I’d probably make lasagna a lot more if I didn’t write a food blog.
You see, no matter what I do–or how hard I try–I just can’t seem to get my lasagna to look pretty. Oh, it’s DELICIOUS all right, but it’s not much of a looker. If someone has photographic lasagna tips, send them my way but until then, I give you this monstrosity. So be it.
This happened for dinner last night as a result of me walking around Trader Joe’s yesterday morning craving both lasagna and pizza at the same time. Lasapizza, if you will. I couldn’t decide which to make but then I remembered I had some leftover no-bake lasagna noodles in my fridge from last time, so pasta won.
When I got home and unpacked all my groceries, I laid out all my favorites to add to this lasagna: spicy chicken sausage, soft mounds of goat cheese, juicy mushrooms and a classic marinara sauce. The whole thing only took about five minutes to put together (thanks, no-bake noodles!) and then into the oven it went! Like I said, I would probably make lasagna a lot more often if I didn’t have a food blog.
The end result tasted like the delicious love child of a pizza lasagna marriage. Perfectly cheesy, perfectly hearty and perfectly spicy for a cold Monday night. Oh, and you wanna know the best best BEST part about lasagna? LEFTOVERS, baby.
Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Spicy Chicken Sausage Lasagna
serves 6
Ingredients:
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz sliced mushrooms
2-3 links spicy chicken sausage (I love the kind from Trader Joe’s!), sliced
1 large jar marinara sauce
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 box no-bake lasagna noodles
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, salt, pepper and garlic.
Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray and then drizzle in about a quarter cup of the marinara sauce. Lay three lasagna noodles flat. On top of the noodles, spread a little bit of the ricotta mixture, followed by a small handful of mushrooms, sliced sausage and crumbled goat cheese. Follow with another quarter cup of sauce and top with three more noodles.
Repeat these process three times, ending up with a layer of noodles and the remainder of the sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese all over the top, followed by the rest of the goat cheese.
Cover pan very loosely with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
Time:
1.5 hours
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{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
My favourite lasagne is a variation of Jamie Olivers which has anchovies in it! Sounds awful but it tastes amazing and is (like yours!) sort of a pizza meets pasta type affair! I love lasagne so so much!
Yes, this Jamie Oliver lasagna is incredible !
Can you post the recipe?
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/simple-baked-lasagne
Thank you, Anne
Instead of making a big dish of lasagna then trying to scoop a piece out (where the photography fail begins), just make lasagna “stacks”. They wont work with all fillings, but if you have the right stuff, I think they photograph nicely!
http://backtoherroots.com/2011/12/05/roasted-vegetable-lasagna-stack-for-one/
Making this tonight!
Mmmm…I’m not a huge lasagna fan, but even I have to admit that this looks fab! I love your addition of the TJ’s chicken sausage!
Do the uncooked mushrooms not make the lasagna soggy after it bakes? I have run into this problem with raw mushrooms in veggie lasagnas and also on pizza – any advice?
Oh lasagna gets me everytime. Worry not about the photos Jenna…they’re more mouth-watering than you think
Yum! Love chicken sausage and love this recipe!
Yum, this looks delicious. Goat cheese – I die.
Lasagna is a toughie to cut nicely. Maybe if you let it chill, cut a piece cold and then nuked it? I know it’s not ideal, but it would probably hold it’s shape better.
I don’t make lasagna very much either – partly for the same reason, that it isn’t very photogenic! But sometimes the least appetizing-looking meals are the tastiest. I think yours still looks beautiful!
I completely understand with the whole messy plated picture. BUT, even if it’s sloppy, I still want to throw my entire body into it. Right now.
Goat cheese in lasagna is a fantastic idea!
In terms of getting good photos of lasagna, I’ve found that it helps to alternate the direction of the noodles with each layer… that way it’s easier to cut a piece of the finished product without it falling apart. Maybe that would help?
it’s been way too long since i had goat cheese…and in lasagna no less?! yum!
oh dear, lasagna is one of my favorite things to make (since it makes so many leftovers!!) and this one sounds very different and delicious. I don’t know how to make lasagna look good either
it’s just floppy with tons of sauce (at least mine is)..at least your attempt still looks yummy!
i totally agree about the photography issues with lasagna… i’ve tried so hard to make it pretty and it just ain’t happening. i feel the same way about pasta! but they both are oh-so-delicious.
Okay, I really need to buy some ricotta cheese (and cottage cheese too). I’ve been wondering about these for a while.
In Canada we have some different brands like Nordica, Silano, and Trestelle. But they look great (although I already eat an overload of dairy, I’m sure there’s room for more). I might try quark too.
I need to buy some chicken sausage – I just need to find them; they probably won’t be as healthy as the one you show!
I love pasta. Actually, I love anything that is a carb from breakfast to bedtime: noodles (not the low-carb stuff) , and bread and oatmeal and cereal and granola and muffins, and ….the only thing equally as good as carbs is chocolate !!
