Spinach Lasagna Recipe {Vegetarian Lasagna with Spinach} (2024)

FAQs

Why is my spinach lasagna watery? ›

Spinach lasagna may be watery if the spinach releases excess moisture during baking. To prevent this, use pre-cooked or well-drained spinach. Additionally, avoid overloading the lasagna with too much sauce, and allow it to rest after baking to firm up.

For this recipe, we help reduce excess moisture by using no-boil noodles, cooking the mushrooms, onion and bell peppers before adding them to the lasagna, and squeezing the liquid out of the cooked spinach with a kitchen towel. You want your veggies as dry as possible so you are not adding more moisture than necessary.

In southern Italy lasagna is generally made with dried sheets of pasta layered with rich meat ragú, ricotta and mozzarella. In the north, especially in Bologna, the most popular version of lasagna features fresh egg pasta colored green with spinach and layered with ragú, bechamel and Parmigiano Reggiano.

The secret ingredient? Milk. It tenderises the meat, to leave you with the most tender ragù. Use a deep dish and find out how to layer a lasagne.

Yes — but don't overdo it! Fresh spinach releases a lot of water as it cooks, which can result in a soggy lasagna. That's why you'll want to sauté the spinach until it just wilts, which prevents it from releasing too much liquid too quickly.

Squeeze the spinach—To prevent a watery lasagna, make sure to squeeze the spinach well. Place it in a colander or strainer over the sink and squeeze the spinach with your hands or press down on it with a spatula.

Watery tomatoes aren't the only culprit for soupy lasagna: Oils from cheese and meat and water from lasagna noodles and vegetables can affect your lasagna's consistency. Draining excess fat from ground beef or sausage before adding it to tomato sauce is imperative to maintain a thick sauce.

As emphasized in this guide, you mustn't leave your lasagna at room temperature for over 2 hours. The critical point occurs when the lasagna sits between 40-140°F for more than 2 hours.

Most traditional lasagna doesn't use ricotta cheese. Instead, bechamel sauce mixed with parmesan cheese is used.

Do Italians put ricotta in lasagna? ›

While ricotta is included in certain varieties of lasagna in Italy, the style that serves as the primary inspiration for American recipes is the one from the region of Emilia Romagna. There, it's traditionally layered with pasta, bolognese, and béchamel—with no ricotta to be found.

Let me break it to you: If you want to make a lasagna, three layers just won't cut it! For the perfect lasagna, you need at least 4-5 layers to really enjoy all those mouth-watering flavors. And, here's a pro-tip: make sure to season each layer generously, but not too much. The average lasagna has 8 layers!

It adds a wonderful texture and flavour to the lasagna.

A good tomato paste helps to thicken but also adds a sweet and savory umami flavor. Lean Ground Beef: Lean beef adds a robust and hearty meatiness that's essential in a classic lasagna recipe.

Adding egg to ricotta cheese helps to bind the cheese for lasagna so that it doesn't ooze out of the casserole when you cut it. Basically, the egg helps all the cheesy goodness stay intact. So what happens if you don't put eggs in your lasagna? It'll just be a bit runnier, but omitting the egg won't affect the taste.

She also suggests raising your oven temperature a bit and using a thickening agent in your sauce. So either add more meat OR more tomato paste, if your lasagna is meatless. (And no, foregoing that first layer of sauce at the bottom isn't necessary.)

Force the excess water away from the spinach by pressing it down in the colander with the back of a spoon or ladle then season and serve or use in your chosen recipe.

Fixes for soggy spinach

By putting your spinach in a colander and pouring boiling water over it, and allowing it to drain, the spinach will become nicely wilted rather than completely overcooked and waterlogged (via Delish).

A: Soupy lasagna is either a result of wet noodles that were not drained properly or lasagna was layered with too much (thin wet) sauce. While you can make lasagna ahead and refrigerate or freeze it, it won't reduce the moisture content.