These spinach and ricotta lasagne rolls will keep your lasagne cravings at bay. Scroll down for the recipe and freezing instructions!
A quick and easy mid-week meal
I love lasagne, I really do. And often I'm inclined to say if something isn't broken, don't try to fix it. But, here I am taking a classic lasagne and rolling it up (quite literally) in to something simpler.
The thing is, lasagne is really a labour of love. You need a top quality tomato ragu (slow cooked for extra flavour), a rich and creamy bechamel sauce, fresh lasagne sheets and a good stint in the oven before its ready to eat.
It creates a lot of washing up, which quite frankly I could do without. But, I really love lasagne and so over the years I've come up with a way of getting my lasagne fix on a weeknight without slaving away over a hot stove.
This recipe takes lasagne sheets and rolls them up with a spinach and ricotta filling and a tomato sauce poured over the top for all the flavours of lasagne but in a much simpler, easy dish. Sure, it's not quite the same as a proper lasagne but it will help keep those cravings at bay!
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How to make Spinach Lasagne Rolls
Ingredients
There are 3 components to this dish, (1) the sauce, (2) the filling (3) the pasta.
The sauce ingredients are:
- olive oil
- white onion
- garlic
- passata
- tomato puree
- balsamic vinegar
- mixed herbs
- salt and pepper to taste
For the filling you will need:
- spinach
- butter
- ricotta
- parmesan
- egg
- nutmeg
We are lucky that these days most supermarkets stock fresh lasagne sheets which is the main shortcut that makes this recipe oh so simple.
Unfortunately the only downside to using these is that they contain egg. Fresh lasagne sheets therefore aren't suitable for anyone with an egg allergy or who follows a vegan / plant based diet.
The good news is you have two options: the first is to use dried lasagne sheets which are usually egg-free; the second is to make your own.
If you use dried lasagne sheets you will need to cook them first so they are able to roll. If you make your own you will be taking this recipe from good to great! The choice is yours.
Instructions
The first step is to make the sauce by cooking the onion and garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients and simmering.
At the same time you need to wilt the spinach with the butter and then remove any excess liquid. This gets mixed with the ricotta and nutmeg.
To assemble the dish you lay out the lasagne sheets and spread the spinach and ricotta mix over. Roll this up and then place into an oven dish along with the sauce. Everything gets topped with mozzarella and baked.
Variations
You can add protein to this dish by adding mince (either beef mince or veggies mince) to the tomato sauce.
Top Tip
Squeeze the spinach between sheets of kitchen roll to really draw out the excess moisture.
FAQ
Yes! Since turning vegan I still make this recipe. I make my own fresh lasagne sheets and replace the butter with non-dairy butter and the ricotta, and mozzarella with a vegan alternative from "I am Nut Ok" (other brands are available!). I also make my own vegan parmesan which I use in the dish.
The recipe
Spinach Lasagne Rolls
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 750 g passata
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the filling
- 400 g spinach
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 375 g ricotta
- 50 g parmesan grated
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg grated
To assemble
- 6 fresh lasagne sheets cut into 4 equal strips lengthways
- 125 g mozzarella
- basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6).
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion along with a good pinch of salt.
- Cook the onion on a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring frequently to ensure the garlic doesn't catch. Add the passata, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and mixed herbs and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Taste and add salt and/or pepper as required.
- At the same time, wilt the spinach in a dry pan with the butter.
- Drain any excess liquid and roughly chop before placing into a mixing bowl.
- Add the ricotta to the bowl with a the freshly-grated nutmeg and season to taste.
- Once the tomato sauce has begun to thicken, pour it into a large oven dish.
- Lay out each lasgne sheet and spread the spinach and ricotta mix over the whole length of the sheet.
- Roll each one up and place into the oven dish with the swirl facing up.
- Bake for 30minutes.
- Top with the mozzarella and bake for a further 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Garnish with the basil and serve.
Nutrition
Freeze them for later
One of the best things about this recipe is that they can be frozen for later. I do this one of two ways:
- Freeze in a disposable oven dish which can be chucked straight in the oven from frozen. If you do this method you'll need to cook them for 60 minutes or until they are piping hot and the cheese has melted.
- Freeze each lasagne roll individually on a sheet pan then transfer into freezer bags along with some sauce. You can then pull out as many lasagne rolls as you need at any one time. To bake from frozen cook for 60 minutes or until they are piping hot and the cheese has melted.
More pasta dishes
More mid week meals
Check out the Dinner Recipe Archive for all the mid-week meal inspiration you need.
Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane says
Thanks for the simple recipe, it's always annoying having to go out and bu those small nitpicky bits and as students we can't always afford it - plus we'll probably lose that jar of basil lonnngg before it's finished 🙂
heather says
I am making something similar this weekend!
Emmyw says
Awesome heather! Please do let us know how they go and anything you do a bit differently!!!