Lasagna Roll Ups combine the best of classic Lasagna but are 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.
We love comforting pasta dishes like Chicken Tetrazzini, traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs and Mom’s Chicken Alfredo. These are among the most requested meals in our family. Try this Lasagna Roll-Ups recipe and you will make it over and over.
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Lasagna Roll-Ups:
We love lasagna in all forms including Skillet Lasagna, make-ahead Slow Cooker Lasagna, and of course Classic Lasagna. These Lasagna Roll-ups are beefy, saucy, cheesy and definitely satisfy the craving for lasagna, but they are way easier to serve. No more messy lasagna squares sliding apart as you struggle to remove them from the pan.
The Ultimate Cheese Sauce:
We make a 3-cheese sauce with ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Once the sauce is baked, it tastes almost like an alfredo sauce – rich, creamy, and cheesy.
Beefy Lasagna Meat Sauce:
The best meat sauce for lasagna is essentially a ragu – a meat sauce with ground beef, onion, seasonings, and marinara. We don’t skimp on the meat and use a full pound of ground beef which makes this lasagna supremely satisfying. You can use homemade marinara or your favorite store-bought marinara.
Can I Substitute the Ground Beef?
You can swap out the ground beef for Italian sausage or use ground turkey or ground chicken if you want a leaner lasagna.
How to Make Lasagna Rolls:
The process here is simple and you have all the elements of a classic lasagna but they are rolled rather than layered. This results in 12 perfectly portioned servings of lasagna. It’s brilliant for parties! The process for lasagna rolls is simple:
- Cook the noodles
- Make the meat sauce and spread 1/2 cup in a 9×13 casserole
- Make the cheese sauce
- Spread cheese sauce and meat sauce on each noodle.
- Roll up noodles, transfer to the casserole dish, spread with remaining meat sauce and mozzarella, then cover and bake.
Tips for Assembling Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Cook 2-3 extra noodles as some may break while boiling.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions in salted water until al-dente (do not over-cook). We use about 3 Tbsp salt for a large soup pot of water.
- Drain cooked noodles then cover them with cold water until ready to use so they don’t stick together.
- To contain the mess, arrange the noodles 6 at a time on a rimmed non-stick baking sheet (keeping remaining noodles in cold water until ready to use).
Can I Make Lasagna Roll-Ups Ahead?
There are 2 options to make these lasagna roll-ups ahead of time.
- Fully assemble and bake, then cool to room temperature, cover, and chill. To serve, reheat portions in the microwave or oven until roll-ups are heated through and cheese is melted.
- Fully assemble roll-ups in a casserole dish (without baking), cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight or freeze up to 3 months. Bake refrigerated lasagna roll-ups at 375˚F for about 45 minutes. Bake from frozen at 375˚F for about 1 hour.
Watch Natasha Make Lasagna Rolls:
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Lasagna Roll Ups Recipe (VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles, cooked to package instructions
- 16 oz ground beef, 85% lean
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste for red sauce
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- 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.
- 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 sautee 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
- In a large bowl, stir together: ricotta, 1 egg, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parsley.
- To contain messiness, arrange noodles over a large baking sheet in a single layer. Spread 1/4 cup (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.
- Spread remaining meat sauce over the tops of roll-ups and sprinkle on the remaining 1 1/2 cups 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.
- 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.
Nutrition Per Serving
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If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Is it okay to substitute the dry oregano with Italian seasoning? I’m on a very tight budget and have Italian seasoning in the house already but don’t have any oregano. Thank you!
I imagine that should be fine. I hope you love the results!
I have made the Lasagna roll up recipe a couple of times with gluten free noodles. Some of the noodles will fall apart. However, I just put them together and will roll them up. I have also frozen half of the recipe too.
I’m so happy to hear it works great with gluten free noodles, Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
What can I use.in place of ricotta cheese?
Cottage cheese has a similar texture and flavor so I think that would be the best substitute for ricotta.
I use cream cheese mix a little milk in it to cream it more not a lot very little. I use cream cheese because in the Philippines you can’t find ricotta cheese and if you do you can’t trust it here.
Raymond,
A tasty variation to a classic Italian meal.