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.)
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.