Get the Recipe
- ▢ 1 pound ground turkey
- ▢ 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- ▢ 1 jar tomato/pasta sauce (25 ounces)
- ▢ 10 oz. no-boil lasagna noodles
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ▢ 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- ▢ 1 egg
- ▢ 8 ounces mozzarella and Parmesan
- ▢ 4 ounces cheddar cheese ( for the top)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon parsley or basil (chopped)
- Cook the ground turkey and minced garlic in a big pan or skillet until it’s done. After removing the heat, add the Italian seasoning and tomato sauce.
- Combine the ricotta, egg, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the meat sauce into a rectangular baking pan in a thin layer. Then add a layer of noodles (dry, do not boil). Then a layer of the cheese mix. Continue until almost all of the noodles, meat sauce, and cheese have been used. Make an effort to coat the uppermost layer of noodles with cheese and sauce.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Add four additional ounces of cheese and the fresh herbs on top. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, covered. Then remove the cover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Although the outcome is somewhat different, I agree that it does work with noodles right out of the box. I’ve been making lasagna with boxed noodles for years. However, before assembling the lasagna, boiling them or even just immersing them in hot water for five minutes alters the texture of the noodles. It plumps it up. Unboiled noodles, while tender, are not as plump. Just gives it a slightly different texture. I also heard a chef on TV say something like this about lasagna noodles.
Another way to put it is that as long as the casserole is tightly covered, the bake time is adequate, and the sauce is sufficiently moist, you can use lasagna noodles as you describe when feeding the junior high wrestling team. This kind of thing has countless, countless recipes available on the internet. Boil your lasagna noodles if you want to receive a Michelin star.
I seem to recall that you had to use more liquid than usual and make sure the noodles were both above and below a moist layer. Additionally, you cooked everything for a fairly long time to allow everything to absorb (I want to say 350F for 1. 5 to 2 hours, though I usually just cooked it until a knife easily entered, at which point I placed it under the broiler to get it bubbly.)
Others have informed me that you can assemble and bake lasagna without boiling the noodles beforehand. They say that you can simply spread them out on the pan uncooked and assemble them as normal because the oven’s heat and the sauce’s liquid will cook the noodles to the perfect consistency. How real is this? I’ve heard of others using homemade mac to accomplish the same thing. Please take note that I’m referring to regular lasagna noodles, not no-boil ones.
I read all the above answers. But the best way to do it is to boil regular lasagna noodles for only half as long. In this manner, the noodles cook through without becoming mushy. Remember to turn off the pot when making two pans so that the leftover hot water can cook the noodles. Because most people have electric stoves, the heat stays when gas stoves shut off quickly, so use two pots! But the heat lasts long enough to cause your food to overcook. So be sober and keep an eye on your dish. There is less need to bake it if all the ingredients are cooked except for the cheese. My lasagna only bakes for thirty minutes before I cover it and let the residual heat finish the job.