Lazy Lasagne Recipe

Who has time to make proper lasagne? Or rather, who has the patience to make proper lasagne? Not us. So we deconstructed the typical vegetarian lasagne and made it into a baked pasta casserole – no layering, no broken noodles, and no frustration. Just mix and bake.

You could add more vegetables to the spinach mixture in this lasagne, but personally, we think the simpler this recipe stays, the better. If you want more veggies in your meal, try a side dish: maybe a matchstick carrot salad or vegetarian Caesar salad (the Caesar recipe is Mike’s, and it’s pretty much the most delicious recipe ever).

You’ll need a large casserole dish for this recipe, or two smaller ones. If you’re cooking for one or two, try freezing half the recipe. We have lightweight Corningware dishes with freezer-friendly lids for this purpose.

Gooey cheese tops off vegetarian lazy lasagne

Lazy Lasagne Recipe

Makes 6 servings

Preparation + cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium cooking onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 (454 gram) box whole wheat pasta shapes, like penne
• 1 (24 ounce) can plain pasta sauce
• ½ Tbsp. sweet paprika (substitute hot if sweet paprika is not available; use only a few pinches instead)
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• ½ tub ricotta cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen spinach
• 1 ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Put on a large pot of water for the pasta before starting the sauce. When it boils, cook pasta according to package directions. Cook until slightly firm (al dente).

For the sauce:

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.
2. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and stir well.
3. Sauté the onions for a few minutes, adding more olive oil if the onions start to burn. Add the minced garlic.
4. Sauté until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the oregano, basil, sweet paprika (use a few pinches of regular paprika if sweet paprika is not available).
5. Add the tomato sauce.
6. Bring the sauce to a boil; add pepper and add salt to taste.
7. Defrost the spinach in the microwave (if frozen) and add to the sauce.
8. Heat through, then remove from heat.
9. Gently pour the sauce into the casserole dish (or split between two dishes, if that’s what you’re doing). Add the pasta (or half the pasta) and stir. Then add the ricotta cheese (or half the ricotta), breaking it up into very small chunks with a fork as you go.
10. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
11. Bake at 350 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, or until top is just started to brown.