My husband loves lasagna – I do too – but I don’t make it that often. I feel like it requires too many ingredients that can really only be used for that one recipe: things like lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese and sliced mozzarella cheese.
Instead of buying all that, I came up with a shortcut method that uses cheese ravioli with other ingredients that I already have on hand. Here it is!
Shortcut Lasagna
- 1 lb ground beef, turkey or Italian sausage (your preference)
- 1 jar pasta or marinara sauce
- 1 package frozen cheese ravioli* (see below for how much pasta to use)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Prepare a square baking pan with nonstick spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the meat in a skillet until browned, then add the pasta sauce to the meat.
While the meat cooks, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the ravioli about two minutes less than the package directions (my package said 6-8 minutes, so I cooked it for 5). Once the pasta is cooked, carefully remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and let it drain in a colander.
To assemble the lasagna, begin by spooning a little sauce in the bottom of your square dish – enough to coat the bottom. Next add one layer of ravioli, followed by half the meat sauce, then a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat those layers: ravioli, sauce, cheese. I like to sprinkle a little dried parsley on top of the last cheese layer, just to make it pretty.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until it is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Let it stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
*Before I started, I placed a layer of frozen ravioli in my dish to see how many would fit in each layer. My pan had room for 9, so I cooked 18 ravioli to give me two layers. I suggest testing this in your pan so you don’t cook too many.
I didn’t wait long enough before I served this piece – it doesn’t alter the taste, but it doesn’t come out as pretty. 🙂 If you love lasagna but prefer simple recipes, this might be the one for you! Give it a try and let me know what you think.
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I love this recipe – I work full time and it’s quick enough to make during the week. One thing I do that’s different is I replace the meat with chopped spinach. Just layer the cheese ravioli, marinara sauce, about a cup of cooked chopped spinach, and the shredded cheese. Probably meat-lovers would not go for it, but cheese and spinach are a great combination and it’s healthier for us.
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I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe! The spinach version sounds delicious!
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I love lasagna, too! But I don’t make it very often because it is a lot of work. This is a smart way to simplify the process.
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Right?! I’m the same way – it just takes too long to make lasagna on a weeknight.
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What a smart idea! Ravioli has all the other ingredients you’d need for lasagna!
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Right? It’s so easy!
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