White Skillet Lasagna
Published Oct. 9, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- Salt and pepper
- 12dried lasagna sheets (about 12 ounces)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1½ pounds leeks, root and leaf ends trimmed, then thinly sliced and rinsed (about 9 cups), see Tip
- 5garlic cloves, sliced
- 2teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
- 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 8ounces smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda, grated
- Fresh parsley leaves, for serving, optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
825 calories; 32 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 104 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 1074 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.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt and cook the lasagna sheets until al dente, then drain. If the pasta is done before you’re ready to use it, lightly drizzle with olive oil so the sheets don’t stick together.
- Step 2
Meanwhile melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium-high. Add the leeks, garlic and 1½ teaspoons thyme and cook, using tongs to toss and turn the leeks, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. (At first the pan will be very full, but the leeks will shrink quickly.) Transfer to a large bowl.
- Step 3
Make the béchamel: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium-low, then whisk in the flour until smooth, about 1 minute. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in the milk in a thin stream and whisk until it’s incorporated and the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Turn off heat, then pour béchamel over the leeks. Add about three-fourths of the cheese, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Lay three lasagna sheets on the bottom of the skillet (if they hang over the edge of the skillet that’s OK), then spread a third of the leek mixture over. Arrange another three lasagna sheets so they form a cross with the first layer of pasta. Repeat layering the leek mixture and lasagna twice more, ending with lasagna sheets as the top layer.
- Step 5
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and drizzle with olive oil. Bake lasagna until it’s bubbling, the edges are golden brown and the cheese has melted, 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and top with the remaining ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves and some fresh parsley, if using, before cutting and serving.
- To clean the leeks, toss the sliced leeks into a big bowl of cold water and give them a good swish to rinse out any dirt. Scoop them out, repeating once more with fresh water if necessary. Drain in a colander, then gently pat dry with a clean towel.
Private Notes
Comments
People! I haven’t boiled a lasagna sheet in 10 years. Ina Garten’s method is foolproof. In a glass baking dish, soak unbroken noodles (regular, not the yucky, gummy no-cook kind) in hot tap water for 20 minutes. Literally just turn on your tap—don’t boil or superheat the water. No need to get fancy. After 20 mins, add the noodles to your lasagna recipe as directed.
Tasty. btw I didn't have a white skillet - used my trusty cast iron black one :) Rename 'Skillet White Lasagna' ?
This was delicious! And also rustically gorgeous. My grocery was low on leeks so I had to supplement with green onion, but that worked out just fine. I also added dollops of ricotta on top, cause I felt like it needed a little something saucy to prevent the noodles from getting too crackly. Perfect! My husband and I devoured ours, while my two- and four-year-old only ate a few bites. They’re crazy! But fine with me — more leftovers for us :)
There is no way that no-cook lasagna noodles will work bc 15 minutes in oven is not enough time. I boiled mine for 3 to 4 minutes and they turned out perfect. I put some sauce on the bottom of a greased casserole dish to prevent sticking. Not into the skillet thing because of it shape. The sauce was the perfect consistency so that slices would hold together, yet not dry out. For 3 T flour, needed 3 c milk, not 1.5. I used smoked Gouda. I did not have leeks so I used chopped frozen spinach, water removed, sautéed mushrooms, and shallots, and always five times more garlic. Added 1/2 tsp nutmeg and a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Turned out to be one of the best meals ever!
The flavors are good, but there’s basic conceptual problem with this recipe: the oven browned edges of pasta look inviting, but in reality they’re just tough, dried out, and hard to eat.
First NYT recipe that doesn’t cut it. Literally. The sauce is great, but what’s the point of the skillet? Certainly isn’t a one dish prep: I had to layer the noodles into a pan with lots of oil while making the sauce, plus needed a bowl, and had to plus awkwardly pour liquid out of the skillet into the bowl, rather than making the sauce in a saucepan. Would be much easier to put the whole thing in a baking pan, easier to assemble and cut. I reduced the mozzarella a bit and added ricotta and then Parmesan on top but I think that made it a bit too squishy. And now I’ve got to put the leftovers into a pan anyway. But the sauce was definitely worth repeating. In a saucepan.