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!
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
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.)
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. :)