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
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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.)
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.