I love lasagna in all its forms, especially these cute little Lasagna Roll Ups that are perfectly portioned for meal prep. Stash a few portions of these in your freezer for a rainy day and you will THANK yourself later. Promise. Lasagna roll ups are flexible and you can fill them with whatever you like, sausage, beef, or even make them vegetarian as I have here with a light spinach-ricotta filling. No matter the flavor, they’re delicious and fun to eat!
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What Are Lasagna Roll Ups?
Lasagna roll ups have all the same components of lasagna, but they are combined in different form. Instead of layering the ingredients into a casserole dish, the filling is spread onto each lasagna noodle and then rolled into a perfect little portion. Sauce is poured over the top and then they’re baked to perfection!
Ingredients for Lasagna Roll Ups
As with traditional lasagna, the filling for these lasagna roll ups is quite flexible. Here is what you’ll need to make the vegetarian spinach and ricotta-filled version below:
- Lasagna Noodles: Each lasagna noodle makes one bundle. I like to get the flutter edge noodles instead of flat noodles because they make the prettiest roll ups.
- Cheese: We use a mix of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese to create the most flavorful filling for the roll ups.
- Egg: Egg helps bind the cheese filling and keeps the filling moist and rich. I have, on occasion, forgotten the egg and the lasagna roll ups still turned out quite delicious, just not as moist.
- Frozen Spinach: I chose to make a vegetarian version of lasagna roll ups to save on money, using an inexpensive block of frozen cut spinach, but you can swap for Italian sausage or ground beef if you want a meat version. Sautéed mushrooms also work well.
- Pasta Sauce: To make this recipe extra easy, I used a simple jar of pasta sauce to drench the lasagna roll ups. If you prefer to make your own, you can use our Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce, or our quick Weeknight Pasta Sauce and have meat in addition to the spinach.
What to Serve with Lasagna Roll Ups
Some homemade garlic bread and a nice side salad would be perfect to pair with this meal and will add some color and freshness to the plate. But the roll ups are pretty filling on their own, so you won’t need to add much to make it a meal!
Meal Prep It!
These lasagna roll ups will stay good in the refrigerator for about five days, so make sure to portion them out into air-tight containers after cooking for quick grab-and-reheat meals for the rest of the week. After the portions are chilled in the refrigerator you can transfer some to the freezer for longer storage (up to three months).
To reheat the frozen lasagna roll ups, either let them thaw in the refrigerator over night before reheating in the microwave, or go straight from the freezer to the microwave, making sure to use the defrost function first.
Lasagna Roll Ups
Servings 8 (2 rolls each)Ingredients
- 12 oz. lasagna noodles ($2.19)
- 15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese ($3.39)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided ($2.33)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.38)
- 1 large egg ($0.09)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed ($1.20)
- 1 24oz. jar pasta sauce ($1.99)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add 1 tsp salt to season the water, then add the lasagna noodles. Boil the noodles just until al dente (they become too delicate to roll if they are too soft). Drain the noodles in a colander.
- While the noodles are boiling, drain the thawed spinach, squeezing out as much of the excess water as possible. Add the spinach to a bowl with the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Once the lasagna noodles have cooled enough to touch with your hands, lay a few noodles out onto a clean surface. Spread about ¼ cup of the spinach and cheese filling onto each noodle, spreading it from edge to edge. It's okay if the filling is thin or doesn't create a solid layer. Roll the noodles up, then place in a large casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles until you've used all of the filling. You should get about 16 roll ups and you may have a few noodles left over (those will be back up in case any tear).
- Once all of the noodles are filled, rolled, and placed in the casserole dish, pour the jar of pasta sauce over top. Top the lasagna roll ups with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake the lasagna roll ups for 30 minutes in the preheated 400ºF oven. Serve hot and enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Lasagna Roll Ups – Step by Step Photos
Thaw one 10oz. package of frozen chopped spinach (either use the defrost function on a microwave or transfer it to the refrigerator the day before to thaw). Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Once the spinach is fully thawed, squeeze out as much water as possible from the spinach. You should have about one cup tightly packed spinach after squeezing.
Add the spinach to a large bowl with one large egg, 15oz. ricotta cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Stir everything together until evenly combined.
Boil 12oz. lasagna noodles until al dente, then drain in a colander. Do not let the noodles overcook or they’ll be too delicate to work with. You’ll only need 12 noodles, but you’ll likely have a few more if you boil an entire 12oz. box. It’s always good to have a few back up in case they tear as you’re filling and rolling.
Lay a few of the lasagna noodles out onto a clean surface and spread a thin layer of the cheese filling onto each noodle from edge to edge. The filling does not need to be thick or in a solid layer because it adds up when the noodles are rolled. I used heaping ¼ cup of filling per noodle.
As you fill and roll the noodles, place them in a large casserole dish. Pour one 24oz. jar of marinara sauce over the lasagna roll ups.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the lasagna roll ups.
Cover the baking dish and bake the roll ups for about 30 minutes in the preheated 400ºF oven, or until the sauce and cheese are bubbling up around the edges.
Serve and enjoy! (Garnish with parsley for a little extra color, if desired.)
Any tips if I’d rather add hamburger instead of spinach?
We’d have to test that out first! You could also check out our Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef! https://www.budgetbytes.com/stuffed-shells-with-ground-beef/
Are you able to prep this the evening/morning before then pop into oven in evening for dinner? At which step would I stop/resume for this?
I would make them through filling, rolling, and placing in the casserole dish. Then cover and refrigerate and top with sauce and cheese right before baking!
I’m making these today. So excited! I always cook Italian on Sunday! Thnx for this. Let you know how it turns out. Ciao
Trying your lasagna roll ups recipe. Very excited. 😆
These were so delicious!! I plan to make portion size meals for my lunches. I was wondering if I could freeze the uncooked rolls and when I’m ready to heat, add the sauce and cheese, or add the sauce and cheese before freezing the rolls? Thank you!
I think you could definitely freeze the rolls and then add the sauce and cheese when you heat! If you do it let us know how it works out!
It works freezing them without sauce. I realized that you can waste jarred sauce unless you plan to heat the individual portions until you run out of sauce. Results, delish!! Thank you.
Just made these and they are delicious! Recipe is super simple and very cost effective. Noticed other post about not having enough filling for 16 rolls. I didn’t change recipe I was just mindful to use only about 2 to 2 1/2 tbsps per noodle. Last couple were a little heavier but filling was able to fill all. Thank you for recipe, I will definitely make this again.
Im going to buy 500 of these
Super easy but I only got 8 instead of 16. I think I overstuffed
Can I do this with raw baby spinach?
You probably could, but it would be pretty difficult to roll them up with uncooked spinach, and you’d end up with a lot less spinach in there. You might also run into an issue with the spinach releasing a lot of water as it cooks, making things a bit soggy.
I decided to use Italian sausage instead of spinach. I added it in coming. But I feel like maybe I should have put it in the sauce. Any thoughts?
I think you could go either way! It might be harder to roll up with the chunks of sausage, depending on how small you crumble it as it cooks.
This recipe is good for week night meals and for special occasions. For a buffet that included a number of vegetarian guests, I sauteed diced mushrooms, small dice eggplant, onions, and small dice butternut squash along with some garlic and added in a small can of tomato paste plus a jar of fire roasted tomato sauce and cooked until it was a little thickened. I used whole wheat lasagna noodles that seem to hold up better than regular. Then I proceeded as outlined in your recipe with spreading the ricotta/cheeses/spinach mixture and a layer of the tomato cooked vegetables, rolled them up, topped with more tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, and baked covered for 30 minutes then uncovered for 5 to let the cheese brown up some. Everyone loved this dish.
I cooked the pasta, left it in the strainer and went to do the grocery shopping. I think that was a mistake, because when I got back they were all stuck together and dry in the middle. I should have listened to you and rolled them when they were just warm enough to handle. As I had already defrosted the spinach, I ended up making a sort of messy pasta casserole.
