I’ve always loved a good traditional lasagna made with marinara sauce, cottage cheese, and mozzarella, but I’ve found a new lasagna dish I’ve fallen in love with. I’ve made this recipe four times this month for parties and potlucks and the casserole dish is always left empty! A huge crowd pleaser! I attended a holiday party this past year and they served the most delicious white lasagna. It was made with ricotta cheese, sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, and Italian sausage mixed with a creamy alfredo sauce. It was absolutely the best spinach lasagna I’ve ever had. I knew I had to go home and recreate my own version and after 6 attempts, I nailed it.
🛒 Ingredients You’ll Need
There’s a lot of versatility to this Creamy Spinach and White Lasagna. As far as the lasagna white sauce, it can be made with either a homemade alfredo sauce or a packaged alfredo sauce. For the lasagna noodles, some people swear by the Oven-Ready Lasagne Noodles. I’ve made this recipe with those and it turned out fine. But personally, I like using the lasagna noodles you have to boil the best. Use a 10 ounce bag or box of frozen spinach. Let the spinach thaw and then squeeze out the extra liquid using your hands. If you want to use less spinach, use 5 to 6 ounces. The three types of lasagna cheese I use are ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Lasagna with cottage cheese is amazing in a classic lasagna, but ricotta blends extremely well with the alfredo sauce and helps contribute to the creaminess. I also add in shredded mozzarella cheese. Even if you are not a mushroom fan, add the mushrooms. They will be finely chopped and mixed with the Italian sausage, onion, and fresh garlic to make a meaty base. And the lasagna sauce also includes oregano, basil, and Italian seasoning which adds even more flavor.
📋 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. In a large skillet, ground the Italian sausage. When it’s cooked all the way through, drain the grease and transfer the ground sausage to a cutting board. With a sharp knife, finely chop the cooked sausage and then set aside. Next, grab a large saucepan and open the 2 tubs of Buitoni alfredo sauce and cook on medium-low heat until warm, making sure to stir the alfredo sauce so it does not burn. Expert Tip: If making a homemade alfredo sauce, prepare it during this step. While the alfredo sauce is warming, finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and fresh garlic. In a large pan, saute on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add in the chopped Italian Sausage and saute for another 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms and onions are well combined and tender. Now it’s time to prepare the ricotta cheese and seasoning mixture. Put the ricotta cheese and dried spices in a medium bowl and mix well on low speed with an electric mixer. Set aside. Now it’s time to layer. It’s easy to layer lasagna. First, add ½ cup of the warmed alfredo sauce to the bottom of a 13x9 oven safe pyrex dish. Expert Tips: This will ensure the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the dish. Then, place 3-4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. From there, add half of the ricotta cheese on top of the lasagna noodles and spread evenly. Then, evenly layer half of the spinach on top of the ricotta cheese covering the noodles. From there, add half the sausage, onion, mushroom, and garlic mixture. Add 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan cheese and spread until even. Layer on 3-4 more lasagna noodles on top of the mozzarella cheese and then pour on half the alfredo sauce. Repeat the layering steps again. Once the lasagna has been layered, cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Once it’s done, remove the aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy! This easy homemade lasagna is one of the most delicious white lasagna recipes you’ll ever have the pleasure of eating. Comfort food at its best, this tasty pasta dish is a huge crowd pleaser!
While you can use oven ready lasagna noodles, my preference is to use traditional lasagna noodles for this recipe. I like boiling them to an al dente texture and letting the sauce and other ingredients blend in while everything is cooking in the oven. If you’re gluten free, you can use a gluten free lasagna noodle for this recipe.It’s super important to finely chop the ground Italian sausage and mushrooms. It changes the taste and consistency of the dish if the sausage and mushrooms are too chunky.When spreading the ricotta cheese, use a basting brush. You can even dip it in the alfredo sauce to help spread it around. This method will make your life a whole lot easier because ricotta is hard to spread.This lasagna recipe is freezer friendly! All you need to do is complete steps 1-11 using a 9x13 freezable container. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to cook the frozen lasagna, place it in the refrigerator and let it thaw completely. Once thawed, cook on 350°F for 1 hour until heated all the way through.
🍲 Pairings
Even though this recipe contains spinach, I love steaming broccoli and serving it alongside any type of lasagna. My Cheese Garlic Cauliflower Breadsticks are amazing with this dish. I love the extra garlic this recipe calls for and it pairs perfectly! Salads are also perfect with any pasta dish. My favorite is this Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing.
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest
