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Home » Main Dish » Pasta » Homemade Frozen Lasagna

Homemade Frozen Lasagna

By Valerie · September 15, 2013 · Updated June 2, 2020 19 Comments

MD Main Dish
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Keep a Homemade Frozen Lasagna in your freezer for an easy meal on a busy day! Fresh, delicious, and a great time saver.

A serving of Homemade Frozen Lasagna.

Today I’m sharing my solution for feeding a pack of hungry boys within an hour of arrival on our annual family summer vacation. After years of traveling with a big family I quickly learned that heading to a small town in the mountains without a plan for dinner is not a good idea.

It is so worth the effort to put this lasagna together in advance and have a warm, wholesome, comforting meal for your tired family after a long road trip. Or, just to have a meal on hand for a night when no one feels like cooking. It is a snap to put together using no-boil pasta sheets and is frozen before baking. See below for the step-by-step instructions on how to put it together and transport it safely to your destination.

A package of Oven-Ready Lasagne pasta.

Barilla Oven-Ready Lasagne. I say Lasagna…you say lasagne. Lasagna, lasagne…. However you spell it, this stuff is zee best!

A package of Sausage and cans of marinara sauce.

I love this Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage. Don’t believe Jennie, it’s not really very hot at all but it is packed with flavor and far lower in fat than the traditional variety of Eye-talian sausage. If you’re completely unafraid of fat and calories, go for the traditional variety. Sometimes you just gotta go for it! You’ll also need a couple of jars of your favorite basic marinara sauce. I’m a fan of Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara and keep it in my pantry to uncomplicate my life.

A sausage with its casing being removed.

First things first. Remove the casings from the sausage by slicing through it, length-wise, with a sharp knife. Pull it off and repeat with the remaining sausage.

All the sausages with their casings removed are added to a skillet.

Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of a heavy skillet. Cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks.

Garlic is added to the cooked sauasage.

When no pink remains, drain off as much of the grease as possible and add the minced garlic. Season with a touch of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cook for another minute or two and then remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

A mixture of ricotta, egg, salt and basil.

In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, salt, and fresh basil.

A pile of chopped cremini mushrooms.

Coarsely chop your cremini mushrooms. Mushrooms add a great meaty layer to lasagna but if they don’t do it for you, replace them with the veggie of your choice. Zucchini and summer squash are a great choice. Or, just leave them out altogether.

A pile of shredded cheese.

Shred up 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella. I find this to be plenty but if you want a very cheesy lasagna, feel free to up the amount. Fresh mozzarella will almost crumble as you shred it but don’t be concerned. Fresh is the best!

All the ingredients required to assemble the lasagna.

The lasagna assembly line. Place all your ingredients within easy reach.

A deep pan has marinara sauce added.

And, here we go. Pour enough marinara sauce into the bottom of a freezer safe 13″ x 9″ pan just to lightly coat it.

A note about the pan. This is not my most beautiful lasagna dish but is is my favorite pan to use when I’m freezing meals. It’s a very inexpensive 13″ x 9″ metal cake pan that came with a plastic cover. The metal is good for keeping it very cool when it’s in transit and the plastic cover can be placed on top to keep any leftovers fresh in the fridge.

Back to the lasagna…

Lasagna sheets are laid across the marinara with ricotta mixture spread on top of the noodles.

Place four of the uncooked pasta sheets over the sauce, overlapping slightly, to fit the pan. Top the pasta sheets with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture and spread it out over the top with a knife.

Cooked sausage and mushrooms are spread across the pasta sheets.

Next we’ll add 1/3 of the the cooked sausage and chopped mushrooms. I like to deliberately sprinkle some of the mushrooms into the sauce around the edges of the lasagna as well.

Shredded cheese is added on top of the sausage and mushrooms.

It’s time for cheese! Top the layer with 1/4 of the mozzarella and Parmesan. You can skimp a bit in the layers but be sure to leave a good amount for the top of the lasagna.

Marinara sauce is added on top of the cheese.

More marinara. Don’t drown it.

More Lasagna sheets and ricotta are placed on top of the marinara sauce.

Then we start the whole layering process over again with four more pasta sheets, ricotta, and all the remaining ingredients exactly as shown above for a total of three layers.

Marinara is added to the final sheet of lasagna sheets and is spread with a knife.

After adding the last four pasta sheets, pour enough marinara over the top to generously coat the lasagna. Spread the sauce out to the edges with a knife. You may not need to use the entire contents of two jars of pasta sauce to accomplish this. If you’ve got some left, just hang on to it for another purpose.

The marinara sauce after it has been spread evenly across the top.

Be sure the entire surface of the lasagna is coated with sauce.

Cheese is sprinkled on top of the marinara.

Sprinkle the surface with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan and that baby is done! See those luscious layers? It’s going to be good.

A sheet of foil being sprayed with cooking spray.