I make spinach lasagna roll ups all the time. If you really want to take it over the top, add some pesto. I freeze my own pesto as ice cubes so just add one or two of them, defrosted of course. 😋
Yessss, that’s such a great idea!
Any suggestions for ricotta cheese substitute? I’m currently living in a foreign country and I have looked in every grocery store and I’ve been unable to locate ricotta cheese but desperately want to try these!
Hi Jessica- try mascarpone or cottage cheese. You can also make your own ricotta. Heat a half gallon of whole milk and a few generous pinches of salt on medium until it starts to steam (but not boil). Turn the heat down to low and add 3 tablespoons of distilled vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Stir until curds start to form. Take the pot off the heat and let it sit (covered) for about a half hour. Drain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. Tie the cheesecloth into a bundle and then squeeze as much liquid as possible out of it. xoxo -Monti
Thanks so much!
Another good option is to make a bechamel sauce – the main ingredients are butter, flour, and milk. It’s common to use bechamel instead of ricotta in lasagna recipes!
I used to make these for my children 35 or so yrs ago, and lost the recipe. My friend who I got it from lost hers too.
So delighted you posted this so that I-can once again delight my grown 40 something kids and my grandchildren to food Daddy and Mommy enjoyed when they were their age. Easy peasy, relatively nutritions & eye appealing.
Can fresh spinach be substituted for frozen? And if so what is the new ratios?
I think with some tweaking you could definitely use fresh spinach! I would cook it down separately and make sure to get out as much water as I can before adding it to the cheese mixture. 10 oz. of frozen spinach equals around 1.5 cups cooked. To get that much with fresh greens, you will need about 16oz of fresh spinach (cooked and drained.) ~Marion :)
I can vouch that this lasagna is delicious. I have been married 47 years and my husband declared that this was the best meal I have ever served. I won’t lie. This is a labor intensive preparation; but worth it in the end, with that kind of compliment! I created an assembly line on my kitchen counter. First in line was the drained, cooked lasagna noodle. Next in line was the ricotta/spinach mixture. Then the cooking vessel (I used disposable aluminum pans) then the sauce, then the mozzarella cheese, then the foil. I added browned ground beef and browned mild Italian sausage to the tomato sauce.
This is a favorite of mine and I love that it’s cheap and easy, just like me! 😂
I’ve used this as a base recipe but with several adaptations.
I’ve drained the noodles and sprinkled a bit of olive oil on to prevent the noodles sticking together.
More marinara sauce. I put a layer on the bottom of the cooking dish and then add the filled rolls. I finish with another layer of marinara and a sprinkle of mozzarella and Edam cheese on the top.
I use all the noodles including the broken ones. Start rolling at the end that is a bit broken and finish with the end that is intact. Once baked together the “pieces” will stay intact in the roll.
Leftover noodles are used to make a separate “lasagna” dish with all the leftover broken noodles and filling. I also add marinara sauce to this dish. I find using a glass bread pan works perfect for the amount left over.
To the filling I add Italian seasoning, shredded garlic and dried onion pieces. (I’m not sure fresh onions would cook through in 30 mins).
I found the recipe as is quite dry and my family’s preference is for a moister “lasagna”.
I’ve also used other fillings such a mushrooms, red peppers and 1/2 creamcheese 1/2 ricotta, with seasonings. (fabulous)
Overall it’s a good base recipe which allows you to customize for your own tastes.
Thank you!!
This is one of my favorite websites for recipes. I appreciate the time you take to break down the costs and help show that good food doesn’t have to be expensive! It has helped me a lot especially since 2020 and soaring food prices. Will try this recipe soon on date night with my husband!
Thanks for being here, Beth! XOXO -Monti
Hi, if I want to make these and serve them 3 days later what is the best way to do it? I wont be able to cook them only warm them up. how can i freeze it or will they stay in the fridge?
They’ll be good in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Any longer than that and I suggest freezing them. Go ahead and bake them first, then after baking divide them into single portions and either store in the fridge or freezer. You can just use the microwave to reheat. :)
Great recipe although to taste better I added onion powder and garlic powder to the mixture and I was only able to get 12 roll ups from this recipe
I struggled with rolling up the noodles on this one. Not sure if I used the wrong kind or cooked them too long, but they just kept falling apart. In the end I just gave up and made regular lasagna, with the broken noodles in the middle to hide them. It was really tasty, though! Next time I’ll be more careful to only boil the noodles JUST until they’re soft.
I loved this recipe, my husband jumped in and wanted to help liking how Different it looked. Mother in law was impressed as well!
I made these with pesto in the filling according to your stuffed jumbo shells recipe. Easy to make, absolutely delicious and really filling! Thank you for a great recipe for our Valentine’s Day meal. :)
Yummie I’m making this. Looks delicious. Thank you for sharing. Happy holidays
I didn’t use eggs as suggested. Just added Mexican mixed cheeses, mozzarella. Parmesan and frozen spinach plus ricotta cheese.
Used marinara sauce with sriracha, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of sugar..
Cover the rolled up lasagna with foil and baked for 30 min at 400..
Tastes fantastic.
This was delicious and simple. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Beth! I wonder where your spinach and artichoke lasagna recipe went? It’s been my go-to lasagna recipe for years and I’ve been searching your site high and low and can’t Seem to find it. This recipe seems like it’s the closest as far as for the cheesy layer. I almost have it memorized, but would love to review the actual recipe once more before I make it tonight.
I can email it to you (the email address you used to register this comment)! :)
Hi Beth…….Oh me too please…..would love the spinach and artichoke lasagna recipe
Just sent. :)
Hi Denise, I tried emailing it to the address you used to register this comment, but it bounced back as undeliverable. If you email us at support@budgetbytes.com we can replay with the recipe for you. :)
If I use fresh spinach, how do I know how much to use to equal the 10oz of frozen?
Unfortunately, I’m not sure. This recipe is so old that I didn’t measure the volume of the spinach after it was thawed and squeezed of the excess moisture. In the photos it looks like maybe one cup packed. So if you’re using fresh, you’ll want to sauté it down until the spinach is very wilted and all the excess moisture evaporates away, then you’ll probably need about 1 cup at that stage.
I’ve used fresh spinach too! I just wilt it with a splash of olive oil. I used a 10oz bag and it turned out beautifully!
I love anything pasta, and especially lasagna! This recipe sounds so delicious! I cannot wait to try it.
Hmm yummy… thanks for the recipe
Delicious! Had raw spinach instead of frozen, just sautéed it wit a lil oil & came out amazing! Highly recommend this recipe. Also added garlic which just made it that much more amazing
Can these be frozen?
Yes :)
I’ve been making a similar recipe for years. If you remember the now defunct Bennigans Restaurant chain, they had similar roll-up dish on their menu in the 1980’s… Their recipe had a twist… Super thin shaved PASTRAMI!!! I would HIGHLY recommend adding a layer of shaved pastrami to the roll-ups! ( will cost a bit more but WORTH IT! )
Thank you for reminding me Beth… People have been asking me to make pastrami roll-ups for awhile now.. It’s on the To-Do list!
I loved this recipe but I have a question. Your final picture does not show the marinara covering all the shells. Its a prettier way to display the roll ups for sure. Do you recommend baking them plain and then adding the marinara separately, as was done in the picture?
I would cover them at least most of the way because that keeps the pasta from drying out. A few crispy edges on the pasta arent’ bad, but if you don’t use any sauce to cover them they’ll definitely dry out.
i really like the way u mentioned everything in detailed 😇
Can these be made the day prior and reheated the day of? I’ve see. I’ve also seen some recipes that call for the sauce to be a dipping sauce instead. Is that a possibility?
