Ina Garten's Genius Trick for the Easiest Way to Make Lasagna (2024)

FAQs

Ina Garten's Genius Trick for the Easiest Way to Make Lasagna? ›

Soak—Instead of Boil—Lasagna Noodles

Start by spreading a layer of your tomato-based sauce (either a plain tomato sauce or your pre-made ragù) on the bottom of your dish. Next, add a single layer of pasta sheets. Then, add a layer of white sauce, followed by another single layer of pasta sheets.

The pieces of the hard-boiled egg will add a creamy, rich disposition to the dish's other components, effortlessly blending between the levels of sauce and pasta.

10 Most Common Lasagna Mistakes

There shouldn't be too much or too little filling. Too much between one layer and another will keep you from ever getting a perfect slice. Too little and all you'll taste is pasta. Do not put large pieces of vegetables or meat in lasagna for the same reason as above.

Acidic ingredients like tomatoes and citrus can react with aluminum (the most common metal used in bakeware), creating a metallic taste in your food. This is why lasagna and other casseroles with acidic ingredients are often baked in glass.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until cheese is golden brown, 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

The biggest offender, though, is watery, thin pasta sauce. A helpful technique can prevent this pitfall from sabotaging your lasagna: Reduce your sauce to thicken it before pouring it into the casserole. A thin sauce runs right off of cooked lasagna noodles, causing all the layers to slide off of each other, as well.

(Do notice that I put the noodles criss cross – perpendicular from the layer below – it helps it to hold together when you serve it). So, the noodles directly on the cheese means there won't be enough for a top layer of noodles.

How many layers should a traditional lasagna have? ›

Top the last layer of your lasagna with sauce and cheese. You can also alternate layers of sauce and ricotta cheese. Most lasagna recipes have two to three layers.

However, making lasagna always involves assembling repeating layers of lasagna noodles, filling, and sauce. After the layers are assembled, the lasagna heads into the oven to bake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the lasagna (without the container of sauce) in a small, ovenproof pan; Cover the lasagna with foil and place in the oven. Cook the lasagna for about 20 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (remove the foil if you wish to brown the top)

No-boil lasagna noodles aren't just a convenient shortcut to piping-hot lasagna—they're actually way more delicious than the regular, frilly-edged kind you have to cook before using. Why? First of all, no-boil noodles tend to be much thinner than the conventional kind.

Don't pour all the pasta water down the drain.

Take a ladle of the water—a quarter cup or so—and set it aside before draining your pasta, then add that water to your sauce. The way you drain the pasta can also affect the flavor and texture.