You Could Try a New Lasagna Recipe Every Day for the Next 2 Weeks and Never Get Bored (2024)

"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are," Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in his 1825 opus The Physiology of Taste: Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy, but we'd bet our bottom franc that the legendary gourmand never had to choose between a Lasagna Puttanesca and a Turkey and Butternut Squash Lasagna with Crispy Sage when he had a crowd coming over for dinner the next day. If you think of a lasagna recipe as more of a blueprint than a finished building, the possibilities really start to stack up.

A Bolognese-style Grandma's Lasagna layered with noodles, tomato sauce, meat, mozzarella, and ricotta might immediately spring to mind when you hear "lasagna," or it might be a meatless, béchamel, Fontina, and Grana Padano-laden White Lasagna, depending on where and with whom you grew up. But if you're willing to widen your horizons, just about anything can be turned into lasagna. If we're being purist about it, there should be wide, flat, ribbon-edged lasagna noodles in the mix, but unless you're setting out a buffet for the International Lasagna Cops annual fundraiser, it's perfectly fine to swap in slices of zucchini, pre-made ravioli, or chewy rice cakes, and layer them with whatever you or your guests desire, the season provides, and your schedule permits.

How to Make Perfect Lasagna

You might even decide to craft a whole armada of lasagnas, freeze them, and reheat whatever kind — or kinds — of lasagna suits your wishes that day. Here are a few of our favorite lasagna recipes to get you started.

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Après-Ski Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: Dinner on the table in a hurry. Cookbook author Andrea Slonecker's make-ahead or in-a-flash combo of fresh basil sliced mushrooms, canned tomatoes, sausage, and ricotta is ideal for those evenings when you just can't even — but you still want something delicious.

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Turkey and Butternut Squash Lasagna with Crispy Sage

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This lasagna is perfect for: Black Friday. James Beard Award-winning chef Sarah Grueneberg devised this clever lasagna to use up Thanksgiving leftovers like turkey, mushrooms, and sage. While butternut squash is right there in the title, she notes that sweet potatoes are a perfectly permissible swap.

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Vegetarian Lasagna "Bolognese" with Plant-Based Meat

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This lasagna is perfect for: Vegetarians who don't want to feel like an afterthought — and everyone else who loves a hearty pasta dish. Think of Marve McClain's vegetable, cheese, and plant-based meat as a "fauxlognese" with all of the trappings of the traditional Italian dish, minus the meat.

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Lasagna with Mushroom Ragù and Prosciutto Cotto

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This lasagna is perfect for: When you've got time on your hands. Chef Danielle Glantz suggests spacing the components of this 24-layer lasagna out over a few days. They include a heartymushroomragùmade with both dried and fresh mushrooms; a creamy,onion-infused béchamel; and salty slices of prosciutto cotto, layered betweenhandmade sheets of pasta. But don't worry — we're with you every step of the way with this handy tutorial.

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Crispy Rice Cake Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: Lovers of heat, spice, and everything nice. Chef Christine Lau's chewy, tender Korean rice cakes coated with a zesty sauce of sweet Italian sausage, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, gochujang, ssamjang, and kimchi is a particular passion for the F&W staff. A caramelized, bubbly, stringy provolone topping kicks the textural thrills into overdrive.

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Woven Lasagna with Prosciutto and Fresh Spinach Sauce

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This lasagna is perfect for: Showing off. 2005 F&W Best New Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson's handmade pasta takes some practice to perfect, but the finished product, woven around a generous filling of cheese and prosciutto (or mushroom duxelles if you're keeping it veg) and served in a vibrant spinach sauce is an absolute stunner.

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Ground Beef Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: Sunday supper traditionalists — or those who aspire to be just that. This classic beef lasagna is a hearty meallayered with ricotta and mozzarella and it just hits, you know? While you're at it, make a second one to freeze and thaw out that Sunday feeling any time you need it.

