Lasagna Roll Ups

A Lasagna Roll Up on a white plate with marinara sauce and a meat filling with cheese.

This is the BEST recipe for Lasagna Roll Ups! They're layered with a 3-cheese filling, savory meat sauce, and topped with more melted cheese.

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: Lasagna Roll Ups

Calories: 403kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

Cheese Filling

15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 cups mozzarella cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ tsp each: salt, dried basil, dried parsley
¼ tsp pepper

Meat Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion diced
½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground Italian sausage hot or mild
3 cloves garlic
½ cup chicken broth
32 oz. marinara sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce optional
1 teaspoon hot sauce optional

Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles plus extra in case of breakage
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Combine the cheese filling mixture in a medium bowl and set aside. Take ½ cup of the marinara sauce and spread it on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Preheat oven to 375° and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
While the water is heating up, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Let them soften for 10 minutes. (This allows them to release a little sugar which is a nice offset to the acidity of the tomatoes.)
Add the ground beef and sausage and increase heat to medium-high. Use a spatula to break up the meat so that it’s very fine and crumbled. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked through. Add garlic during the last minute. Drain excess grease.
Add the chicken broth and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pot. Add the remaining marinara sauce along with the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Let the sauce simmer gently while you boil the lasagna noodles to al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. This stops the noodles from cooking and cools them off for easy handling.
Line the noodles up on a parchment or wax paper.
Spread an even layer of the cheese mixture over each lasagna noodle, about 2 ½ tablespoons each.
Spread ¼ cup of sauce over each noodle, (3 cups total), and reserve the rest.
Roll up the noodles (tightly, while keeping the filling in), and transfer them to the baking dish, seam side down. Top with remaining meat sauce, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray and place it spray-side-down on top of the baking dish to prevent the cheese from sticking to it.
Bake for 35 minutes. If desired, remove foil and broil at 450° to brown the top more, watch it carefully during this time.
Remove and garnish with fresh parsley prior to serving.

Notes

Pro Tips:

Shred and grate the cheese fresh from a block/wedge. Packaged shredded/grated cheese won’t melt as well or taste as good.
Low moisture whole milk mozzarella will melt the best. I use Dragone mozzarella cheese for this recipe as well as Rao’s marinara sauce. (I highly recommend Rao's!)
The Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce are flavor enhancers in the meat sauce and you can't taste them outright. The hot sauce doesn't make it hot/spicy. I use Frank's Hot Sauce.
To add spinach: Sauté 2-3 cups of roughly chopped spinach in 1/2 tbsp. olive oil until wilted. Let cool slightly, then mix into cheese filling mixture. Or, use frozen spinach. Let it thaw and pat it dry prior to using.
LOVE Lasagna?! Try my classic lasagna, skillet lasagna, or my lasagna soup recipes next!

Nutritional facts are per lasagna roll up. This recipe makes 12 roll ups.

Nutrition