freezing, cover and tent baking dish with foil so that foil is not touching the cheese, and bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.
- 13. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.