Yes, these reheat very well. :) The only issue you might run into with just using the sauce for dipping is that the noodles will probably dry out and get tough if baked “naked” without the sauce to keep them moist.
No temperature listed to bake
The temperature is listed in step 3 where it instructs you to preheat to 400ºF, but I went ahead and added it in the last step as well so it wouldn’t be missed. :)
The lasagna rolls look mouth-watering. can you suggest me something else instead of egg?
Have you tried this with zucchini instead of lasagna noodles? Would any of the requirements change?
That sounds delicious! We haven’t tried that yet but I think it would be great! You won’t have to bake as long I would imagine. But just keep your eye on it.
wow, it looks delicious and can’t wait to try this recipe. Can you please tell me why you use frozen spinach instead of normal spinach? Is it important to use frozen spinach?
Hello! I used frozen spinach because years ago when this blog post was written, fresh spinach was very expensive compared to frozen spinach, so I went with the more affordable option. :) Luckily, these days fresh spinach is much more affordable! To use fresh spinach, just chop it up and sauté it in a skillet to remove some of the moisture before adding it to the filling for the roll ups.
Also the shelf life of frozen spinach is very long. Dry noodles last forever. Use bechamel instead of ricotta and this dish becomes a pantry meal which is important as pandemic shopping trips become further apart.
I made this with a 1/2 recipe of the slow cooker marinara, which was perfect. My only suggestion would be to add a measurement for the salt. I wasn’t able to salt “to taste” since the cheese mixture had raw egg. I added a small amount, but it definitely needed more.
This recipe also works well for stuffed jumbo shells (like your pesto stuffed shells recipe).
I see a reference to nutritional information to this recipe, but I cant find it anywhere. Is the info gone or is there a different link somewhere else? Thanks! Really yummy recipe!
We only recently brought on a Registered Dietician to our team. She’s working hard behind the scenes to update the entire recipe database, over 1500+ recipes, with nutritional information. She’s working her way from the newest recipes back and it takes some time to update them all. Stay tuned!
Can you subsitute cottage cheese for the ricotta cheese?
Yes you could swap cottage cheese for the ricotta.
Idk but i never managed to cook lasagna in my whole life, no matter how many recipes, video , tutorials I try to follow. I feel there is always something more that needs to be done. anyway, i am going to try your recipe. Now, that i have so much free time at my hand due to this pandemic. wish me luck.
I love ricotta but my wife does not. I substituted cream cheese – delish! Think I might up the cheese and double the spinach. Also thinking about adding garlic. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you so much for giving too many ideas as I would use these ideas as a New Year present. Your idea of Dinner is very good. Now, I have decided to give a treat to my family and also I will be able to spend some memorable time with them. Last time, I gifted a beautiful jar with 31 envelope messages from KindNotes. This time, your blog helped me a lot. Again, thanks for sharing these brilliant ideas.
This is Delicious and yummy I haven seen here and prepared at my home and it was so good. thanks for this new recipe.
This will be a staple in our house! We only did 12 rolls and used home made marinara. Very filling and flavorful!
Happy to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
what an amazing recipe that you have shared with us. Is it important to use frozen spinach? can we use normal spinach?
I used frozen spinach mainly for the cost savings, but you can definitely use fresh spinach. You will want to sauté the spinach first to remove most of its moisture, though.
Do you cook frozen roll ups frozen or defrosted? What temp?
I’ve never actually cooked the frozen roll ups in the oven. I always divide them into single servings before freezing, and then just reheat them in the microwave. You can use the defrost setting on your microwave until it’s no longer frozen solid, then go full power to heat through.
Hi Beth
I really enjoyed reading your recipe, it was explained clearly. The photos made it even clearer. Because of this I really wanted to try to make it myself.
I have already made the lasagna roll ups for my family, but I do have a small remark. Namely ricotta has a very special taste that not everyone can appreciate and you did not mention this in the recipe. I like the taste of ricotta very much and therefore have I made it with the ricotta and spinach. My brother and dad doesn’t really like ricotta, so I replaced the ricotta with meat, as you suggested. That was of course delicious too.
Let’s say that I am not really an experienced cook, but thanks to the clear explanation I managed without problems. My family was very enthusiastic and I will definitely make this delicious lasagna roll ups again.
Greetings Luca
Thanks, Luca! I’m glad you enjoyed them. :)
This was so good my 15-month-old and 4-year-old devoured it in minutes. Thank you!
Can you prep these and refrigerate for a day before cooking…or would I have to prepare and bake on same day???
You can prep these the day before. :)
Great recipe, thank you! I tripled the recipe which yielded 3 trays, 15 rolls in each for a total of 45 rolls!
Delicious! I made these tonight and they were excellent. Thank you for the recipe. Also for next time, if I wanted to freeze them and have them in the freezer for my lazy cooking days when would I freeze it? Before baking? After baking?
Edit to my original comment because I missed the egg in the ingredient list. Freeze after baking. :)
Isn’t there raw egg in the filling?
Oh, oops. I thought I double checked the ingredient list to see if there was egg, but somehow I missed it! :P Thanks for catching that. Freeze after baking.
Can you make it the night before, and bake off the next day?
Yes. :)
Very good. So simple that it’s easy to do some add ins. I was able to make 9 roll ups with this recipe.
Can I freeze this after it’s baked and warm up when ready to use?
Absolutely! :) It’s one of my favorite things to freeze.
I make very similar roll-ups and add thinly shaved pastrami… It adds to the cost well but worth it! Try it!
Absolutely love love love your site. I’m making the spinach roll ups for a tapas style thanksgiving. Thanks for the amazing recipes!
I’ve just recently discovered your website and love it! I made this tonight because I had a couple boxes of frozen spinach and did a broad search of your site for recipes including it. I was honestly expecting this to be just average based on the recipe directions, but no…it was so delicious! The only change I made was a pinch of red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning over top of the whole thing before baking. The simplicity really works here!
I added some meat to this dish and it was PERFECTION.
Thanks Beth! Def keeping this recipe.
This was hit! Everyone loved it in my house. And I shared you recipe link with a bunch of my friends. Thank you!
Did not cost 8.01. Actual cost was $13. THIS IS A LIEE
LOL, prices are for example purposes only. Prices vary from region to region, store to store, and even day to day.
Yes this is so true- I usually use the prices for guidance only- ricotta near me costs around 3.75 for a 7 ounce container- but I live in Belgium so. most items cost more.- the recipe will cost me about $17 but still much less expensive than full-on lasagna!
Actually, mine was a little less to make. $733 to be exact. One reason is I buy many ingredients when on sale so I have very little to buy when ready to make his dish. I live in the Midwest so prices could be lower too.
que delicias para preparar muchas gracias,doris
I made this tonight for dinner, we loved it! I added garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the cheese mixture and to the sauce. I used CLASSICO Organic tomato, herb and spice marinara sauce and it was wonderful. I also uncovered after the normal cooking time, topped it with grated mozzarella and returned it to the oven until melted and sprinkled with chopped basil before serving.
How many slices per serving ?
Two rollups per serving.
Made this tonight. Very easy to make. It’s very basic and I would make it again but I would probably add fresh Garlic and spices to the sauce.
Amazing!!
Fantastic.
Can anyone suggest a procedure for freezing these and cooking them freezer to oven?
Hi, I want to make this but I only have fresh spinach at home! Should I sautée it before I put it into the ricotta mixture?
Yes, definitely sauté it first. :)
Thanks, that’s what I ended up doing and the roll ups came out amazingly! :)
Honestly, I was surprised how much this recipe was lacking in flavor. This is the first BudgetBytes recipe I have made that I was extremely disappointed in (and I’ve made a lot of them!). If you plan to make this recipe, you should add some Italian seasoning or meat to give it more flavor. The dish definitely has potential but the recipe as presented needs some additions!
I love these but add italian seasoning, garlic powder and a few dashes of cayenne in the filling mixture. Lots of flavor and this dinner is little effort.
