Lasagna roll ups have all the flavors of your favorite traditional lasagna in an easy-to-serve spiral. Ready to serve after baking for 45 minutes this is an easy weeknight meal.
They are make-ahead, freezer-friendly, and reheat beautifully. In fact, I think the leftovers are better the following day!
If you love lasagna as much as my family does you will want to try my recipe for crock-pot lasagna, lasagna soup or even Italian stuffed shells.
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✨ Here is why this recipe is amazing:
- Perfect for making lasagna for a large crowd and easily serve the lasagna portions.
- No resting time needed before serving this lasagna.
- Perfect for busy weeknights.
🥫 Ingredients needed:
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Lasagna noodles - cooked to package instructions minus one minute
- Ground beef - 85% lean
- Marinara sauce -
- Onion - white onion, finely diced
- Garlic - minced or a few cloves of garlic confit
- Salt & black pepper, to taste
- Oregano - dried
- Ricotta cheese - I use whole fat but you are welcome to use a lower fat cheese
- Egg
- Parmesan cheese - shredded
- Mozzarella cheese - shredded, divided
- Parsley - chopped, plus more to garnish
📝 Ingredient notes:
- Use a whole milk, low moisture mozzarella cheese for best results.
- I like to use freshly grated parmesean cheese but if you have the pre grated cheese in the green can that will work too!
- Fresh parsley adds a note of freshness to this recipe but if you can't find it, dried can be substituted but only use 1 Tablespoon.
🔄 Substitutions
Feel free to substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef for a lower fat recipe. Also, you can substitute Italian ground sausage for the beef, either in part or whole.
I know not everyone is a fan of ricotta cheese so I would substitute in large curd cottage cheese in equal parts or in part.
Add fresh, washed, drained, chopped spinach into the cheese mixture to boost the vegetables in this recipe.
🥣 Helpful Kitchen Tools
- 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish - I like this one because it comes with a lid to make storing leftovers simple.
- Mixing Bowls (Set of 6) - These are the ones I have. I love that they nest into eachother and have a lip on the edge.
- Microplane Zester Grater - I love this zester so much I own 4 of them. It makes grating hard cheeses such as parmesean in this recipe so simple.
- Non Stick Sheet Pan - You could roll the lasagna noodles on a clean work surface but I find using a sheet pan helps with cleanup.
🔪 How to make lasagna roll ups, basic instructions
- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, minus 1 minute.
- Brown the beef, onions, garlic and add the marinara sauce to the meat.
- Spread a bit of the sauce in the bottom of a prepared 9x13 pan.
- Mix together the cheese filling ingredients.
- Spread a layer of meat mixture and cheese filling on each noodle.
- Roll up noodles, transfer to the prepared pan, dot with remaining cheese and cover with remaining marinara meat sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese, cover and bake.
Making Lasagna Roll Ups, Detailed Instructions
- Gather ingredients, start chopping the onion and the garlic while you heat the water to boil the noodles.
- Once the water comes to a full boil, drop the lasagna noodles into the boiling water and cook for one minute less than the recommended time on the package. Drain the noodles and cool them under cold running water.
- Heat a heavy bottom, wide skillet over medium high heat and start cooking the ground beef. Stir the meat until most of the pink color is gone.
- Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté the onion in the meat drippings for 3-4 minutes while the rest of the meat cooks.
- Add the spices and the minced garlic and heat through for about 30 seconds or until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Stir in the jars of marinara sauce to the meat and onion mixture, bring to a simmer and turn off the heat.
- While the meat sauce is coming back to a simmer stir together the cheese layer ingredients, reserving 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese for the topping.
- Scoop a heavy ½ cup of the meat sauce into the bottom of a rectangle caserole dish and spread it in an even layer.
- Lay out the cooled, cooked lasagna noodles on a baking sheet sprayed with a light coating of non stick spray.
- Spoon ¼ cup or so of the meat and marinara sauce over each of the cooked noodles followed by 2-3 tablespoons of cheese mixture. Roll up each noodle to make a spiral.
- Place the rolls, end side down on top of the sauce.
- Dot the lasagna roll ups with the remaining cheese mixture.
- Spoon the remaining meat and marinara sauce over the dish.
- Spread the remaining cup of mozzerella cheese and parmesean cheese over the rolls.
- Cover with foil, but not tightly.
- Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, remove foil and then continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
If you are making meals ahead of time make this casserole dish (without baking), being sure they are cool, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil and refrigerate overnight or freeze up to 3 months. Bake refrigerated lasagna roll-ups at 375˚F for about 45 minutes. Bake from frozen at 375˚F for about 1 hour, removing the foil the last 10-15 minutes.
Once the leftovers have cooled completely, store them in an air-tight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
I will reheat lasagna rolls in the microwave in 30-second intervals, covered with a piece of paper towel until heated through.
👩🍳 Chef Tip
Cook the noodles for one minute less than the recommended time on the package. This will help keep them from breaking when rolling them.
Drain the noodles and cool them under cold running water to stop the cooking process and keep the noodles from sticking together.
Place the noodles, seem side down in the casserole dish instead of on the rolled-up, fluted edge. This will keep the filling in the roll and prevent it from cooking out.
Recipe Card
Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 12 Lasagna noodles cooked to package instructions minus one minute
- 1 pound Ground beef 85% lean
- 2 24 oz jars Marinara sauce
- ½ cup Onion finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced or a few cloves of garlic confit
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Oregano dried
- 15 ounces Ricotta cheese
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- ¼ cup Parsley chopped, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- Gather ingredients, start chopping the onion and the garlic while you heat the water to boil the noodles.
- Once the water comes to a full boil, drop the lasagna noodles into the boiling water and cook for one minute less than the recommended time on the package. Drain the noodles and cool them under cold running water.
- Heat a heavy bottom, wide skillet over medium high heat and start cooking the ground beef. Stir the meat until most of the pink color is gone.
- Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté the onion in the meat drippings for 3-4 minutes while the rest of the meat cooks.
- Add the spices and the minced garlic and heat through for about 30 seconds or until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Stir in the jars of marinara sauce to the meat and onion mixture, bring to a simmer and turn off the heat.
- While the meat sauce is coming back to a simmer stir together the cheese layer ingredients, reserving 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese for the topping.
- Scoop a heavy ½ cup of the meat sauce into the bottom of a rectangle caserole dish and spread it in an even layer.
- Lay out the cooled, cooked lasagna noodles on a baking sheet sprayed with a light coating of non stick spray.
- Spoon ¼ cup or so of the meat and marinara sauce over each of the cooked noodles followed by 2-3 tablespoons of cheese mixture. Roll up each noodle to make a spiral.
- Place the rolls, end side down on top of the sauce.
- Dot the lasagna roll ups with the remaining cheese mixture.
- Spoon the remaining meat and marinara sauce over the dish.
- Spread the remaining cup of mozzerella cheese and parmesean cheese over the rolls.
- Cover with foil, but not tightly.
- Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, remove foil and then continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
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