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A creamy spiced spinach filling with marinara sauce. This one is for the folks who are kinda meh about ricotta. I really only like ricotta in desserts, so when I make pasta filling it’s usually this one!
I know it seems like a lot of work to make the sauce and the filling, but hey… if you want quality you gotta make it yourself. Unless of course you’re terrible at cooking—in that case I’m sorry.
Obviously this is also good with a meat sauce for you carnivores out there. I kept this one simple, plus this is my favorite lasagna, so consider yourselves blessed 😀
BELOW ARE THE SAUCE AND FILLING RECIPES
Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium cooking onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 6 oz water tomato paste can full
- ¼ cup red cooking wine
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- ¼ cup celery leaves chopped
- ½ tsp Pepper
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a medium large pot.
- Add onions to the oil and let cook till starting to get translucent. At this point you can add the garlic. Cook for a few minutes to flavor oil. Don’t burn the garlic!
- Scrape out whole can of tomato paste and let sit in pot.
- Add red wine, heat should be at medium, cook off alcohol for about 2 – 3 minutes.
- Pour the tomato sauce and water into the pot. Stir everything together. Bring to a bubble.
- Add the spices, celery leaves, and bouillon cube. Cover and lower heat to simmer.
- After bouillon cooks you can add the cheese to sauce and stir well.
- Taste for seasoning.
Lasagna
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1 lb box lasagna noodles boiled
- 4 10 oz frozen spinach boxes
- 2 cream cheese pkgs softened
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated fine
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- Marinara sauce
- 1 8 oz pkg shredded mozzarella 1 more package if putting in layers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Cook noodles following box instructions. Rinse with cold water.
- Boil spinach till cooked through. Drain by pressing through strainer with a fork over sink or bowl.
- When spinach is dry and should still be hot, put back in empty warm pot and mix in cream cheese, half the parmesan, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Taste for seasoning.
- In a 9×13 inch pan or 2 9 inch pans, smear a light coat of sauce.
- Place the first row of noodles down.
- Add spinach filling on top.
- Cover with a layer of sauce.
- Optional: you can add more mozzarella inside layers if you like it cheesy.
- Top with another noodle layer.
- Repeat till three noodle layers.
- Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan over top.
- Bake 30 – 40 minutes. First 20 minutes covered with foil.