Delish! But I can never get my lasagne noodles to cook without sticking together!
Salt! Or once the water is boiling, add a splash of olive oil before placing the noodles in the pot for cooking.
Yum! Great flavor. Simple. Next time I would only boil 12 lasagna noodles (that is how many it filled). My 1 lb. box had 18-19 lasagna noodles (Barilla) so I ended up tossing about 1/3 of the box since I didn’t have any other immediate use for the cooked noodles! Kind of bummed about that, but the meal itself was yummy.
Is it safe to freeze and reheat leftovers?
Yes :)
I leave my 2 frozen chopped spinach in a bag overnight in the refrigerator, next morning I place them in the drainboard and let them really be room temp, then I take 1 box at a time, make a small puncture at 1 end & squish it with my fingers eventually rolling, squeezing, just like toothpaste to get the water out. No mess, all done in sink and spinach is still in box! Then just open over bowl & brush it all in. Big time saver & EZ Peezy! Also you can add a drop of any kind of oil, I use EVOO into water to keep noodles from sticking, then hardly have to stir. Love this recipe!
So clever! Thank you for sharing that technique. :)
Making these tonight! I have a dumb question…the recipe calls for grated parmesan cheese.
Does that mean the Kraft powdery grated parmesan that comes in a shaker bottle or
does it mean the shredded parmesan in a bag (like the mozzerella pictured) ?
Sorry I didn’t get to this sooner! Grated is the powdery kind. :) You could absolutely use the shredded stuff if you have it, but usually that’s more expensive, so I always buy grated.
Thank you for getting back to me! I ran out of time yesterday, so I am actually making them right now.
Thank you sooo much for answering my “newbie” question!
I tried this recipe but made a few adjustments. I decided to used whole wheat pasta instead of regular. Also I seasoned some chicken breast with salt and pepper, pan seared then sliced it and placed it inside the rolls. Lastly instead of marinara I used a pasta sauce of my liking. It turned out great and tasted wonderful. I’m sure the original was just as good too.
I made these over the weekend and they were fantastic! Not nearly as complicated as it looks, and SO GOOD.
My kids have been asking me to make this since I pinned it over the summer, and I finally got around to it tonight. It was a big hit. I doubled the recipe since there are seven of us. It was easy enough that my 14yo son could handle making it on his own (he helped with the rolling). Definitely going in our recipe box (yes, I still have one of those metal boxes with little paper cards in them, lol).
I liked this recipe but i think the filling could use some more seasoning/flavor. If I make it again, I would add garlic and maybe some Italian herbs.
I like that idea of garlic and Italian seasoning.
This is a terrific recipe. Easy and tasty. It is like lasagna but without all the time and angst to prepare. Freezes well. Also great reheated for lunch. Make it with a quick salad and it’s mighty fine. I will be trying the garden version next.
Do you freeze it all put together?
I made this for supper tonight and my family loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’d like to make these ahead of time for a work potluck; I can bake them at work. How long do you think it would take to bake them if they are cold?
I can only guess, but I’d try adding an another 10-15 minutes.
Well oops. I bought Oven Ready Lasagna at the store instead of normal. I’ve heard if you boil that, it’ll fall apart. Is there any way I can soften these enough to roll them up? I really wanna make these tonight, so hoping I don’t have to run to the store again!
Hmm, I’m really not sure. I’ve never used that product before. :(
I tried boiling them, but it didn’t work too well. I ended up just using the noodles and then putting layers of the ricotta and spinach filling in between, like normal lasagna. It still tasted great – next time I’ll make sure to pay attention to what kind of noodles I buy. The filling recipe you had still tasted amazing though!
I used some, but I only put them in the water until they were soft enough to roll, but not cooked since they’ll cook in the sauce. They didn’t fall apart and worked fine. There were extras and the kids were eating them by dunking them in leftover sauce.
Awesome recipe. Made this recipe for a couple of different occasions and everyone loved it, and were asking for the recipe. A keeper, for sure!!! Thanks for sharing.
How would you advise freezing these in individual (two roll) portions? Should I freeze before or after baking? Include sauce or leave separate?
I baked mine first, then divided it up into two roll portions (with sauce), chilled in the fridge first, then transferred to the freezer. That way I knew they were fully cooked and I could just pop them in the microwave, straight from the freezer, until they were heated through. :)
HOLY COW! These are so delicious! I will be making these for my family SOON! :) Thanks!
This was amazing! Tried tonight and I was able to get 16 rolls in a 9X13 casserole dish. My family really loved it. I will be doing this again!
Trying these tonight :) added a little marinera sauce to the filling as well as a little bit of sun dried tomato olive oil for a little extra flavour.
really good & super easy. I made my own homemade sauce instead of the marinara & topped this with some extra mozzarella before serving. Really light & satisfying dish.
Made these again, but added mushrooms and changed the marinara to sun dried tomato alfredo sauce and it was amaaaaaaazing!
I’d love to make these and bring them to a friend as a “new home gift”. Would I be able to assemble this at home and then bring it over for them to bake? Or would I need to bake them at my house? I’m afraid they wouldn’t be as fresh if i chose the latter.
I think it would work just fine to assemble at home and bake at the friend’s house. :)
I made these tonight. They were fabulous. I really want to try more vegetarian meals. Thanks so much for this gem.
Can you use cottage cheese and ricotta mixture? What do you think the appropriate ratio would be? Thank you so much!
You could do half and half, but the mixture will be quite a bit more loose, so you may need to add an egg.
Made these last night and they were soooo good! I also got 14 rolls out of the filling and aso added some mushrooms. My boyfriend ate 4 rolls! Definitely a winner that leaves me enough leftovers for a couple days of lunch <3
I just bought all the ingredients to try this out tonight! Looks soooo good!
Hi Beth I’ve tried a few of your recipes and have been a total success! I’m going to try the roll up but I have a question. if i add meat how much should i add!?
You can add anywhere from 1/2 lb. (if you want to go light) to one pound of meat. You definitely need to brown the meat in a skillet before adding it to the rolls, though. (Or you could do precooked chicken, like from a rotisserie chicken or something.)
My best friend’s mom used to make these for me on my brithday every year, so when I saw this recipe I was so excited to try them out! They were delicious! They came out even better than the ones my friend’s mom always made. This will definitely become a staple in my house because my husband just about swallowed 5 of them whole! Thank you for the recipe.
Hi! Love this recipe! Looking to make this for a greiving family as a freezer meal- what would you recommend putting as the reheating instructions?
If heating from frozen, I’d go for a semi-low heat, like 300, so the outer edges don’t over cook before the center has time to heat up. Make sure it stays covered as well, so it doesn’t dry out. I’m not sure about the time, but it will probably take a while, like at least 45 minutes.
Made this dish for dinner tonight. Was super easy and awesome. Thanks for sharing and all the photos.
I have made these so many times I’ve lost count. My family loves these. I add mushrooms and ground beef and it’s a total hit!!
I haven’t much cooking experience, But with this easy to follow recipe, this going into my favourite Recipe bookmark, ready for when I can try it out. Thank you very much.
Really nice recipe. My vegetable-repulsed 13 year old gobbled it down with no comments other than,”it’s good.”
That’s good to hear, mine is waiting to go into the oven right now. My 13 year old doesn’t like spinach, but will eat it if she thinks it’s giant oregano!
I have to say: Those sorta dinky-looking rolled deedlyboppers are a LIE. These things are MONSTERS! Massive beasts of delicious flavorful goodness. Added mushrooms and it got super-filling up in here!
(Translation: OM NOM NOM. *burp*) <3
Hahaha most animated comment ever. Love it! :)
I was just wondering why the finished product on the plate looks so different from the way the ones in the pan are smothered with the marinara? Plus, the ones on the plate look like they have a fresh tomato sauce on them rather than a cooked down marinara. I see you have your website name on them, but are all of these pics your originals?
