28ozRao’s Marinara sauceor your preferred jar/homemade sauce
For filling
1tablespooncooking oil or butter
1tablespoonminced garlicapprox. 4 cloves
½cuponionfinely chopped
⅓cupchopped bell peppersoptional
16ozbox fresh Spinach leaves, roughly chopped
⅕cup frozen sweet cornoptional
15ozRicotta cheese
1.5cupshredded mozzarella cheese divided
½cupParmesan cheese, grated
Salt to taste
Couple twists pepper
1teaspoondried Italian herb blend
Fistful choppedfresh basiloptional
After baking (Optional)
Chopped fresh basil or parley
Chili flakes
Instructions
Cook the sheets according to the package, do not overcook.
If you are making it ahead of time, spray or brush some oil on them to prevent sticking. Cover until use.
Prepare the filling.
In a broad pan, heat up the oil.
Now saute onion and garlic for 30 seconds. Add in the bell peppers and saute for 30 seconds.
Now add spinach to the pan in batches.
Push the first batch in, let it wilt, and follow with another batch until all the spinach is used up.
Now switch off the flame. Add in the ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella, Parmesan, salt, pepper, dried herbs frozen corn, and basil.
Give it a good mix. Now taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep aside.
Putting it together
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F. Use a 9*13 foil, metal, or glass pan.
1st Layer Spread the base of the pan generously with marinara sauce, covering the edges as well.
2nd Layer Place 3 lasagna noodles on top. It is completely fine if they overlap.
3rd Layer - Now top it with the spinach ricotta filling, spreading evenly.
4th layer – Add some marinara over the spinach filling.
Repeat the layering process two more times following the steps.
Finally, top the last layer with Marinara and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese on the top.
Baking
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes at 375 Deg F.
Now uncover and bake it for additional 15 minutes until the top bubbles and is light golden brown.
Take it out of the oven and place it on a potholder. Sprinkle some fresh chopped basil or Italian parsley on the top.
As it will be very hot, let it stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Remember layers following these steps!It starts with marinara sauce, sheets, spinach filling then again marinara, sheets, filling, and so on.How to determine the number of lasagna sheets needed?
We are using a 9*13 pan and making 3 layers of lasagna, so we need 9 sheets in total.
If you are using a bigger, smaller or broader pan then place the uncooked sheets in the pan in a single layer to judge how many sheets you will need.
Note that the sheets expand a bit after boiling.
Make-Ahead Of Time Tips
You can make the spinach ricotta filling and store it in the fridge up to 3 days ahead of time.
Layer up the lasagna and store it covered in the baking dish (pre-baking) in the fridge up to 2 days in advance. Bake as directed when desired.
Possible Substitutes That Work!
No boil noodles work great. Make sure to cover it generously with the sauce and cook it according to the package.
Bell peppers and sweet corn are totally optional.
You can add more veggies like small broccoli florets, zucchini, mushrooms to the filling.
Use your choice of pasta sauce. It could be marinara, pomodoro, or arrabbiata.
Makes the best leftovers!
Refrigerate it.If you are making a big batch of this recipe and are left with some extra lasagna then you can cover and refrigerate for 3 days. You may need a slather of some marinara over the leftover. Simply microwave lasagna with the sauce until piping hot and enjoy.Store it in the freezer.
You may even store it in the freezer for up to 1 month for maximum freshness in taste.
Always use freezer-safe good seal containers.
Just defrost it in the microwave and add extra marinara to revive it.