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Grandma's Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: Fans of the red-sauce classics. In 2003 when the F&W Test Kitchen was running through lasagna recipes, senior editor Grace Parisi noted that they decided that the definitive lasagna had to have tomato sauce, chunks of meat, shredded mozzarella, and creamy ricotta cheese. A couple decades later, we're sticking with that assessment — unless you or your guests are keeping it meat-free in which case, keep scrolling.

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Zucchini Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: Gluten-free lasagna lovers — or people who just love a heaping helping of vegetables and four (4!) cheeses. Roasted zucchini mimics the texture of the pasta it replaces and keeps the finished dish from becoming soggy.

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Lasagna Puttanesca

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This lasagna is perfect for: Guests who aren't afraid of bold flavor. Former F&W Test Kitchen senior editor Kay Chun took the ka-POW of pasta puttanesca and stacked it into one of the most memorable lasagnas of all time. Anchovies, capers, olives, garlic, tomatoes, and eggplant gang up with noodles and two cheeses for a lasagna that's hearty, but won't leave you hankering for a nap right after.

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Creamy White Lasagna with Toppings

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This lasagna is perfect for: A crowd full of picky people. 2008 F&W Best New Chef Gerard Craft's silky, béchamel-drenched fresh pasta is a little-black-dress recipe that just needs to be decked out with whatever strikes your fancy, from wild mushrooms to salsa verde to carrot puree. Even if you've never made pasta from scratch, we'll walk you through right here.

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Vegetable and Ravioli Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: When you need an easy win. As Grace Parisi pointed out when she developed this recipe, starting with premade ravioli (which is already a mini layer of pasta, cheese and vegetables) and adding roasted or grilled vegetables from the deli means that you're half-finished making it as soon as you start.

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Pumpkin Lasagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard

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This lasagna is perfect for: Taking fall flavors straight to the face. OK, technically this vegetarian lasagna could make it onto the menu any time of year because it deploys canned pumpkin puree, but this tomato-free lasagna gets an extra little autumnal something with a warm dash of nutmeg and cayenne snuggled up in a creamy blanket of cheese.

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Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna

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This lasagna is perfect for: Tomato haters, mushroom lovers, and celebrations. 2002 F&W Best New Chef says that growing up in Marche, this luxe white lasagna was served only at special occasions, but we say this supremely rich sauce, root-vegetable ragù, fresh mozzarella, and whole basil leaves are their own party in a pan.

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White Lasagna Cupcakes

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This lasagna is perfect for: Solo meals and on-the-go. The utter genius of these ramekin-baked mini-lasagnas layered with prosciutto, chives, and Fontina is that they're not just a marriage of savory flavors; they're pre-portioned to pack for office lunches, or to pop out of the freezer for a perfect meal in the time it takes to pour yourself a glass of whatever makes you happy.

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You Could Try a New Lasagna Recipe Every Day for the Next 2 Weeks and Never Get Bored (2024)

FAQs

Why is lasagna better the next day? ›

Have you noticed if you cut your lasagne as soon as it comes out of the oven, it can be sloppy, falls apart easily and the sauce runs to the bottom of the dish? When you have it the next day, the sauce has had time to firm up and create an even richer tomato taste,” she says.

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Is lasagna better if made the day before? ›

Some people even say that lasagna made in advance tastes better too, because the flavors get more time to blend together.

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Why do you put milk in lasagna? ›

Milk. It tenderises the meat, to leave you with the most tender ragù.

Why is my ricotta cheese watery in lasagna? ›

Ricotta cheese, with its creamy texture and mild flavor, is a quintessential ingredient in many lasagna recipes. However, it can also introduce excess moisture if not handled properly. To avoid a runny mess, it's crucial to pat dry the ricotta before incorporating it into your lasagna.