Coat the bottom of a sheet of heavy duty foil generously with non-stick cooking spray. This will help prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil as it cooks. You think of this kind of stuff when you love cheese.

Foil is wrapped around the pan of lasagna.

Cover the lasagna with the prepared foil and then wrap the entire pan in another sheet or two of heavy duty foil. It’s ready for the freezer.

It will keep well in the freezer for three to four months and bake up beautifully whenever you’re ready for it. Just knowing one of these is in my freezer brings peace to my life.

If you’re planning to take and bake your lasagna, keep it frozen until you are ready to depart and then place the frozen lasagna between some ice packs in a cooler. I usually add a bagged salad mix and any other items I want to transport that need to stay cool. Pack it up and hit the road! Don’t forget the loaf of French bread and the bottle of red wine.

The plastic cover is placed on top of the pan.

Our road trip took about six hours and the lasagna was still a bit icy on arrival but it will cook up just fine. Just be aware that if it is not completely defrosted when it goes in the oven, you’ll have to increase the cooking time.

If you are cooking the lasagna for a regular dinner at home, remove it from the freezer the previous night and allow it to defrost completely in the refrigerator overnight. Do not be tempted to allow it to sit out on the counter to defrost. It is better to err on the side of safety and just cook it partially frozen.

The foil lined pan is placed in the oven.

Bake it, covered, at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Hurray for vacation rentals with full kitchens!

The foil is removed from the pan.

Remove the foil and cook another 10 or 15 minutes till heated through and bubbly around edges.

A serving of Homemade Frozen Lasagna.

Dinner is served. Quick, easy cleanup. Everyone is happy. Job done.

Lasagna and salad on a plate.

Homemade Frozen Lasagna

Keep a Homemade Frozen Lasagna in your freezer for an easy meal on a busy day!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 372kcal
Author: Valerie Brunmeier

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 16 ounces Jennie-O Hot Turkey Italian Sausage
  • salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 15 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 10 cremini brown button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • 48 ounces marinara sauce (I use 2 (24 ounce) jars of Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara)
  • 9 ounce package Barilla Oven Ready Lasagne
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella shredded
  • 1 cup shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil and place over medium heat. Remove turkey sausage from the casings by slicing through one side with a sharp knife. Discard casings and place turkey sausage in heated skillet. Cook and stir, breaking up the sausage, until no longer pink. Drain as much grease from the pan as possible and return pan to heat and add garlic. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste. Cook and stir for another minute or two and then remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
  • In a small mixing bowl, combine ricotta, egg, salt,and chopped basil. Set aside.
  • Coarsely chop mushrooms and set aside.
  • Lightly coat the bottom of a deep freezer safe 13" x 9" pan with marinara sauce. Place 4 lasagna sheets over the sauce, slightly overlapping to fit pan. Spoon 1/3 of ricotta mixture over the lasagna sheets and spread out evenly with a knife. Sprinkle 1/3 of cooked turkey sausage over the ricotta. Top with 1/3 of chopped mushrooms, purposely allowing some to fill in edges of pan around the lasagna. Sprinkle with 1/4 of both the mozzarella and Parmesan and then pour a scant amount of marinara over the top.
  • Layer as above for a total of 3 more layers.
  • Top with remaining 4 lasagna sheets and top with a good amount of marinara sauce. Use a knife or spatula to smooth out the sauce to the edges of the pasta sheets. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
  • Generously coat the bottom of a large piece of heavy duty foil with non-stick cooking spray. Cover the lasagna with the foil, crimping edges of foil around the pan. Wrap the covered pan completely in one or two more sheets of foil.
  • Place pan in freezer.
  • Defrost completely in refrigerator overnight or follow directions below for transport.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake covered lasagna for 50 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake another 10 to 15 minutes until heated through and bubbly around edges.

Notes

Before baking, defrost completely overnight in your refrigerator. If not completely defrosted when cooking be sure to increase cooking time as needed. Do not allow lasagna to defrost on kitchen counter. Keep refrigerated for food safety purposes.
To take and bake your lasagna, keep it frozen until you are ready to depart and then place the frozen lasagna between some ice packs in a cooler.
Lasagna will keep well in freezer for 3 to 4 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 2008mg | Potassium: 898mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1405IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 470mg | Iron: 8mg
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Reader Interactions

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  1. Judy says

    April 7, 2020 at 7:46 am

    Hi Val, Have you tried this with regular lasagna noodles? If so, how long to cook? Thanks, Good pandemic freezer meal!

    Reply
    • Valerie says

      January 29, 2021 at 9:15 am

      Yes, I’ve frozen cooked lasagna noodles before and I think the cook time will be similar. Definitely a great freezer meal!

      Reply
  2. Jane spencer says

    December 25, 2018 at 9:11 am

    I use ricotta, cottage cheese, mozzarella and cheddar.

    Reply
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