Yep, all the photos are mine. :) The reason the ones on the plate look different its because they’re not baked. I plated and added sauce to those before I put them in the dish to bake them because I knew that after they baked they’d be all messy with sauce and you wouldn’t be able to see the inside ingredients. So I snapped a few pictures first, then put them in the casserole dish and baked the whole thing.
Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
Yes, but you’ll need to sauté it down for a couple minutes to wilt it and remove some of the moisture first.
This recipe is delicious.. enjoyed it very much.
Hope you respond. Know this is an older post but I was wondering if I could make this and assemble it one day and then cook it the next day. Thanks
Yes, this recipe works very well with assembly ahead of time. :)
can you substitute cream cheese? I have a picky eater who doesn’t like ricotta or cottage cheese
I personally would not use cream cheese. It’s just too different from ricotta or cottage cheese in both texture and flavor, but if that’s what *they* like, it might be worth trying.
We made this per the recipe and really enjoyed it. It kept pretty well and the marinara on top prevented it from drying out when re-heated.
Thanks for sharing it. I think I want to make the African Peanut Stew next!
I don’t have a microwave or toaster oven-just a conventional oven (with convection options as well). How would you recommend reheating these leftovers in the oven (both refrigerated and frozen)? Time and temp suggestions?
I have to admit, I’ve never used my conventional oven for reheating, but I would suggest keeping it covered so that it doesn’t dry out. Also, lower heat for longer time will also probably help it heat more evenly, so I would suggest not using a temp higher than 350. The time will depend on the size and shape of your dish.
Hi! I really want to try these with pesto. How much would you recommend using? I’m bad at guessing these sorts of things on my own. Thanks!
Hmm, pesto is pretty potent, so I think I’d try a 1/2 cup mixed into the ricotta and egg mixture.
A question, do you freeze the rolls before baking or after? If before baking, do you still put sauce on them or wait until u thaw them and nuke them in the micro?? Thanks
I froze mine after baking so that I could just pop them in the microwave real quick to reheat. :)
My whole family from picky hubby thru 3 year old loved this tonight. Not too complicated to prepare. I added beef and garlic salt to the filling.
What a quick and easy idea to make lasagna. So much easier than the way my mother makes it. Love it!
This was delicious!! Easy to make as well. No more traditional lasagna for us.
I live in a remote community and I fly to a grocery store every 3 months or so. I am always looking for good recipes that I can freeze and eat months later when my family runs out of fresh produce. This recipe is amazing! I usually quadruple the recipe and freeze it all. It is absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I’ve made these and put them in the freezer without the sauce. Then I can pull out the amount that I need.
I am going to make this for dinner tonight and I am just wondering what I could substitute for the egg?
Any ideas?
You can leave it out, but the filling will be more “loose” and not quite as solid. I can’t think of any appropriate substitutes for it here.
Gotcha! Thanks!
ground flax seed if memory serves me
mix with water to create egg substitute….it’s late or I’d google it for you :)
flax meal, my bad…
http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes.php?recipe=7157
I didn’t have any eggs on hand so I left it out, but I also added 8oz of softened cream cheese to hold it together better and because, well we just LOVE cheese.
This is a great recipe! The only change I made to this was I was too tired to make the marinara (I am a teacher), and so I just put a can of the $1 can of spaghetti sauce, a can of petite diced tomatoes and I added extra oregano, basil, garlic, 2 bay leaves, and for the “kick” that marinara has, like a dash or two of red pepper flakes! It turned it really really great however next time I will definitely put onions in it as well. This is a versatile recipe and so easy to make compared to lasagna…I will never be making lasagna ever again and maybe next time, I will have put italian sausage in the marinara sauce. :) Thanks!
OMGosh it was so good a little hard to handle the hot noodles but overall a hit at our house. Yummm Thank You for the great idea I even made an extra pan for my daughter so she didn’t have to cook after work.
Sara
Huge hit at our house! I put some roasted garlic, sweet chicken sausage and mushrooms in the sauce and melted some mozzarella on top. Will become a regular in our dinner rotation!
Made this with italian sausage and spinach it was great. I think I am in love with your site we were in a rut and now have a bunch of new ideas.
I used to make this all the time. Thanks for reminding me its been ages since I’ve made these. I used to place them standing up in a smaller deep casserole dish and poor the sauce around. This way the filling doesn’t run out when baking :)
I’d had this recipe bookmarked for a while, I knew I wanted to make it when I needed to impress someone lol. I made it a few days ago and it was a hit! I’m actually surprised at how great it tasted! Making this again very soon!
I literally just made this for dinner. The only thing I changed was the marinara sauce. I’m not much for marinara so I used meat sauce and I LOVED IT! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I’ve made this twice now. The first time I made it I only got 7 rolls, but I put the filling on kinda thick because when I tried putting on a thin layer there were small bare spots that bugged me. I used a whole 24 oz. jar of sauce and folks still wanted more! This time I used manicotti. And boy was stuffing a pain. I realized too late that we were out of eggs but it still turned out well. There was a little extra spinach since I shopped at a different store and all they had were 12 oz. bags. I also added a clove of minced garlic and 1/4 tsp. onion powder. This will definitely become part of the regular rotation.
Thank you. I have made recipes from your site all week and my husband asked what he had done to deserve such amazing dinners! Easy to make and delist, this is his favorite so far!
I made this tonight and it was SUPER easy to make. Very delicious :) Thank you for the recipe!
My 13, almost 14 year old kiddo has decided she wants to go vegetarian, so I’m gently easing her into it before her goal of her birthday at the end of Spring.
I thought for sure she’d hate these but I was wrong. They’re delish. Easy, but maybe just a wee bit more time consuming than regular lasagna and stacking it in the pan. No biggie.
I’m GF (for health, not on trend) so I used DeBoles GF Lasagna noodles and I added some Italian Spices to the cheese mixture- just a few shakes of the jar. As I forgot Mozzarella at the store, used Romano instead. Reheats awesomely, too. We have enough left that they’ll be after school snacks and lunches for the most of the week.
(And this was the first time in my adult life I’ve cooked Lasagna noodles and not had any tear. It’s a sign!)
Made this last night, awesome idea and fun! I’m a bit of a spice/herb addict and added pesto, onion & garlic powder and red pepper flakes, turned out fantastic! Definitely try pesto/herbs, it really compliments this great recipe! :)
This rocked our faces and our wallets as usual. As a grad student, I was so incredibly thankful to have found this site last week and have been referring back daily. Thanks!
This is thrifty comfort food at its best. I have included this recipe in my January Real Food Meal Plan post.
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband and in laws LOVED it. None of my noodles tore, so I filled a 9×13 glass pan with roll ups. I decided to use fresh spinach, but I think I didn’t have enough in the mixture. Two roll ups I had to fill with grated mozzarella and sauce because I didn’t have enough mixture, I guess because of the spinach shortage on my part. These were great and easy to prepare and assemble. They taste just like regular lasagna. I love how easy it is to control portions. Will definitely be making these again.
Just wondering if you substitute fresh spinach (as I have a ton in the fridge and need to use it up!), do you think it is better to just add it in as is, or saute it first? Thanks!
I think I would definitely saute it first so that it’s easier to mix in with the cheese.
We made this tonight and used fresh baby spinach. Just washed it and tossed it in. It was fabulous. We added chives for fun, and that was good too. A definite winner of a recipe.
I just made this………………it…was…duh bomb.
Hi Beth! I am making this tonight, so I don’t know if you’ll have time to respond that quickly, but…I was wondering about the cooking time. In the little snapshot at the top, it says cook time 45 minutes, total time 1 hour, but in the instructions it says 30 minutes. Do you need to let it sit for 15 minutes or something when you take it out of the oven? I am confused about the discrepancy. (Tried to scan the comments for similar questions but I didn’t see any!)
