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Home » Casseroles » Lazy Lasagna

Lazy Lasagna

By Chula King · December 13, 2020 · Updated January 23, 2021 25 Comments

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Lazy Lasagna

Lazy Lasagna has all of the amazing taste of regular lasagna. However, it uses store-bought, cheese-filled ravioli in place of the typical layering of the lasagna noodles, and ricotta cheese mixture. This equates to less time in the kitchen and more time to do other things. As an added bonus, Lazy Lasagna can be put together ahead of time, can be frozen and makes awesome leftovers.

Lazy Lasagna

Ingredients

I like to make my own meat sauce that is cooked low and slow for this delicious lasagna. However, feel free to use your favorite meat sauce in this recipe.

For the meat sauce, I used mild Italian sausage. The spices were simple – dried basil, dried oregano, Kosher salt and black pepper. Added to the taste were onions and minced garlic. For the liquids, I used petit diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine and water. I also use a bit of light brown sugar.

Once the meat sauce was prepared, the other ingredients consisted of store-bought cheese filled ravioli, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients for lazy lasagna

 

Making the Meat Sauce

I started by browning the Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. While the sausage was browning, I tried to break it up into small pieces. Once the sausage was cooked, I removed it from the skillet and drained it on paper towels. 

Cooked Italian sausage in skillet

After I removed the Italian Sausage from the skillet, I wiped out the skillet with paper towels. Then, I added the onions. I cooked the onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Next, I returned the Italian sausage to the skillet and stirred to combine everything.

I added the basil, oregano, salt, pepper and minced garlic to the onion/sausage mixture and stirred to combine everything. I let the mixture cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic was fragrant.

Adding garlic to other meat sauce ingredients

For the liquids, I added the petit diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine and water. I also added a bit of light brown sugar to temper the bitterness of the tomatoes. I stirred the mixture to combine everything and brought it to a boil. Then I covered the pan and lowered the heat to low. 

Meat Sauce ready to simmer

I let the sauce simmer for three hours. At this point, I could have refrigerated the meat sauce for use the next day, but carried on!

Putting the Lazy Lasagna Together

I started by spraying a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Then, I spread about a cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of the dish (Photo 1). Next, I added half of the ravioli (Photo 2). After that, I added half of the remaining meat sauce (Photo 3) and topped the meat sauce with half of the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese (Photo 4).

Building the lasagna with the different layers

I repeated the layering with the remainder of the ravioli, meat sauce and cheeses. Then, I covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked the Lazy Lasagna in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I removed the aluminum foil and baked the lasagna for an additional 20 minutes.

To say that the Lazy Lasagna was amazing is an understatement. All of the ingredients perfectly blended together for an unforgettable dish.

I served the Lazy Lasagna with a loaf of freshly baked Crusty French Bread for an unforgettable meal. Yum!

Lazy Lasagna

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Lazy Lasagna

Lazy Lasagna

Lazy Lasagna has all of the amazing taste of regular lasagna. However, it uses store-bought cheese-filled ravioli in place of the typical layering of the lasagna noodles, and ricotta cheese mixture.
5 from 19 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 545kcal
Author: Chula King

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

  • 1 pound (16 ounces) mild Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1 medium onion chopped, (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
  • 14.5 ounce can petit diced tomatoes
  • 8 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 1/2 cup water

Lazy Lasagna

  • Meat Sauce
  • 18 ounce package cheese filled ravioli (See Tip 1)
  • 2 cups (10 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Instructions

Meat Sauce

  • Brown Italian sausage in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Transfer paper towel lined plate to drain. Allow to cool; rub meat between fingers to break up into small pieces.
  • Wipe skillet with paper towel to remove any remaining grease. Add onions; sauté over medium heat for about five minutes.
  • Return sausage to skillet; stir to combine. Add basil, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. Stir well to combine; cook for 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.
  • Add petit diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, red wine and water; stir well to combine. Bring to a slow boil.
  • Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for three hours, adding more liquid if necessary. (See Tip 2)
  • Correct the seasonings if necessary. (See Tip 3)

Lazy Lasagna

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
  • Spread one cup of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Top with half of the ravioli, half of the remaining meat sauce, half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layering with the remaining ingredients.
  • Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 20 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.
  • Yield: 8 Servings. (See Tip 4)

Chula's Expert Tips

  1. I used fresh ravioli, but you could also use frozen ravioli. If using frozen ravioli, increase the cooking time by 5 minutes.
  2. Rather than cooking on stove, transfer mixture to a crock pot and cook on high setting for 5 hours; or cook covered in 300° F oven for 3 hours.
  3. This makes a delicious base for baked ziti and is awesome served over pasta.
  4. Leftovers if any are delicious. Also leftovers can be frozen for later use.

