I always enjoy making lasagna…it’s a little involved, but the results are worth the effort. But I decided to change it up a bit and make Italian sausage lasagna roll ups. Same great lasagna flavor packed into easy to serve lasagna noodle rolls.
I was making this dish for a group of 6 people, and I started prepping the ingredients about 4 hours before we would eat. You wouldn’t need to do this, but you should give yourself an hour to prep things before the lasagna goes into the oven.
Making Italian Sausage Lasagna Roll Ups
Start by cooking the noodles. I used a roasting pan placed over two burners and this was big enough to easily fit the 24 noodles I cooked. Boil them for 9 1/2 minutes so they were not quite done, and still a little chewy.
I then rinsed them under cold water, patted them dry, and placed them individually on parchment paper until I used them. That worked out really well. Do more than you’ll need because some will tear and not look right.
Brown the sausage and drain off the excess fat and keep the sausage in the skillet until needed. I also made up the sauce using a 28 ounce can plus a 14 ounce can of tomato sauce. I thought that there would be excess sauce, but it turns out that all of it got used.
It’s nice to have that extra saucy goodness on the Italian sausage lasagna roll ups. After putting the seasonings into the sauce, I let it cook for 4 or 5 minutes, tasted it, pronounced it ready to eat, put a cup or a little more on the meat, and then kept it in the saucepan until used.
All that was left to do is grate the two cheeses and mix up the ricotta, egg and Parmesan.
Prepping the Casserole Dish
Getting the roll ups filled and into the casserole dish takes about 30 minutes. I prepped three at a time in a baking sheet, rolled them up and placed them in a casserole dish that was sprayed with cooking oil and lightly coated with the tomato sauce. Anything that falls out when you roll up the noodles can easily be used for the next batch… or you can just go ahead and have yourself a snack. Your choice!
There was enough meat sauce for 16 roll ups. There was also enough ricotta cheese, and mozzarella to make 3 meatless roll ups.
All in all, we had a great dinner and also had lots of yummy leftovers for the next day.
If you like lasagna, make yourself some Italian sausage lasagna roll ups and invite a few friends over. It’s a great meal fit for a crowd.
Here are some more Italian inspired recipes to try:
- Cheesy Italian Dunkers
- Stove-top Italian Chicken Recipe
- Italian Vegetable Quiche
- Caprese Salad
- Italian Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Homemade Italian Sausage Recipe
Italian Sausage Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 20 to 24 lasagna noodles
- 1 1/4 lbs .Italian sausage
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 42 oz . tomato sauce , (28 oz. and 14 oz.)
- 1 lg. garlic clove , crushed and minced
- 4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 15 oz . ricotta cheese
- 1 lg. egg
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 10 oz . coarse grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Boil lasagna noodles 9 to 10 mins., drain and rinse with cold water, dry slightly and store individually on parchment paper.
- Brown the sausage in a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil, remove from heat and drain of any excess oil, reserve.
- Heat the tomato sauce in a large saucepan, add the garlic, oregano, basil, and thyme and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, remove from the heat and reserve.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce to the sausage and stir together.
- Mix the ricotta cheese,egg, salt, pepper and grated Parmesan in a small bowl.
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Prepare casserole dishes by spraying with cooking oil and a thin layer of sauce, 9 by 13 and 8 by 8.
- Use a small baking sheet to start assembling the lasagna roll ups...lay down the pasta, coat with the ricotta cheese mix, (2 tbsp), then the meat sauce,(2 tbsp), followed with a coating of mozzarella cheese.
- Roll up and place in the casserole dish, continue with the remaining pasta.
- Cover the roll ups with the tomato sauce, then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, let cool 5 minutes, then serve.
Nutrition
Leigh Suznovich
Oh I love doing lasagna roll ups in my Italian house, and this version looks awesome! 🙂
Joe
Thanks for the nice comment Leigh. The combination of spices is really good.
Marissa Pomerance
Oh wow! So hungry now!
http://www.theeditorialistla.com/home/2016/9/11/some-new-favorites
Joe
Hey Marissa…it is really tasty. Thanks for the nice comment.
Sarah Prince
My mouth is watering. 🙂 Will this work well with gluten free noodles?
Joe
Hey Sarah..you know, I’ve never used gluten free lasagna noodles, but if they are strong and would hold up to being rolled with the filling, then I’m sure they would be okay to use.
Karly
This. looks. AWESOME. Obsessed with the Italian sausage in there- adds the perfect amount of spice! Cannot wait to devour this!
Joe
Thanks Karly…it’s a little work, but definitely worth it!
MaryJo
These stay together so nicely which makes them easy to serve, but best of all they’re outstandingly delicious!