Lasagna Rolls Recipe

If you’re looking to create some more meatless recipes or vegetarian dishes, then you should definitely add this lasagna rolls recipe to your dinner rotation. Easy to whip up, delicious, and freezer-friendly, these lasagna rolls are a fantastic weeknight meal. 

Lasagna Rolls Recipe

One of my biggest priorities when it comes to my diet is to eat mostly home-cooked meals. I try to avoid packaged meals and snacks as much as possible. I try to incorporate vegetables into my meals and keep things light and simple as best as I can. This is the French art of cooking after all. 

And while this recipe may not be French, it tastes just as delicious as any home-cooked French meal. These lasagna roll ups are also something I tend to whip up pretty often for a meatless Monday.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Instead of creating a meat sauce in this recipe like my mom’s more traditional lasagna recipe, I use a favorite red sauce from my local Trader Joe’s. The sauce is actually a pizza sauce, but I use it for any recipe that calls for marinara. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can easily use whatever other [easyazon_link keywords=”jarred marinara sauce” locale=”US” tag=”monpetitfour-20″]jarred marinara sauce[/easyazon_link] that you’d like. 

For the lasagna filling, you’re simply going to use a mixture of ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and frozen chopped spinach. A very simple, yet delightful trio of ingredients. 

I always keep a bag of frozen chopped spinach on hand (I like to throw them in smoothies) and spinach offers its own nutritional benefits. 

Lasagna Noodles

You can use [easyazon_link identifier=”B00FR6XFI6″ locale=”US” tag=”monpetitfour-20″]traditional lasagna noodles[/easyazon_link] like I’ve done here, or you can use the shorter and wider sheets that some brands make. If you use the shorter and wider ones, you might end up with one or two rolls less just because they need more filling.

You can see the size comparison in my photos here, as I used a couple of the wide and short lasagna sheets to showcase the difference. The traditional noodles will yield smaller rolls.  

Another point I want to mention is that I never boil lasagna noodles in a pot. Instead, I place all the lasagna sheets in a rectangular pyrex dish (or just a large casserole dish), and pour boiling water over the sheets until they’re fully immersed. I then let the lasagna noodles rest in the hot water for 10 minutes.

At that point, the lasagna noodles are mostly cooked, allowing them to be bent and rolled, but they won’t be so tender as to tear or fall apart when handling. 

Vegetarian Lasagna Rolls Made Ahead

If you meal prep, then you’ll be delighted to know that these vegetarian lasagna rolls are freezer-friendly. You can follow the recipe as directed, but instead of sticking these easy lasagna rolls into the oven to bake, you keep them covered with foil and stick them in the freezer. 

When you want to bake the lasagna rolls, simply bake straight from the freezer for about 1 hour. If you want to cut down that time in half like the original recipe, then you’ll need to thaw out the lasagna in the refrigerator about 2 days prior. 

I’ve even baked the lasagna rolls and then frozen small batches of the baked rolls in small tupperware. Then when I’m looking for an easy dinner, I just pop them into my little toaster oven or the microwave. Easy peasy!

Lasagna Rolls Recipe

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

A vegetarian, freezer-friendly, delicious meal of lasagna rolls filled with spinach and ricotta. 

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Ingredients

• 8 traditional lasagna noodles
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 3 tbsp finely grated parmesan
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup marinara sauce, store-bought or homemade
• pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the lasagna noodles in a large shallow dish like a rectangular pyrex dish or casserole dish. Pour the boiling water over the noodles until the noodles are fully immersed in hot water. Let them rest in this hot water for 10 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Dump your frozen spinach out onto a large paper towel. Let the spinach thaw on the paper towel so that any excess water can be absorbed by the paper towel. 
3. To a medium bowl, add the ricotta, grated parmesan, and a quick grind of salt and pepper. Stir everything together until completely blended. 
4. Place another paper towel on top of the spinach and gently press down to squeeze out any extra water. It's okay if your spinach is still a bit frozen. Add the spinach to the cheese mixture and stir everything to combine well. 
5. Pour half a cup of marinara in the bottom of a 10-inch round baking dish (or a rectangular pyrex dish if you are using the wide and short lasagna noodles vs. the traditional ones). 
6. Grab a wood cutting board or a sheet of wax paper and place in front of you. Working with one lasagna noodle at a time, transfer the lasagna to your board or sheet of wax paper. Grab a paper towel and pat dry the lasagna noodle. 
7. Scoop a heaping spoonful of the cheese mixture and spread it over the lasagna noodle. Roll up the lasagna noodle with the cheese filling and place the roll, seam-side down, into your prepared baking dish. Repeat for the remaining noodles. 
8. Pour a tablespoon of marinara sauce over each lasagna roll. Top each roll with a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella. 
9. Cover your baking dish with a sheet of foil and bake the rolls for 30 minutes. Remove the foil at the end and allow the lasagna rolls to continue baking for another 5 minutes. 

Notes

This recipe will yield 8 lasagna rolls. I find that 2 rolls are very filling, but I've seen guys eat up to 4 rolls, so be mindful of that when you're preparing these. 

I use Trader Joe's pizza sauce for my marinara sauce, but feel free to use any brand or homemade if you like. 

To freeze these lasagna rolls, you have a couple options: You can either cover the rolls with foil and instead of baking them, simply freeze them. Then when you're ready to bake them, let them thaw a couple days prior in the fridge and bake as instructed in the recipe, or bake straight away for 1 hour instead of 35 minutes. 

The second option is to bake them and then freeze leftovers in smaller batches. They can be reheated in a toaster oven or microwave. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 382

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