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 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. :)