Lasagna Roll Ups are a fun, creative, and delicious twist on traditional lasagna. A lasagna noodle is rolled around a mouth-watering filling of cheese and meat sauce.
And serving Lasagna Roll Ups is so convenient! When you take your platter from the oven, you already have delicious single-serve pieces ready to be plated.
What could be better than a rich meat sauce, cheeses, and spices all wrapped up in a lasagna noodle?
I promise, when you serve these up, the reaction is going to be "Where has this been my whole life?!" This recipe deserves a place in your collection.
And because they are made as single-serve pieces, you don't have to worry that the whole thing is going to slide apart in a gooey mess on the plate.
We all need easy recipes such as our Chicken Schnitzel, Lazy Lasagna, or Chicken Parmesan in our personal recipe book. These are the foolproof dishes that we can make and serve without a lot of fuss.
Lasagna Roll Ups belong there: a recipe that's easy to make and gives you every bit of that comforting lasagna texture and flavor!
Ingredients
This is one of the easiest lasagna recipes. You can use the very same ingredients to make the more common layered lasagna.
PASTA - For this lasagna recipe, you'll need lasagna noodles that you boil first. Oven-ready or no-boil noodles won't work. I like to cook the lasagna pasta very al dente. Meaning that I undercook the pasta by 30 seconds to a minute less than the lowest recommended cooking time).
MEAT - You can use any ground meat. 80/20 will be the most flavorful but have the most highest fat content, 96/4 is the leanest ground beef. I typically opt for 85/15 and drain the excess grease after I brown the ground beef.
SAUCE - The type of pasta sauce you'll choose depends on your own preferences. I often choose Marinara sauce or Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce.
CHEESES - For this lasagna, I like a triple cheese combination consisting of: Ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and Mozzarella cheese.
EGG - One large egg acts as a binder for the cheese mixture and adds an extra bit of protein.
PARSLEY - This is optional, but I love adding freshly chopped parsley to the cheese mixture. It adds a bit of delicious peppery sweetness. This is one of the few times that if I don't have fresh parsley, I won't substitute it with dried spices.
📌 PIN THE LASAGNA ROLL-UPS
HERE TO SAVE FOR LATER!
How To Make Lasagna Roll Ups
- COOKING THE PASTA - Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- CHEESE MIXTURE - Combine ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, egg, and parsley in a large bowl.
- MEAT SAUCE - Brown ground beef. Drain excess fat and add the pasta sauce and simmer until warm.
- ASSEMBLING THE LASAGNA - Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the lasagna noodles flat. Spread the cheese filling over each noodle and top with the meat sauce. Drizzle with Mozzarella cheese. Roll and place into the casserole dish.
- BAKE - for 20-25 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes. Remove the foil for the last five minutes.
TIP: If you're using ground beef with higher fat content, such as 80/20 or 85/15, you don't need to add oil to brown the meat. If you're using 96/4, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Tips For Success
It's a good idea to spray the casserole dish so that nothing sticks.
Even though they are roll-ups, serve them with a spatula or spoon. Tongs will squeeze the cheesy goodness out of the rollup.
It's easy to customize the filling in your roll-ups to satisfy everyone if someone likes more of your hearty meat sauce and less cheese, no problem!
Storing Lasagna Rolls
If you happen to be making this recipe in advance, then the very best way to store it is to freeze the individual roll-ups and cook them right before serving. This preserves the very best of the cheese-filling textures.
But one of the things I love about lasagna roll-ups is that they are so easy to store as single-serve lunch or dinner meals. Just wrap each roll up in either plastic wrap, sandwich bag, or aluminum foil.
Cooked lasagna roll-ups can be refrigerated for three to four days. And, of course, they can be frozen for much longer.
Easy Salads To Serve With Lasagna Roll-Ups
Oma's German Cucumber Salad - My Oma's recipe. Easy to make and incredibly delicious.
Creamy German Cucumber Salad - The 'other' German cucumber salad.
Chopped Greek Salad - Refreshing summer salad
Broccoli Cauliflower Salad - The perfect salad to sneak in some extra veggies!
Classic Pea Salad - The perfect potluck, party, or side salad.
Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 12 pieces lasagna noodles cooked
Meat Sauce
- 1¼ pounds ground meat
- 36 ounces marinara sauce
Cheese Sauce
- 2 cups ricotta cheese part-skim
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- ½ cup parsley finely chopped
Instructions
PREP
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay out the cooked lasagna noodles flat. Set aside
Meat Sauce
- Use a large skillet and brown meat over medium heat. Once cooked, drain any excess fat. Add the pasta sauce and simmer until the meat sauce is warm.
Cheese Sauce
- In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, beaten egg, 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan, and parsley.
Make The Roll ups
- Spread the cheese sauce equally onto each lasagna noodle. Use a flat spatula or the back of a serving spoon and spread the cheese filling.
- Take ¾ of the meat sauce and spread it onto each lasagna noodle covering the cheese filling.
- Roll the lasagna noodles. Transfer the rolls to a casserole dish and top the lasagna roll ups with the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit. Cover with aluminum foil for the first 15-20 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until the cheese has melted and is nice and bubbly.