I know I have a problem. I need a rehab.
Hey, it’s Empty Nut Jar!!! Wow.
Who’ Empty Nut Jar? Is it an inside joke?
I was just talking with a friend about top 5 favorite meals and lasagna was one of mine! You could try to do lasagna roll ups to pretty-fy it? Same taste, more of an appetizer look. I don’t know if this link will work, but here’s a picture I had on my food board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/72479875222560674/
Orrrr leave it as is (“don’t try and church it up” hehe)
I love lasagna but have only ever used my grandma’s recipe.. We don’t usually put veggies in it (old school italian), but sometimes meat although i like it better without!
Yum! I’ve never tried chicken sausage before…
I hope you don’t let photogenic pictures hold you back. I like that you keep it ‘real’.
Um, I vote for Pizlasagne
My husband would love this! Now I know what I can do with those TJs sausages…never bought them before but good idea!
You can make a delicious – and healthy – deep dish pizza with those sausages. I make this Cooking Light recipe all the time before we went vegetarian: Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Mushroom and goat cheese in a lasagna? I’m inspired!
This looks delicious! Lasagna is one of those comfort foods I just love!
mmmm….lasgna is my all time favorite! i have had the worst craving for it over the past few weeks. what a fun twist to use goat cheese and chicken sausage.
Who cares what it looks like! As long as it tastes good. One can make really gross things look great with a camera. I say dont judge a book by its cover!
This recipe looks so good and easy to make. I can’t really handle spicy so maybe I could substitute the spicy chicken for something else. Either way, I like how it looks (but I also like how any lasagna looks!)!
I made a pretty amazing lasagna that I posted a few weeks ago- it tasted like it was leftover from the night before (in a good way!) The secret was roasting the veggies beforehand. But, I love your recipe- and goat cheese is always welcome in my lasagna!
And I’m a big fan of TJs chicken sausages. I always have some in the freezer for nights that I don’t feel like taking a lot of effort to make dinner and can just grill one to throw on a salad.
This looks so good—a great twist on normal lasagna! I like lasagna, but I don’t love it, you know? But I might with the additions of goat cheese and mushrooms—yum!
This looks amazing. Thank you!!
Ohh, i love how simple this is.. can’t wait to try it!!
I can’t wait to try this!!
That is one tasty lasagna!
I am LOVING the idea of the goat cheese. I basically love goat cheese on just about anything.
Have you ever tried to photograph lasagna cold? That way when you cut it, the layers don’t fall apart …
I have not made lasagna in years! I love the flavors you used here – goat cheese, mushrooms and chicken sausage, yum!
I love lasagna! This looks so good. Leftover lasagna is the best! You should make more lasagna’s, I think it looks quite tasty!
LOVE love love the ingredients. This is perfect!
You can make lasagna every other day if you want. I love the different takes on it!
Presentation isn’t everything….but this looks beautiful anyways! You do a mighty fine job of photographing messy foods!
I love the idea of goat cheese with lasagna. That will definitely be an addition to my next lasagna bake.
This looks wonderful–do you know the nutritional info? Seems healthy especially if you use light cheeses.
I don’t know the nutritional information—sorry!
If you go to http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php, you can plug in the ingredients and it can help to assess the nutritional info. I don’t know if it can take brand-specific entries but it’s worth a look.
Oh yum! I don’t love traditional lasagna, but this looks incredible! I am making it this weekend!
It may not be very pretty but I took one look at it and thought “mmm lasagna!”. I’m definitely making some for dinner tomorrow !
Try photographing the lasagna after its been hanging out in the refrigerator over night. It sets up and makes for super easy slicing. Even after its microwaved it should hold its shape better. Also work amazingly for potato gratins.
How did I not know about no bake lasagna noodles until now? !
Omgg.. this look so good! And together in 5 minutes?! I hate making lasagna because it always feels like it take ALL DAY to make!
Totally agree! I could eat leftover lasagna for days!
- Brittany
If you assemble your lasagna the day before, let it sit in the fridge overnight to set, then bake it off the next day, it should come out in a perfect restaurant worthy square without collapsing.
wow that looks amazing–I never would have thought about putting goat cheese in lasagna!
Yes, like the others said, let it cool overnight before slicing and shooting.
This lasagna sounds to die for! I think the key (maybe?) to lasagna is to let it cool a bit? maybe it will cut out in more of a shape that way? Not that I have ever waited for my lasagna to cool before I cut into it…
Been a subscriber for awhile but haven’t actually ventured to make any of your recipes. Did this one. Except we used ground turkey and seasoned it with taco seasoning, and used whole wheat lasagna noodles. Sounds weird but holy delicious. The goat cheese was amazing.
And oh, the leftovers.
Thanks for sharing great recipes! I’m not much of a baker but excited to try some of your other stuff!
WOW. I have only ever made lasagna one way – the way my mom does. Noodles, cheeses, eggs and spaghetti sauce. I made your version tonight. Wow, just wow.
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