Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups

Taking the traditional Lasagna to the next level and making it fancier and easier to serve. This Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups is perfect for weekend brunch or Holiday meals. 

Lasagna is one of our favorite Italian dishes that we almost never get to eat outside. In every restaurant the lasagna is pre made and has some kind of meat in it. Hence, the only lasagna our family has tasted is my traditional lasagna.

This week I am blogging about different family friendly Entrees that are mostly one pot meal and kid friendly. The traditional lasagna is kind of messy when it comes to serving and my boys find it very hard to keep the filling within and end up having a big messy plate.

That is when these roll-ups came to the rescue and this will definitely be something that I will be making more often than the traditional layered lasagna. Just to keep the flavors similar, I used almost the same fillings that I have used in the past with some minor changes. My boys totally enjoyed the Lasagna roll-ups and also wanted to have the left-over for school next day.

My other recipes this Marathon – 

Soups

Appetizers / Snacks

Breads and Rolls

Entrees

Ingredients to make Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups =  Makes 12 lasagna roll-ups

For the filling –

• Spinach (frozen) – 2 cups (thawed and drained)
• Ricotta cheese – 15 oz
• Mozzarella cheese – ¾ cup
• Crushed red pepper – 1 tsp

For the sauce –

• Marinara sauce – 2 cups
• Garlic powder – 1 tsp
• Oregano – 1 tsp (dried)
• Parsley – 1 tsp (dried)
• Crushed red pepper – 1 tsp

For the remainder of the dish –

• Lasagna sheets – 12
• Mozzarella cheese – ½ cup
• Fresh basil – to garnish

Procedure to make Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups –

• Cook the lasagna based on the package instructions. Keep them separated on a greased baking sheet, so they don’t stick to each other.

To make the filling for lasagna roll-ups –

1. combine all the ingredients mentioned under the filling. Make sure that you thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze out all the extra moisture.

To make the sauce for lasagna roll-ups –

• To the store bought or home-made marinara, add the remaining dry spices mentioned in the list and mix well.

To assemble the lasagna roll-ups –

• Layer a 9 x 13 baking dish with 1 cup of sauce.
• Working with one cooked lasagna sheet at a time, spread about 2 to 3 heaped tbsp of filling evenly. Make sure that you spread the filling until the edge.

• Now roll the sheet carefully, without applying too much pressure. Make sure that you keep the filling inside the lasagna sheet.
• Place the prepared sheet on the prepared baking dish.

• Layer the rolls with the remaining marinara sauce and top with the mozzarella cheese.

• Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F oven for 15 minutes.
• Now open the foil and then bake again for 15 more minutes or until the cheese on top has melted and starts to brown.
• Remove from oven and let it cool down for about 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil leave and serve warm.