Nope, that must be a typo! I’ll fix it now. Sorry I didn’t get back to you quickly!
Oh! I just figured it out… 15 minutes to cook the pasta first, then 30 minutes to bake the whole thing once assembled. :)
This dish was fun to make and a great way to finish up an open bag of fresh spinach and a half a jar of left over marinara sauce we had in our fridge that otherwise would probably have ended up going bad on us.
We didn’t have ricotta cheese so I think we used a combination of goat, mozzarella, parmesan cheese and a bit of sour cream for consistency. They were still pretty good.
thank you
I’ve been meaning to make this for a long time. I made a few changes – added a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts and three cloves of garlic to the spinach/cheese mixture. I used a jarred pasta sauce (tomato with roasted garlic). So overall it ended up fairly garlicky but I like that.
My container of ricotta was a bit bigger than 15oz, so I added a bit extra of all the other ingredients. Ended up making 18 roll ups.
This recipe is definitely a keeper, and it’s so versatile you could do any type of lasagna filling.
i really wanted to make lasagna but do not want to make a trip to the store for more ingred. Weirdly, i have everything for this recipe so works out perfectly. thank you.
Making this tonight. Simple, cheap, awesome directions, hidden spinach-all good. Made the sesame chicken last night. All I can say is it’s the best meal I’ve made in a LONG time. We were craving chinese food and have no good local options. I’m going to have to try all of your recipes! Thanks!
Made this tonight. Huge hit with the man friend! I loved it as well, by only thought was that I was left wishing the filling was a bit creamier. Any ideas?
http://instagram.com/p/e03wFatGbT/
Hmm, You could maybe make a small batch of bechamel sauce to mix into the filling… or perhaps a small amount of cream cheese? Although I think the bechamel would be better. Bechamel is really simple white sauce and you can probably find a bazillion recipes and/or video tutorials for it online :)
I’d like to add Italian sausage. Should I cook the sausage beforehand, or add them uncooked? This looks delicious, by the way!
I would definitely brown the sausage first, then you can just sprinkle it on top of the cheese mixture before rolling it up. :)
I subbed goat cheese for ricotta, used fresh spinach, and added ground beef and they turned out great. Another hit, Beth! Thanks!
Hi,
Thank you for sharing such detail instruction first of all! And I want to ask what else should i do if i want to use fresh spinach instead? Thanks!
You can just saute the spinach quickly in a skillet before mixing it into the filling. Spinach wilts very quickly, so it will only take five minutes or less in a skillet to get it to the same consistency as the frozen.
thanks for the recipe, i found it from another website, they happened to copy all your words though so not sure if that bothers you, heres the link: http://extremecanadiancoupons.com/homemade-spinach-lasagna-roll-ups/
Thanks for the heads up!
Hi Beth! I’m wondering if you can tell me whether using a metal baking pan (similarly shaped) instead of a glass casserole dish would be a horrible disaster? Maybe I can adjust the temperature or something? I’d really love to make these!
It will be fine as long as the metal pan has a tall enough lip to hold all of the sauce in as it bakes :)
Anyone try using a white sauce or Alfredo with this?
I haven’t, but I’m sure it would be delicious!
Alfredo sauce with shredded chicken and frozen chopped broccoli with the same cheese mixture. Sooo good! Def my family’s favorite! :)
I made this exactly as was, it was delicious! Thank you!
I just made 2 batches of these- one with spinach for me and one with ground beef for my husband. They are delicious! Even though they were meant to freeze for after our baby comes, we had to dive in and eat extra. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This sounds delicious and I bet it would be amazing with your suggested addition of pesto. Love any and all kinds of pasta :)
Made this awhile back and loved it! Having my two teenage brothers over tonight so I’m trying whole grain noodles and adding sausage. Can’t wait to dig in!
Thanks so much!
Where are you finding ricotta cheese for 2 dollars?
That was back when I was shopping at Walmart a lot, so I’m sure that’s where I got such a great deal… and it was 2.5 years ago, so prices have increased some since then.
this was phenomenal.
used your crockpot marinara with it. also phenomenal.
nothing else to say!
(I only rated as four stars because I can’t get the fifth star to work from my phone. trust me, this is a five-star recipe!:))
Can this recipe be made without the egg?
You can, although the egg helps hold it all together. Without the egg, the filling will be very loose.
Jenn,
Try making some “Filetto di Pomodoro” sauce. It’s extremely easy and not bad at all. (I don’t use the ‘imported’ tomato’s, American is fine.)the recipie is at: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/filetto-di-pomodoro-1-ww-pt.html . It can be used for many other things also.
Jenn,
Try making some “Filetto di Pomodoro” sauce. It’s extremely easy and not bad at all. (I don’t use the ‘imported’ tomato’s, American is fine.)the recipie is at: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/filetto-di-pomodoro-1-ww-pt.html . It can be used for many other things also.
Bonnie – No, unfortunately Greek yogurt would not be a good substitute for ricotta. They are quite different in both taste and texture.
Would Greek yogurt work as a substitute for ricotta?
I’m not a big fan of marinara in general, and have never made my own sauce (rarely have time to cook, but I’m trying!). Does anyone have any recommendations for a good store-bought sauce that’s not marinara that would work well with this recipe? Thanks!
Also on the left over noodle topic, I simply halved the recipe afterwards and made more to freeze or gave them to friends. You don’t need to make the whole recipe at once. But I could be biased since I shopped at SAM’s so I got bulk items and had enough to make two batches, and then these extras. But from the regular store to use my 5 or 6 noodles left halve the recipe and time in the oven though not the temperature ;P I have even bought tiny aluminum bread pans and made the meal in those to make it easier to give away. I had a guy friend’s mother pass away and made this for them and froze portions so the poor boys wouldn’t starve. This recipe is a winner all around!!
Made this for dinner, tweaked the spices, also sprinkled the rest of the mozzarella on top of the sauce and roll ups before covering in foil and ohmigosh was it delicious! Cheesy, gooey, deliciousness!!! Froze it all before the family got home to have more to myself later teh-heh!
;D
I just made this tonight for dinner and it was spectacular! Thanks so much for the recipe!
You can sub cottage cheese for ricotta
Anonymous – I have not done this with whole wheat pasta, but it would work the same. Check the cooking directions on the package to see how long the noodles will need to boil to become soft and that should be the only difference :)
I have a recipe that is very similar to this but I always add garlic to the filling mixture. I’ve also done it where I added Feta to the filling and both have turned out really well. When I’ve used leftover fresh spinach, I saute it in olive oil with garlic and a little onion.
Have you tried this with whole wheat pasta? Should I just boil the noodles a little linger?
Cook until al dente. Don’t overcook. The lasagna noodles will cook some more when you back it.
Marcela – Yes, Fahrenheit :) Glad you found your way here!
We are talking in Fahrenheit degrees right?
I discovered your blog today and I am loving it! Thanks
Anonymous – Yes, you’ll need to cook the noodles first or else they’ll be hard and you won’t be able to roll ’em up :)
Do you have to cook the noodles first?
Made these last night and my kids loved them! So yummy!
Awesome recipe! Just finished eating and my 10 year old son raved about your lasagna roll-ups. I added a bit off feta and cottage cheese along with the ricotta cheese. Chopped up fresh spinach too!
this was so good made it tonight for dinner it was a hit with my pick family i did add some meat to it but ty please keep them coming …
These looks delicious! I have never tried lasagna roll-ups just lasagna. Can’t wait to try
Makes sense! Thanks Beth!
Anon – 30 minutes should be enough. It’s been a long time since I made this, but I think the extra fifteen minutes listed in the total time was to account for the cooking pasta. :)
Hi Beth, should I cook for 30 minutes or 45 minutes? At the top of the recipe, the cook time says 45 minutes, but in the recipe it is 30. Can’t wait to make these, thanks for the recipe! :)
I’m thinking Garfield…. YUMMMMM!!! =O
Seriously easy and seriously good. New standby. Thank you!
p.s. i tried to “PIN” it, but it kept bringing me back to your pin page ….
made it for Bible study it was great!!
