Weeknight Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna
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.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 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
- ½to 1 teaspoon 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
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.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.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.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.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.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.