Lasagna roll-ups are another way to enjoy lasagna. This recipe was inspired by a classic lasagna dish I had several years ago at a small Italian restaurant. The chef added lots of vegetables to the lasagna and even more garlic!
Preparing the Veggies
I found that the quickest and best way to prepare the vegetables for the lasagna is to sautรฉ them. I add the carrots to the pan first because they take a little longer to tenderize than the other vegetables. Also, either yellow squash or zucchini works well in this dish.
Once the vegetables are cooked, add the garlic. This recipe does not have as much garlic as I remember the restaurant dish having, so feel free to add a little more if you love garlic!
Layering the Noodles
After the noodles are cooked, I dip them in cold water to cool them for handling. Then spread them with the cheese mixture.
Add a hearty serving of vegetables on top of the cheese. The more cheese and vegetables you add to each noodle, the larger the serving it will make. You can adjust the amount on each noodle for light or hearty eaters.
Then top the vegetables with sauce.
Finally, roll up the noodles. If you are careful when you roll them, the ingredients will all stay inside. However, be sure to tuck anything that falls out back inside!
To keep the noodles from sticking, I always spray the baking dish with cooking spray and then add a little sauce to the dish before I add the noodles.
The remaining sauce is added to the top of the noodles. I always save a little of the water from the boiled pasta and pour some around the roll-ups, being careful not to wash off any of the sauce from the tops of the roll-ups. The pasta water helps to keep the pasta from becoming dry after it is baked. It also has a little more flavor than plain water.
Add the leftover cheese and bake until the dish is hot, bubbly, and the cheese is starting to brown. The individual roll-ups make a hearty meal, and they are very easy to serve from the baking dish.
I love to serve these roll-ups with fresh baby salad greens with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing,
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 6 lasagna noodles (use gluten-free noodles for a gluten-free dish)
- (1) 24-ounce jar pasta sauce (Rao's Tomato Basil Sauce used)
- 3 cups (divided) mozzarella cheese (divide into 2 cups and 1 cup)
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced (canned or fresh)
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 large carrot, sliced into coins
- 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- cooking spray
- 1/3 cup pasta water, reserved from cooked noodles
- (1) 9 x 13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
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- Cook the lasagna noodles in salted water according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of pasta water for the sauce.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Stir until mixed and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Chop the vegetables, keeping the carrots separate. Add the olive oil to the skillet and turn to medium-low heat. Add the carrots and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the onions, broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not brown the garlic.
- If the lasagna noodles are too hot to handle, rinse them in cool water and drain.
- Spray the casserole dish with cooking spray. Add a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of pasta sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Stretch out the lasagna noodles on a cutting board or countertop. Divide the cheese mixture between the noodles and spread it evenly on each one.
- Divide the cooked vegetables between the noodles and add them evenly on top of the cheese.
- Add a little pasta sauce to each noodle. Then start with one end and carefully roll up a noodle and place it in the baking dish. Repeat for all the noodles.
- Spoon the rest of the pasta sauce over the noodles. Then add 1/3 cup of the pasta water around the noodles, being careful not to wash off the sauce from the noodles. Then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the noodles.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until the rollups are hot and the cheese on top is bubbly and starting to brown. If the cheese starts to get too brown, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the baking dish.
You can check the internal temperature of the rollups to see if they are thoroughly heated inside.ย Place the tip of a food thermometer into one of the middle rollups.ย They are ready when the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
If using aluminum foil over the top of the rollups to prevent over-browning, tent the foil a little by folding it in the middle lengthwise.ย Open it but leave the middle folded a little so that the aluminum foil doesn't touch the melting cheese as much.