Nutrition

Calories: 545kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 1547mg | Potassium: 507mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 632IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 342mg | Iron: 9mg
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below and/or give this recipe a rating. On Instagram? Take a picture and tag @pudgefactor or #pudgefactor.

Related

Filed Under: Casseroles, International, Meats, Pasta

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    December 15, 2020 at 12:53 pm

    Looks great will try

  2. Tricia says

    December 15, 2020 at 12:56 pm

    Great idea lazy lasagna will be making this for company soon

  3. Chula King says

    December 15, 2020 at 1:40 pm

    It’s amazingly delicious!

    Chula

  4. Chula King says

    December 15, 2020 at 1:41 pm

    Tricia,

    You won’t be disappointed. It’s really, really tasty.

    Chula

  5. Donna says

    December 15, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    5 stars
    Looks so easy! Im going try it this weekend,

  6. Chula King says

    December 16, 2020 at 8:11 am

    Donna,

    It is easy – and delicious!

    Chula

  7. Tonya says

    December 16, 2020 at 2:34 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe looks to be easy and delicious. My only question is with the cheese ravioli. Can these be purchased in the refrigerated section of the grocery store? If the raviolis can only be purchased in the frozen section, should they be thawed before baking or should they be boiled first or put them in the baking pan frozen?

  8. Chula King says

    December 16, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    Hi Tonya,

    I purchased my ravioli in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. You can also use frozen ravioli. It is not necessary to either thaw or boil the frozen ravioli. I would, however, add about 5 minutes to the baking time when the dish is covered.

    Chula

  9. Taylor says

    December 16, 2020 at 10:02 pm

    If we want to buy the sauce and just have the ground sausage and jar marinara sauce, how much jar sauce would we need in ounces to make the same amount as the homemade?

  10. Chula King says

    December 17, 2020 at 6:42 am

    Taylor,

    I would use 29-ounces of jarred marinara sauce.

    Chula

  11. María Dolores says

    December 17, 2020 at 10:01 am

    Worth taking the time to do.

  12. Joy says

    December 19, 2020 at 8:57 am

    Can/should I add ricotta cheese?

  13. Chula King says

    December 19, 2020 at 9:21 am

    Joy,

    I don’t think that I would add ricotta cheese to the Lazy Lasagna. The cheese Ravoili aleady has ricotta cheese in it.

    Chula

  14. Kay Smith says

    December 19, 2020 at 9:23 am

    5 stars
    Made this last night. Substituted my own sauce very similar to yours. It turned out fantastic. Will definitely make again! I don’t make lasagna often because it’s so time-consuming. Thank you for such an easy recipe.

  15. Chula King says

    December 19, 2020 at 9:29 am

    Kay,

    I’m so glad that the Lazy Lasagna turned out for you. I agree about the time-consuming nature of regular lasagna!

    Chula

  16. Christine says

    December 20, 2020 at 4:59 am

    5 stars
    Will definitely try it.Thanks for shy

  17. Joy says

    December 20, 2020 at 12:49 pm

    Thank you. I am glad I checked. I can’t wait to make this for Christmas.

  18. Chula King says

    December 20, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    Hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas!

    Chula

  19. RoseWitLuv says

    December 22, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    5 stars
    So much easier and it is simply delicious!

  20. Joy says

    December 27, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    5 stars
    I made it! Family loved it! I plan to make it again!

  21. Chula King says

    December 28, 2020 at 9:41 am

    Excellent Joy! I’m so pleased that your family approved of the Lazy Lasagna!

    Chula

  22. NickiDE says

    January 16, 2021 at 11:58 am

    5 stars
    This was so good. I made a half recipe in an 8×8 pan with frozen ravioli, no meat and jarred meat-flavored sauce. To amp up a jarred sauce I usually stir in an egg yolk and 5 tablespoons of butter and then heat on low just until the butter melts. Now that I think about it, I suppose you could melt the butter in the microwave and then just stir it into the sauce!! Baked the same amount of time since the ravioli was frozen. Will for sure make this again. Thank you.

  23. Chula King says

    January 16, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    Thanks so much for your comment! I never would have thought to add an egg yolk and butter to jarred sauce. Sounds delicious!

  24. VT says

    January 19, 2021 at 7:02 pm

    If im using jarred sauce, do i still have to simmer for 3 hrs?

  25. Chula King says

    January 20, 2021 at 11:51 am

    No. Simmering for three hours is unnecessary if using jarred sauce.

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I'm Chula King, the food blogger, award-winning photographer, and videographer behind Pudge Factor. Pudge Factor features amazing and well-tested recipes from my every day cooking. These recipes run the gamut from simple to sophisticated and everything in between. I not only present awesome recipes with tips and tricks that I've learned through the years, but also process photos from start to finish. For some of the recipes, I include videos detailing the actual making of the dish. Read More…

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