Recipe change from the box
I’ve never added olives to my lasagna since my family feels better without them. Here’s the recipe straight from the box, plus one cup of sliced, pitted, ripe black olives. Simply layer them with all the other lasagna ingredients if you choose to use them.
More cook’s notes to consider
Use halfway through a box of regular lasagna noodles. If you are using oven-ready, use the whole box. This is predicated on the use of Creamette and their noodle shape. Because the oven-ready noodles are wider and shorter than regular noodles, I arrange them in the pan in a different way. You can see me preparing this recipe with the oven-ready noodles by watching the video up above. Regular lasagna noodles are narrow and long, perfectly fitting the length of a 13 by 9 baking dish. You basically need about 12 noodles to make lasagna. There will be roughly twice that amount in a regular box of noodles and 12–14 in a box of no-boil noodles.
No-Boil, Oven-Ready Noodles or Regular Lasagna Noodles?
Over the years I have tried different types of noodles. No-boil noodles, also referred to as oven-ready noodles, have been released by Creamette and other brands. People still wonder if they can or should boil them. There’s no need to boil oven-ready noodles. You can just layer them right into the recipe. But, I prefer to soak them first to simply soften and pliable them, making them more manageable and workable.
Regular lasagna noodles can also benefit from this easy noodle soaking method. Thus, you can stop boiling altogether if you’d like! Simple! Simply fill a pan with hot tap water. Approximately ten minutes before you assemble your casserole, drop the noodles into the water. Remember, this can be done with both types of noodles. But be careful not to soak them for too long, particularly if there are many in the pan. They can stick together and be difficult to separate.
