This easy Lasagna Roll Ups recipe is perfect for feeding the whole family in just over an hour (or less if you prep ahead)! It’s a fun twist on a regular lasagna with a hearty meat sauce, creamy ricotta cheese with spinach filling, rolled into freshly cooked lasagna noodles!
This Lasagna Roll Ups recipe gets me excited for many reasons!
Lasagna is such a traditional comfort food, and you know we love our comfort food at The Recipe Rebel!
We’ve got it all here, from traditional lasagna with my Easy Lasagna Recipe, to Crockpot Lasagna, and Crockpot Lasagna Soup, to this Healthier One Pot Skillet Lasagna too!
These Lasagna Rolls are easy to make and great for getting the kids involved — they love the spreading and rolling!
It’s a great recipe to meal prep for the week ahead, so you can get ahead of the game on Sunday for a busy start to the week.
Pair it with some Cheesy Garlic Bread for the ultimate comfort food dinner!
For more delicious one-pot pasta dishes, check out this One Pot BBQ Chicken Pasta with Bacon, my Creamy Gemelli Pasta recipe, and Gnocchi with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes.
Ingredients Needed:
For Meat Sauce
- Beef: use lean ground beef for the best flavor.
- Sausage meat: ground Italian sausage will give you a lot of extra flavor here. Use mild or spicy, according to your preference. If it’s in casings, remove it from the casings.
- Onion & Garlic: freshly chopped onion and freshly minced garlic will add a fragrant, savory flavor.
- Seasoning: use a combination of salt and Italian seasoning to season the meat mixture.
- Sauce: I used a jarred tomato pasta sauce to save some time here — choose one you love that has great flavor!
For Ricotta Filling
- Spinach: thaw frozen spinach and squeeze it dry with paper towels. You can also use finely chopped fresh spinach if that’s what you have.
- Cream: heavy cream is best here to get the ricotta filling to a good, creamy consistency.
- Egg: help to bind the ricotta filling.
- Cheese: a combination of ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese for a truly cheesy flavor.
- Lasagna Noodles: obviously! We cook them and roll the cheese up inside.
How to Make Lasagna Roll Ups
This recipe has a few steps but it’s worth it! Full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
- Make meat sauce: Cook ground beef, Italian sausage, and onion until browned. Stir in the garlic, salt, and Italian seasoning. Stir in the pasta sauce and water.
- Make ricotta mixture: In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, spinach, cream, egg, Parmesan, and some mozzarella cheese.
- Cook lasagna: Cook lasagna noodles just until al dente.
- Assemble roll-ups: Lay out the lasagna noodles on a cutting board and spread each with ricotta filling.
- Make layers: Spread some of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan to create a thin layer. Then roll the lasagna sheets up tightly and place the rolls on the meat mixture in the baking dish.
- Add toppings and bake: Top with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, then bake until done.
Lasagna Roll-Ups FAQs
Yes! I would recommend making the dish up completely but not baking it. Then you can cover it and either store it in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking it or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Store baked and cooled lasagna roll-ups in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or covered with foil in the oven until cooked through.
I’d recommend freezing these lasagna roll-ups before baking them for best results. Defrost thoroughly before baking.
Tips and Notes
- Make extra Lasagna Noodles. Make a couple of extra sheets of pasta, as some of them may break while you’re boiling them.
- Cool your noodles: running the cooked pasta under cold water will help to cool them quickly and prevent them from sticking together.
Lasagna Roll Ups Recipe Variations
- Add extra veggies. You can add in loads of veggies to get those nutrients. Lasagna is so tomatoey and creamy, you can pack a whole lot in there without much detection (I’ve got you, Moms!) Try some chopped mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, or parboiled carrots, to name a few — you can saute them with the meat before you add the sauce.
- Cottage cheese or Boursin: You can use a cottage cheese filling if you prefer, or try swapping the ricotta with a garlic herb soft white cheese like Boursin, but I really like the creamy flavor of ricotta here!
- Garnish. Top this dish with chopped fresh basil, fresh parsley, or green onions before serving for extra fresh flavor.
Serving Suggestions
These easy Lasagna Roll-Ups are perfect for weeknight dinners all on their own, but we love having some bread on the side and sometimes even extra veggies!
Try my Cheesy Garlic Bread, classic Garlic Bread, or these Homemade Breadsticks.
If you want more veggies try these Green Beans with Bacon, Air Fryer Green Beans, Air Fryer Broccoli, or Roasted Carrots.
More Easy Pasta Dinner Recipes to Try
Lasagna Roll Ups
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- ½ lb lean ground beef
- ½ lb Italian sausage (ground or casings removed) 5 sausages
- 1 onion (finely diced)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cups jarred tomato pasta sauce (about 1.5 jars)
- ¼ cup water
Ricotta filling
- 2 cups Ricotta cheese (450 grams)
- ½ cup frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry (100 grams)
- ¼ cup cream
- 1 egg
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese divided
Lasagna Roll Ups
- 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- In a large pan, cook ground beef, Italian sausage, and onion until browned, stirring often. If there is a lot of fat in the pan, drain it before continuing.
- Stir in the garlic, salt, and Italian seasoning, and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the pasta sauce and water. Remove from heat to cool slightly. (This can also be made in advance and refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen up to 3 months)
Ricotta Filling
- In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, spinach, cream, egg, Parmesan, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
Lasagna Roll Ups
- Cook lasagna noodles just until al dente in a large pot of boiling water that’s been salted.
- Drain and run under cold water to cool quickly.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (if baking right away) and lightly grease a deep 9×13″ pan.
- Spread just enough meat sauce on the bottom of the pan to create a thin layer.
- Lay out cooked lasagna noodles on a cutting board and spread each with ricotta filling (there should be enough that all the noodles get an even layer of cheese) (*Note: this is actually easiest to do with your hands, but don’t tell anyone I said that)
- Roll up tightly and place in a baking dish. Repeat until all lasagna noodles are used.
- Top with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes until cheese is beginning to brown (if you prep this ahead and bake from the refrigerator, it will take longer to heat through).
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Meat: you can substitute almost any ground meat for the beef and sausage here, but keep in mind that the sausage adds significant flavor. Try ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey, but you may want to add extra seasoning for flavor.
- Tomato pasta sauce: you’ll want to find a seasoned tomato sauce, like a marinara sauce (not plain), which will add additional flavor to the sauce.
- Ricotta: no ricotta? Experiment! Try some herb-and-garlic cream cheese or Boursin in its place.
- Spinach: I like to use frozen, thawed spinach, but you can also use finely chopped fresh spinach.
- Refrigerator: Make the recipe completely, but do not bake. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking and serving. You may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.
- Freezer: Make completely, cover, and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw completely before baking.
- Store: Store baked and cooled lasagna roll-ups in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or covered with foil in the oven until cooked through.
- Freeze: I’d recommend freezing these lasagna roll-ups before baking them. Defrost thoroughly before baking.
Nutrition Information
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Amy Blaich says
If I wanted to swap to cottage cheese instead of ricotta do I still follow all the other ingredients for that mixture(spinach, egg, cream, mozerella, Parmesan)?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amy, I would think so, yes. Enjoy!
Ruth Koch says
In the cheese mixture is the cream heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2?
Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Ruth, it’s heavy cream. Enjoy!