I found this on Pintrest and made this recipe last night and it was absolutely delicious. Such a nice change of pace and better portion size / control than regular lasagna.
Hi Beth! I just started a blog and I loved yours. I translated your recipe into portuguese and put a link to your site. I hope that’s ok! Loved the way you write. Thanks and I’m dying to make this recipe at home!
eatandpost.wordpress.com
Mary-Liz – You could break the lasagna noodles up into pieces and add them to soup :D
Also, any recomendations for left over lasagna noodles?
I made these last night with a ground beef filling – 8-10 ounces lean ground beef, 1/2 cup red onion choppped, 1/2 baby bella mushrooms chopped, 1/2 grape tomatoes halved. I browned the meat, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes together, added 2.5 tablespoons basil pesto. I spread a thin layer of ricotta on the noodles firs, then used about 2 tablespoons of meat filling, then rolled up, placed in the pan and covered with sauce and mozzarella. I find that putting a thin layer of your marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan works better for keeping the noodles moist than non-stick spray. These are great…easier for individual portioning than a pan of lasagna and I have plenty of leftovers in the freezer!
I just made these tonight. I added canned artichokes chopped up and used fresh baby spinach instead of frozen.It made 17 roll ups. Delish! Oh and I added some dried oregano and basil to the cheese mixture.
Well, make sure to brown the sausage first and then after that it probably wouldn’t matter if it’s mixed into the cheese or just sprinkled on before rolling up :) I guess mixing it in would make it easiest to make sure that it’s evenly distributed.
would you mix that in with the cheese or just layer sausauge then cheese mixture
Anon – Italian sausage would be awesome.
I dont like spinach…what meat could you use instead? Sausage or ground beef?
These are great!!!! I didn’t make enough mixture though and only got 7 rolled noodles. So I made more and got like 15. For the cheeses I had parmesan and mozzarella. I subbed cream cheese for ricotta. I also added parsley flakes, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. WOW. It tasted like REAL lasagna. The kind of lasagna that you can’t eat because it’s so creamy and fattening. Oh man. Mine was a tad dry because I skimped on the sauce but I can’t wait to make this again. My husband demanded it be a regular dish :D
Have my second batch in the oven right now :) and I just realized I have 2 cans of black olives in my pantry aahhhh I should’ve thrown some in, but oh well!
I just made these tonight…so tasty and there are plenty of leftovers for my hubby and I for lunch tomorrow! I will definitely try them again and add some other things to the cheese mixture for variety. Thanks!!
I have made these twice now and they are so yummy! I had a jar of alfredo in the pantry so I poured half of that on the bottom then place my roll ups on top of that then poured the marinara sauce on top of them.
I went with the meat on top in the red sauce, everyone in my family loved it!! And then I made your singapore noodles recipe the next night – another hit. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Jillian – You could actually do either! I would first brown the meat in a skillet and then stir it in to either the cheese filling or the red sauce. Browning it first eliminates the question of whether or not it’s cooked thoroughly and will reduce extra fat and juices that would make the roll-ups runny.
I have a question about adding meat to this recipe – do I add it in to the marinara sauce or the cheese mixture inside the roll ups? Ps- LOVE your site!!
Too good! I made these last night — two different versions, actually — spinach mushroom for me, and pepperoni mushroom for my man. I added about a teaspoon of garlic powder to the cheese mixture and boy was this incredible. Definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing this!
I made this last night and my husband said it was out of this world! Very easy to make. Thank you! ~ Cheyenne
Heather – I try not to keep anything longer than three months in the freezer because they start to dry out and get freezer burn.
Made these tonight and my hubby loved them! How long will they keep in freezer? Thanks for sharing!
– Heather
Halved this recipe and made it for dinner tonight. Holy awesome. Thank you for such a yummy recipe :) I used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and a mixture of cottage cheese & cream cheese for the filling. Next time I might try silken tofu. Topped with a roasted tomato sauce made from tomatoes from the garden last summer :) Thank you!
Made this for dinner tonight. Was a hit with everyone but the youngest (course she doesn’t like anything but pb&j).
I make something very similar. I cook mine in the crock pot for about 4 hours on low.
I make something very similar. I cook mine in the crock pot for about 4 hours on low.
This was just a huge hit at my dinner party! I tweeked the recipe just a little though. Instead of using frozen spinach I bought fresh spinach and steamed it. I also added fresh basil and roasted garlic to the filling. I topped the sauce with cheese and garnished the finished dish with fresh chopped basil!!! It was wonderful! I also made one with a meat and marina sauce filling that was just as killer! Thank you!
I would assemble, then freeze. Then, let it thaw in the refrigerator for about 8 hours before cooking so that you don’t end up with a frozen center and cooked outer edges! Also, since it will still be quite a bit colder than if you just assembled and baked, the cooking time may need to be increased. Just make sure the center is really hot! I hope that helped :)
I am in need of assistance. We love this recipe and make it quite often, and I am making it for our family Christmas dinner. I would like to make it in advance, HOWEVER I am unsure on the details of this. Do I cook it, then freeze it then reheat in the oven. Do I assemble, freeze, then cook as normal? Any guidance would be greately appreciated.
This looks AMAZIIINGGGG! and Easy! i think my hubby will love it!
This is a brilliant recipe which I still enjoy eating. I always have a thing for lasagna. I love the cheese, the sauce and the overall taste. Thanks for sharing this. I’ll definitely make this at home.
Have you used small curd cottage cheese instead of ricotta? Lacks a bit of the sweetness, but saves a good deal in cost because I’m more likely to find it on sale.
Thank you for all your beautiful work. You’re inspiring!!
-MochaDropMama
We had this for dinner tonight! So good.
I also sautéed half a yellow onion finely chopped, four cloves of garlic pressed and one finely grated carrot for extra healthiness. I added that to the cheese/egg/spinach filling. My recipe made 12 roll ups – I stuffed mine more than the recipe called for.
Anon- Yes, you can but you’ll have to make sure you cook it a decent amount of time. It’s hard to say how long because every microwave heats at a different power. Just make sure the very center of the roll is very hot.
Hey!
Someone posted this website on my Facebook, and I have to say your blog is GENIUS. Thank you so much for sharing all of your great recipes!
I made these lasanga roll ups last night for my boyfriend and I, and we LOVED them. The only thing I did different was I didn’t add any spinach because my boyfriend is not a fan =P, and I added some garlic powder to the ricotta/cheese/egg mixture. I didn’t have regular marinara in the pantry, So I used a sweet basil marinara and it was delicious!
Again, thank you so much! I am already looking for something else to try for the weekend! =)
Will heating uncooked roll-ups in the microwave be enough to cook the egg fully?
does anyone have any suggestions on what to replace the spinach with? i hate spinach, but this looks delicious. let me know!
I have been making this same dish for years. My family loves it! And I’ve tried many different variations! One of our faves is using shredded chicken and frozen chopped broccoli, along with the cheese mixture, and then topping with a jar of alfredo sauce! Soooo good!!!!
Thanks much! I’ll keep it in mind for next time!
MissMuse- I rolled mine up on a cutting board so that I could just wash it in the sink afterwards. The trick to the filling is to spread it thinner than you’d think. Because you’re rolling them up, you’ll have quite a few “layers” of the filling so you can spread it quite thin because it adds up once rolled. They’re more filling than they appear! Hope that helps :)
Hi! I got 9 rolls out of the mixture I made, a far cry from the 14 you did. We’ll see how it goes, but do you happen to have any recommendations for what I could lay down on my counter to roll up the noodles, and how can I get the filling to go further next time? I tried smooshing it with a spatula, but I want to know how thin the layer of cheese should be.
