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Merlot Lasagna

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Layers of pasta, three types of cheese and a merlot Italian sausage sauce come together to make a family favorite Italian comfort meal. Lasagna is great for meal prep, feeding a crowd and this one uses my Merlot Pasta Sauce with Italian Sausage so you can maximize time and minimize waste by making multiple meals with one sauce!

I love how great lasagna is for stocking a freezer! You can freeze it in different portion sizes before or after it is baked.

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Ingredients

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step One: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, egg, parsley, salt and 6 oz shredded mozzarella in a bowl.

Step Two: Begin layering. Add 1 ½ cups of merlot sauce to the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna noodles* side by side on top of the sauce. Spread about ¾ cup of the ricotta mixture across the lasagna noodles. Top with another 1 ½ cups of merlot sauce. Then add 3 more noodles followed by another ¾ cup of the ricotta mixture, then another 1 ½ cups of merlot sauce and so on.

Step Three: Continue this pattern until all noodles, ricotta mixture and merlot sauce are used. (See below for the layering.) Before adding the final mozzarella and parmesan, pour in ½ cup of beef or chicken broth if using oven ready lasagna noodles. If you boiled your noodles, skip this step.

You should have 11 layers: Merlot sauce, noodles, ricotta, merlot sauce, noodles, ricotta, merlot sauce, noodles, ricotta, merlot sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.

Step Four: Spread the remaining 2 oz of mozzarella and the parmesan on top of the lasagna.

Step Five: Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Step Six: Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes to thicken/set. Top with parsley and serve with Antipasto Salad and Parmesan Garlic Bread.

*This recipe is based on using oven ready lasagna noodles.

Hint: I love to use oven ready lasagna noodles. These noodles are par boiled prior to drying so they are already partially cooked meaning no boiling for you! You can use regular lasagna noodles, just make sure you cook then according to package directions before laying them into the lasagna.

I like to add ½ cup of beef or chicken broth to the lasagna because oven ready noodles will absorb the moisture in the sauce as they cook and I don’t want a dry lasagna.

Give yourself the gift of prep!

In this section I will give you ways to freeze, re-purpose and/or use some of your ingredients for another meal. Save yourself some time and effort next time you’re in the kitchen!

Freeze Lasagna: I love how great lasagna is for stocking a freezer! You can freeze it in different portion sizes before or after it is baked. Just allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat or bake depending on where in the process you froze it.

Pasta dish: Enjoy your favorite noodles topped with Merlot Pasta sauce with Italian Sausage. The sauce freezes really well so you can have a quick and easy meal.

Make ahead of time: This lasagna can be layered in advanced and stored in the fridge up to 24 hours before you need to bake it.

Storage

Store lasagna in the fridge for 2 days or freeze.

Top Tip

Allow the lasagna to rest for at least 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven to set/ thicken.

Looking for other recipes with Italian Sausage? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with lasagna:

Recipe

Merlot Lasagna with Italian Sausage
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Merlot Lasagna with Italian Sausage

Recipe by KealyCourse: DinnerCuisine: Italian
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Resting Time

15

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Layers of pasta, three types of cheese and a merlot and Italian sausage sauce come together to make a family favorite Italian comfort meal.

Ingredients

  • 9 oven ready lasagna noodles

  • 6 cups Merlot Pasta Sauce with Italian Sausage

  • 8 oz mozzarella, shredded

  • 16 oz ricotta

  • ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan

  • 1 egg

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

  • ½ cup beef or chicken broth (see note)

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, egg, parsley, salt and 6 oz shredded mozzarella in a bowl.
  • Begin layering. Add 1 ½ cups of merlot sauce to the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna noodles side by side on top of the sauce. Spread about ¾ cup of the ricotta mixture across the lasagna noodles. Top with another 1 ½ cups of merlot sauce. Then add 3 more noodles followed by another ¾ cup of the ricotta mixture, then another ⅕ cups of merlot sauce and so on.
  • Continue this pattern until all noodles, ricotta mixture and merlot sauce are used. (See below for the layering.) Before adding the final mozzarella and parmesan, pour in ½ cup of beef or chicken broth if using oven ready lasagna noodles. If you boiled your noodles, skip this step.
    You should have 11 layers: Merlot sauce, noodles, ricotta, merlot sauce, noodles, ricotta, merlot sauce, noodles, ricotta, merlot sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
  • Spread the remaining 2 oz of mozzarella and the parmesan on top of the lasagna.
  • Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
  • Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes to thicken/set. Top with parsley and serve.

Notes

  • You do not need to add broth if you are using normal lasagna noodles that require boiling. The broth keeps the lasagna from drying out because oven ready lasagna noodles absorb moisture as they cook.