Lasagna Roll Ups

Name: Lasagna Roll-Ups
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 14 uncooked lasagna noodles (cook 2 extra just in case!); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 lb. ground beef; 1 small yellow onion (sliced); 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 10 oz. fresh spinach; 24 oz. marinara sauce (~3 cups); 1.5 cups whole milk ricotta cheese (12-oz.); 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (divided); 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (divided); 2 tablespoons fresh thyme; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt

By Lee Funke

5 from 2 votes

Published 12/10/2021 • Updated 6/15/2022

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Take lasagna night up a notch and make these lasagna roll ups. We slather a delicious meat and cheese sauce on a lasagna noodle, roll it right up, and then bake it with marinara sauce. It’s fun, easy, and perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Easy Lasagna Roll Ups

Sick and tired of classic lasagna? Mix things up and make these fun and easy lasagna roll-ups. Rather than layering all the ingredients together in a baking dish, you roll your lasagna filling into individual noodles. HOW FUN.

why we’re obsessed with these lasagna roll ups

They offer easy serving sizes. No need to try to cut a lasagna into pieces when you can just serve people a roll or two.
It is a super fun dinner to make with kids!
These lasagna rolls are easy to make and perfect for a weeknight dinner or a party.
They make great leftovers!
You can make this recipe your own very easily by adding your favorite ingredients to the filling.

All of the ingredients for lasagna roll ups on the kitchen counter.

All the Ingredients You Need

Lasagna Noodles- we used regular old lasagna noodles for this recipe. There is no reason to buy the no boil noodles because the noodles need to be cooked to roll them.
Olive oil– a little olive oil to sauté all the ingredients together.
Ground beef– the ground beef goes right into the filling, choose whatever ground beef is your favorite.
Yellow onion– a bit of onion goes into the filling. Don’t skip it!
Minced garlic– you can’t make lasagna without garlic. 🙂
Fresh spinach– these are spinach and ground beef lasagna roll ups. We sauté the spinach before we add it to the cheese sauce.
Marinara sauce – there are so many pasta sauces out there. Choose your favorite one for this recipe.
Whole milk ricotta cheese– the base of the cheese filling is a rich ricotta cheese.
Shredded mozzarella cheese– you can use pre-shredded cheese or you can shred yourself.
Shredded parmesan cheese– you can use pre-shredded cheese or you can shred yourself.
Fresh thyme– fresh thyme adds both flavor and color to these roll ups.
Garlic powder-the garlic powder adds a great bunch of flavor.
Salt– salt makes everything better.

Substitutions

We love this recipe because there are so many ways to make it your own. Below are some great substitution options for the ingredients above.

ground beef —> ground turkey, ground chicken, or Italian sausage (or a mixture)

yellow onion—> white onions

fresh spinach —> frozen spinach (thawed and rung out) or kale

Want more veggies?

If you are looking to add more veggies to this recipe, go for it! Sliced tomatoes, minced carrots, sautéd mushrooms, or even minced peppers would be delicious!

Meat, spinach, and onion in a dutch oven.

How to Make Lasagna Roll Ups

This easy lasagna roll recipe has a few steps but you won’t regret making them! You can eat them immediately after baking or freeze them for later.

Prepare the noodles. Before you do anything you are going to cook your noodles so they are ready for when the filling is made. Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the noodles until they are just shy of al dente. They will continue to cook in the oven.

Strain the noodles and then rinse them with cold water so they stop cooking. Then, lay them flat out on a baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil so they do not stick together.

Quick tip: Make a few extra lasagna noodles just in case some of your lasagna noodles rip!

Sauté meat + veggies. You are going to cook your meat and veggies together in the same large pit or dutch oven. Start by browning the meat and then add the onion and garlic to the meat. Cook them together until the onion is translucent.

Add the spinach to the pot and cover until the spinach wilts. Toss all of the ingredients together until combined and then set aside.

Make cheese filling. The cheese filling instructions for this recipe are simple. Add the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan to a bowl and mix. Add the garlic powder, fresh thyme, and salt to the bowl and mix again.

Finally, add the meat and spinach mixture to the ricotta mixture and mix everything together.

Assemble rolls. Before assembling the rolls, pour 1.5 cups of the marinara sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish you will be baking. Spread the sauce out. This will add sauce to your dish as well as make sure the lasagna noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the casserole dish.

The lasagna noodles should be laid out flat on the baking sheet. Add 2 heaping tablespoons if the cheese mixture to a lasagna noodle. Spread the mixture over the length whole lasagna noodle and then tightly roll the lasagna noodle up. Place the roll into the casserole dish.

Repeat the step above until all of the lasagna rolls are made.

Add marinara. Pour the other 1/5 cups of marinara over the roll ups.

Bake. Place the whole pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Then. sprinkle the rest of the parmesan cheese and mozzarella over the top of the rolls. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy. Let the lasagna rolls sit for 5-10 minutes to give the sauce time to absorb into the noodles. You don’t want to end up with watery rolls. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley.

The Key to Lasagna Rolls

The key to this recipe is to make sure you spread the cheese and meat mixture over the whole length of the lasagna noodle while you are assembling the lasagna rolls. This will make sure the cheese filling is spread evenly throughout each roll.

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All Your Questions, Answered

How long to cook lasagna roll ups?

Since the lasagna noodles are already cooked, you only need to bake lasagna roll ups for 25-30 minutes.

What to serve with lasagna roll ups?

We suggest serving lasagna roll ups with your favorite salad. We love this easy arugula salad or a yummy butter lettuce salad.

Can you make lasagna roll ups ahead of time?

Yes, lasagna roll ups are a great recipe to make ahead of time. Make them the night before serving. Wait to add the cheese at the end until you reheat them the next day. Reheat them at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes and then add the mozzarella and parmesan.

Can you freeze lasagna roll ups?

Yes, you can freeze lasagna roll ups. Let the lasagna roll ups freeze completely before covering them with aluminum foil and placing them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to reheat frozen lasagna roll ups?

To reheat the frozen lasagna rolls, remove the lasagna roll ups from the freezer and place them into a preheated oven (350ºF) and bake them for 45-50 minutes. You do not need to let them thaw before baking.