Lately, many of the recipes I have been drawn to are freezer meals. Like so many of us, days get hectic and dinner always seems to sneak up on me. I also dread doing the dishes, so anytime I can double up on a recipe and just do all the dirty work once, I am a happy camper.
This recipe for Double Batch Lasagna wonderful because it makes two large pans. One to have now, and one to freeze for later. It’s just a classic lasagna preparation made by jazzing up a few jars of prepared marinara sauce. I also added some frozen chopped spinach into the ricotta filling to get some more veggies in there as well.
I prefer to use oven ready or no-boil lasagna noodles, because I lost patience for boiling and then carefully layering hot, delicate noodles a long time ago! I have found there are a couple different brands of these no-boil noodles in grocery stores. Some are the same length as the traditional lasagna noodles and four of them are just right for a 9x13 pan. These tend to come in a 12 ounce box. Others are mysteriously shorter and come in a 9 ounce box and you might need to layer them differently, or break some of the noodles to cover the surface of the pan. Both work fine, just make sure you pick up enough boxes for the double batch recipe. (I get two of the 12 ounce version and three of the 9 ounce ones.) In the end, you might have a few noodles leftover in the box after layering. Unfortunately, for some reason they can’t just sell a box with the exact right number of noodles…sigh.
Tips when making and freezing lasagna in a disposable foil pan:
Find the pans that come with a flat panel lid instead of the raised plastic top. These are great because you can use the white side of the panel to write out the defrosting and baking instructions. (Hopefully with better handwriting than mine! Sometimes I even print it out and tape it on instead.)
Anytime you bake on one of these foil pans, always (and I mean ALWAYS) place the pan on a baking sheet when it goes in the oven. These flimsy things will inevitably collapse from the weight of the ingredients, and you are facing a mess and painful burns from hot food.
Double Batch Lasagna
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground beef
1 pound bulk hot or mild Italian sausage
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
3 jars (24 ounces each) spaghetti sauce
2 large eggs
2 pounds ricotta cheese
1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
6 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided use
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
24 no-boil lasagna noodles (from two 12 ounce boxes)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease two 9x13 baking dishes and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage. Cook until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Add the spaghetti sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs. Add the ricotta cheese, spinach, 4 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce into each of the prepared baking dishes. Layer with 4 noodles, 1 cup of the ricotta mixture and 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce. Repeat the layers twice. Top with the parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.
To bake now, cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
To freeze for later, cover with several layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
To use frozen lasagna, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375 F. Cover with fresh foil and bake for 60-70 minutes or until heated through. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.