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Is ricotta cheese or cottage cheese better in lasagna? ›

The key to creating the absolute best lasagna is to use a combination of ricotta and cottage cheese. Ricotta brings the rich creaminess while cottage cheese lightens things up and seasons the whole dish. For even more cheese, we recommend also using shredded Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano).

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Why is cold lasagna so good? ›

Really, all pasta with anything is awesome regardless of temperature. Lasagna in particular, though, is fantastic when eaten cold as it becomes a much more manageable beast to consume. With its slippery layers of pasta, sauce, cheese and whatever else, hot lasagna never stays together like you want it to.

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How many layers should lasagna have? ›

Let me break it to you: If you want to make a lasagna, three layers just won't cut it! For the perfect lasagna, you need at least 4-5 layers to really enjoy all those mouth-watering flavors. And, here's a pro-tip: make sure to season each layer generously, but not too much. The average lasagna has 8 layers!

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How long can you refrigerate uncooked lasagna before cooking? ›

You can prepare lasagna up to 24 hours before baking it.

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Is it better to freeze lasagna, cooked or uncooked? ›

You can take one of two approaches when it comes to freezing lasagna: assemble and freeze it unbaked, or bake the lasagna and then freeze it. Either way, plan on baking frozen lasagna within three months (any longer, and the quality starts to deteriorate).

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Why do Italians put boiled eggs in lasagna? ›

It adds a wonderful texture and flavour to the lasagna. We have received requests to make our lasagna without the egg because it just seems so foreign to some people. That's no problem. We don't mind omitting it; but, if you enjoy authentic food, I would encourage you to give it a chance.

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Why do you put egg in ricotta cheese for lasagna? ›

For extra creamy ricotta, add in an extra egg, a handful of grated parmesan, and a quarter cup of shredded mozzarella. Eggs help prevent the ricotta from drying out and serve to bind the ricotta so it doesn't become runny. One or more eggs are recommended whether you add the other ingredients mentioned here or not.

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Why put toothpick in lasagna? ›

Poke 9-12 toothpicks over the surface of your lasagna (to keep the foil from sticking to the cheese). Cover with foil and bake at 375˚F for 45 minutes.

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What happens if you layer lasagna wrong? ›

10 Most Common Lasagna Mistakes

There shouldn't be too much or too little filling. Too much between one layer and another will keep you from ever getting a perfect slice. Too little and all you'll taste is pasta.

Can you put too much sauce in lasagna? ›

The number one reason lasagna turns out soupy is, quite simply, too much sauce. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and this is it. To avoid baked lasagna swimming in sauce, use enough sauce to cover each layer but don't go overboard. Wet ingredients are another reason lasagna turns watery.

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Why is my lasagna falling apart? ›

The biggest offender, though, is watery, thin pasta sauce. A helpful technique can prevent this pitfall from sabotaging your lasagna: Reduce your sauce to thicken it before pouring it into the casserole. A thin sauce runs right off of cooked lasagna noodles, causing all the layers to slide off of each other, as well.

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Is lasagna better overnight? ›

The pasta seems to absorb more of the sauce, keeping the flavor but making a dish that does not fall apart as easily. I've found that day old lasagna tastes significantly better too. I think it takes a little time for the flavors to settle.

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Why is pasta so much better the next day? ›

By the next day, some of the natural starches in the food will have transformed into healthier versions, called resistant starches, which have been linked to a range of health benefits including lower blood sugar, better gut health and a reduced risk of certain types of cancer.

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Why does pasta taste better the second day? ›

Why does food taste better the next day? Food develops new flavour molecules, and for us, that means it tastes better. According to the study, proteins may further breakdown when the leftovers are reheated, producing new flavours which wouldn't have been there when the food was freshly cooked.

Why do casseroles taste better the next day? ›

Strong spices and flavors often stand out individually when a dish is straight from the stove or oven, which can come across as harsh. But as the dish cools and sits, spices and other flavor components mingle with each other and with any proteins and starches in the dish, producing mellower, more well-rounded flavors.

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