Thanks! Your site’s gotten me to at least *attempt* cooking. Everything looks great!
I’ve made these at least 3 times already and we’re going to be making them again on Monday for my faux birthday (I’m not home for my birthday anymore. Sad)
It’s SO good and is one of my favorites from your blog!
This is fantastic! I made a couple of alterations: I used about two cups of mozzarella instead of one (just to use the whole block, as I had no more mozzarella-based dishes planned for this week), I doubled the spinach to make it a little healthier, and I added about a half cup of pesto to make it less healthy and super delicious.
I used your marinara recipe, which was also great. I think in the future, I’ll pour a layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan so the rollups get tomato goodness on all sides.
I made a whole pan so I can freeze this for lunches. My coworkers always look disdainfully at their own TV dinners when I bring in leftovers of one of your recipes for lunch. Thanks for this one. It’s definitely a keeper!
Made these a few months ago! Absolutely delish…it was a great change of a dish. Thanks :)
I have made these soooooo many time and everybody always lovvves them. Huge family favorite and soooo easy to make. I double everything to make enough for 6 of us.
I love this recipe. I make it all of the time. Made it just tonight and used no boil lasagna noodles and added zucchini ribbons. And the sauce is my standard sauce these days. Love it, make it, freeze the extra, and love it again. Thanks so much for being such an inspiration and making such lovely food!
Thanks! It looked so pretty!
By the way…I LOVE your cinnamon raisin bread. I make it at least twice a week. It’s been all over the FB world so you’re a rock star in my circle of friends.
Also, yesterday I had to put my sweet, sweet Shih Tzu down due to liver failure. We brought her home for the weekend. She was on the “anything you can get her to eat” diet, and the only thing she even wanted to try was a bit of your cinnamon raisin bread.
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Jen – that was just some chopped parsley :) I almost always have parsley or cilantro in the fridge to add extra flavor and visual appeal to stuff. They’re only about 75 cents a bunch and last about a week before wilting!
Just added this to my list! But, what is the garnish you used when you plated it?
Thanks Beth!! I’m going to try that out, as well as the original!
I skimped on the marinara, and regretted it. A little dry, which is my own darn fault. When I reheated for lunch you better believe I drown those suckers in sauce. and they’re delicious :)
These look great! I was wondering how well they freeze if anyone has tried it, they would be a great make ahead meal if they freeze well!
Oh My, I have to make these! Something new and different to tantalize the palate with!
I took the picture before cooking just so it would be easier to see all of the ingredients :P You can try baking them in in foil packs and then pouring the sauce on later. Just tear off a large piece of foil, place two roll-ups on the foil, bring the sides up and fold it into an envelope to completely seal the foil packet. Bake as directed then pour warm sauce over top after baking.
How do you make these as they are presented in the last photo? Your directions tell us to put the marinara sauce on before baking to ensure softness and hydration, but I want to know how to make them look as pretty as you have in your final photo.
How would you keep the noodle soft and hydrated and fully cooked without putting the marinara sauce on it until right before it’s served?
Made these same night as fritters as per suggestion. These were wonderful and fairly easy to make just takes time. Like that they are so easily changed with different stuff. Loved that it was a meat free meal all around!
I made these tonight, but had more spinach in it and substituted marscapone for the ricotta, based on what I had on hand. It was delicious none the less! I’m going to try it with other fillings to see what combinations taste as good :)
Thanks much
This is my favourite out of your January recipes. Because a) I had something similar a couple of weeks ago and b) because it looks and tastes absolutely wonderful.
I made this yesterdays! I added chopped mushrooms and it turned out great! Unfortunately the tomato sauce I used on top wasn’t too awesome so it sort of ruined it .I will make it again though!
Lindsay – you can bake the whole thing then divide it up into individual containers (like ziplock or gladware), refrigerate until completely cooled then just toss it into the freezer. TThen just microwave to thaw/reheat. That’s what I did… OR, you can divide it up before baking, pour sauce over each in the containers and then freeze. Reheating from frozen will completely cook it so there is no need to bake them first if you’re just going to freeze the whole lot. Hope that helps :D
Can you give any tips on how to freeze this recipe. It’s just my husband and me, so I’d like to freeze some of the leftovers. Thanks! I’m loving this site!
This was so good! I doubled the filling and added kalamata and black olives, halved. I will be making it again~think I will add eggplant next time. Oh~I also made the marinara sauce. Quick and easy. I just added a little salt and it was perfect. I also used some primo balsalmic vinegar. Made a difference.
Sam – I was thinking about adding garlic powder in the cheese mix, that would definitely punch up the flavor. Also, you could add feta which is really strong and would really ramp it up. Plus, feta and spinach are just made for each other! Making sure you have a really good, flavorful sauce will also help.
any ideas for making it more flavorful? I think it’s because I used store-bought cheese and whole-wheat noodles, but mine was kind of bland. I added some oregano and basil. Maybe I should roast some garlic and add it to the filling?
Ideas are appreciated!
sam that sounds good i will try it thanks for that idea
Made it today for game day… it was delicious! Thanks for sharing with us.
made it : http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrvjtod/5382564262/in/photostream/
just popped it in the oven to bake
OMG i cannot actually wait to try this.
this looks delicious! and at such a cheap price too :D
You can always make your own ricotta…
http://withinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-make-ricotta-cheese.html
so easy!
wow this looks super yummy!
My husband and I made this for dinner tonight, and it was fantastic. We used cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and we also froze some. Thanks so much! We now have a new recipe to add into our dinner rotation!
Yummy!
Made it last night, to much accolades :-)
I subbed in some Laughing Cow cheese(hubby hates ricotta, marscarpone, cottage cheese…picky bugger lol)and used some swiss chard and a touch of green jalapeno. If you have that cheese where you live it holds its shape a bit more than Philly but it does come in flavours or plain/light so you can have some fun with it.
Thanks Beth, leftovers heat up in a snap and I froze two portions for me if I have a busy solo night later this month.
Anon – There really isn’t anything similar to ricotta but I suppose you could just sub some more shredded cheese (like mozarella or swiss) or maybe even some cream cheese? I don’t know how it would work but it’s worth a shot!
Do you have a good suggestion for a substitute for ricotta cheese? (i also dont like cottage cheese or sour cream) I would love to make lasagna with a good substitute.
Thanks, love your stuff!
I don’t care for ricotta or cottage cheese either. What I have done in he past is softened cream cheese, parmesan and romano and beat a egg in it. That’s my substitute for the cheese.
Try using cream cheese. I’ve used it in home made lasagna, its super yummy mixed with spinach.
These look GREAT!! I have used some softened sliced eggplant before as the roll before as well!!
What a perfect solution for a quicky easy,meal! Spendid idea, and great presentation. The step by step photo’s are so helpful, as is the cost breakdown. Well done!
I used to make these years ago. I only stopped because my son doesn’t like spinach or anything green for that matter. But he is older now and eats out with his friends a lot now. I need to make these again for my husband and me. They look delicious!
my bro was the same way when me and mom and him use to go get tacos or something he would have a cow but i did not mind green stuff but i hated vegetables but now i love them so go figure
Another awesome recipe. It is actually quite genius. I have been making a similar recipe with shell and manicotti, but always have trouble with the noodles ripping. I am definitely going to try this
Michael,
Try using a pastry bag to fill your shells or manicotti noodles with…it works great.
These look awesome!!!!!
These look really good! I love the presentation of them. I have some left over vodka sauce from tonight and I bet it would be really good on top of the roll ups. Thanks for sharing!
OMG THANK YOU FOR POSTING THAT! My parents bought 2 bags of spinach and dont know what to do with it.
Yumm! I was going to make lasagna for dinner tomorrow but this looks so much prettier!
CANNOT wait to make this!!!! Thanks for posting.