Weeknight Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Published March 26, 2024

Weeknight Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna
Matt Taylor-Gross for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
1¼ hours
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Rating
4(1,810)
Comments
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While it is hard to beat the perfection of a meticulously layered lasagna, this cheater’s version delivers all the comforting vibes with minimal effort. This weeknight dish requires no chopping; just mixing and baking. Choose ease, with oven-ready lasagna sheets, as they don’t require preboiling and will cook quicker than the regular ones. (Fresh lasagna sheets will certainly work, too, with the same cooking time.) Don’t drain the thawed spinach, as the extra moisture will help keep this dish moist and saucy. The easiest way to thaw spinach is to leave it overnight in the fridge; it can also be defrosted quickly in the microwave.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 9ounces (dry) no-boil, oven-ready lasagna sheets
  • 1(10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (undrained)
  • 15ounces whole-milk ricotta
  • 1(24-ounce) jar pasta sauce, such as vodka or marinara
  • 2cups vegetable stock
  • ½ to 1teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1cup grated low-moisture mozzarella
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Handful of torn soft herbs, such as oregano, basil, or parsley, to serve
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

641 calories; 17 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 222 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Break up each lasagna sheet into 5 to 6 pieces and place them in a large bowl. (They can be a mixture of large and small; you can expect irregularity.) Add the spinach and half the ricotta, and fold through to coat the broken pasta sheets. Add the pasta sauce, stock and crushed red pepper; stir to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer the mixture to a large, 8-by-12-inch baking dish, distributing the pasta evenly and pressing it down until submerged in the sauce. Top with the mozzarella and drizzle with olive oil.

  4. Step 4

    Cover with foil, tenting it to prevent it from sticking to the top, place on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake for 20 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Remove the foil, increase heat to 425 degrees and bake until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the cheesy top is golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Top with remaining ricotta and drizzle with olive oil. Like traditional lasagna, this dish is best rested for 10 minutes before eating (if you can wait!). When ready to serve, top with soft herbs.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,810 user ratings
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Comments

Susan Buchsbaum

Save yourself time and money: You don’t need to boil the noodles, NOR do you need to buy the “oven-ready” variety. Regular, dried lasagna sheets, when layered with the wet ingredients, will soften on their own in the oven as the whole lasagna bakes.

Betty-Anne Stenmark

Some criticism has been leveled at the creator of this recipe, I'd like to remind you this is for a quick weeknight supper. I have for a long time used RAO's marinara sauce as a base for my Sunday sauce and add sauted chopped onions, garlic and anything else that sounds good from the vegetable drawer. It's a great base. A good one to have in the pantry...

Liz

Come on, jarred sauce is fine and perfect for a quick weeknight meal! But if you really can't bring yourself to open a jar, try Marcella Hazan's three ingredient sauce recipe: a big 28 oz can of good quality tomatoes, simmered with 5Tb of butter and a halved onion for half an hour/40 mins while you preheat the oven and get everything else mixed together. Remove the onion, mash or blitz the tomatoes, season with salt, then feel smug about yourself as everything bakes.

Hilary

I live in Canada and our commercial packing are different sizes. My no boil noodle box is bigger. Does anyone know how many lasagna sheets would work for this recipe? My box is ⅓ larger. Would 15 lasagna noodles be too much?

Andrea

I did a slightly smaller version of the recipe with 9 sheets last night. I used 2/3 c of broth. If you use 15 just add more liquid.

Kurt

Just made for grandsons, ages 6 and 10. Raves around. I even added veggies leftover from Thanksgiving. This is a keeper!

Chica-go

Easy and tasty for a weeknight! It's in my rotation. The first time I made it, the no-bake noodles were a little uneven/crunchy. The top was too brown. And there was too much liquid at the end. My changes (I use Rao's): - Added leftover roasted veggies (yum!) - Sauteed 3/4 lb fresh spinach ('cause that's all I had) - After step 3, let the uncooked dish sit for 20 mins (so the noodles soaked) - In step 5: don't increase the oven heat Enjoy!

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