By Samin Nosrat
Updated Feb. 28, 2024
- Total Time
- About 2½ hours
- Rating
- 5(4,751)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Delicate sheets of handmade pasta are layered with rich béchamel, savory tomato sauce and creamy ricotta filling, and studded with spinach and herbs, in this deeply comforting lasagna. But if you don’t have the time to make each component or can’t find all of the ingredients, use fresh or dried store-bought noodles and avail yourself of the many suggested substitutions. For a vegan version, use cashew milk and vegan butter to make béchamel, vegan cheese and cashew ricotta for the filling, and make sure to buy dried pasta that does not contain eggs. No matter how you make this dish, you’ll find that it’s grand, comforting and perfect for sharing with whoever is around. (Watch Samin make #TheBigLasagna on YouTube.)
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-by-13-inch lasagna (8 to 12 servings)
- 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (if using fresh spinach)
- 1pound fresh mature spinach, washed and ends trimmed, 1 pound baby spinach, or 1½ cups frozen spinach, thawed
- Fine sea salt
- 2pounds whole-milk or part-skim ricotta (about 4 cups)
- 6ounces grated whole-milk or part-skim mozzarella, provolone or even string cheese (2 cups)
- 3ounces freshly grated Parmesan, Asiago or Grana Padano (1 heaping cup)
- 20large fresh basil leaves (from 1 bunch), finely chopped (about ¾ cup), 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley or chives, 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 4cups whole milk
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Ground nutmeg (optional)
- 4½cups Simple Tomato Sauce or 32 ounces store-bought marinara sauce (preferably without added sugar)
- Fine sea salt
- 1recipe Homemade Lasagna Sheets, 16 fresh store-bought lasagna sheets, 2 (9-ounce) packages dried lasagna noodles (preferably without curly edges) or no-boil noodles (boiled until al dente)
- 1½ounces grated Parmesan, Asiago or Grana Padano (½ cup)
- 3ounces grated whole-milk or part-skim mozzarella, provolone or even string cheese (1 cup)
For the Ricotta Filling
For the Béchamel
For the Assembled Lasagna
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
511 calories; 32 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 1185 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Prepare the ricotta filling: If using fresh spinach, set a large skillet over high heat. (If using thawed frozen spinach, skip to Step 2.) When hot, add 2 tablespoons oil and half the fresh spinach. Season with a pinch of salt and sauté to wilt. Cook until stems are tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and allow to cool in a single layer. Repeat with remaining spinach.
Step
2
While spinach cools, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, basil and a generous pinch of salt in a large bowl.
Step
3
Taking handfuls of the cooled or thawed spinach, squeeze out as much water as possible, then chop finely and add to cheese mixture. Mix thoroughly, then taste and adjust seasoning for salt. (Filling makes about 6 cups.) Cover and set aside until ready to assemble lasagna. (Ricotta filling can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before assembling lasagna.)
Step
4
Prepare the béchamel: Set a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add butter. Once butter has melted, whisk in flour, reduce heat to very low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent browning. After the mixture foams a bit, it will visibly transform — the butter will separate, the bubbles will reduce in size, and the mixture will look like freshly wet fine sand. Whisking vigorously, slowly pour in milk. Increase heat to medium and whisk until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg (if using) to taste.
Step
5
Return heat to low. Continue cooking, whisking regularly, for 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce is thick and smooth, with no raw flour flavor. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt. If béchamel is lumpy, strain through a fine sieve or purée with an immersion blender. (You’ll have about 3½ cups.) Press a piece of parchment or plastic against the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming and set aside until ready to assemble lasagna. (Béchamel can be made up to 1 day in advance, covered directly and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before using.)
Step
6
Prepare the lasagna: Position the highest rack in the oven so that it sits about 6 inches below the top. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Step
7
If tomato sauce, béchamel and ricotta filling are cold, bring to room temperature or warm them as needed.
Step
8
Set a large pot of water over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Set a large colander in a baking dish and place near stove.
Step
9
Season the boiling water generously with salt until it tastes like sea water. Carefully lay one sheet of pasta on the water’s surface. Let it be completely immersed in the boiling water, using a slotted spoon to gently it push down if needed, before adding the next sheet. Add two more pasta sheets in this way and cook for about 2 minutes, or until light in color, floppy in texture and completely cooked through. If pasta bubbles above the water's surface, use a slotted spoon to encourage it back in. Use a sieve to gently remove pasta from the water and into the prepared colander. Rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle, then begin assembly. Continue cooking, draining and rinsing pasta two or three sheets at a time as you assemble lasagna.
Step
10
Spoon about ¾ cup béchamel into a 9-by-13-inch metal, glass or ceramic baking pan, and use a rubber spatula or your hands to generously coat bottom and sides of pan with sauce.
Step
11
Gently squeezing any remaining water from the pasta, use two or three sheets to entirely cover the bottom of the pan with minimal overlap, and leave ends hanging over sides. (They’ll be helpful for sealing the top.) All four sides need not have overhang; two is plenty.
Step
12
Crumble about ⅓ of the ricotta mixture evenly over pasta to create foundation, then layer with sheets of pasta from edge to edge of pan. Use kitchen shears to help trim pasta to appropriate size and avoid overlap.
Step
13
Spread about ⅓ of the tomato sauce over next layer and cover with pasta.
Step
14
Spread about 1 cup béchamel evenly over next layer, sprinkle with ¼ cup grated Parmesan, and cover with pasta.
Step
15
Repeat with remaining layers: ricotta, tomato sauce, béchamel and Parmesan, ricotta, tomato sauce, béchamel and Parmesan, following each with a layer of pasta. (If using thicker noodles, you might not be able to fit 8 layers of noodles in the pan. If using store-bought or dried pasta, you can skip the noodle layer between the ricotta and tomato sauce as needed to prevent the lasagna from stretching higher than the top of the pan.)
Step
16
For the top, fold overhanging pasta over a whole sheet to create a sealed pasta layer, then spread with remaining béchamel. Gently cover lasagna with a piece of parchment and wrap tightly with foil. Place onto a baking sheet to catch any overflow and bake on prepared rack.
Step
17
After 40 minutes, pull lasagna from oven and carefully remove foil and parchment. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella and return to oven until golden brown and bubbling on surface, about 20 minutes.
Step
18
Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Leftover lasagna can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 4 days. To freeze, bake 30 minutes but do not brown, then cool, and freeze for up to 4 weeks. Defrost, then sprinkle with mozzarella and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling on surface.
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4,751
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Cooking Notes
Ned
As I've mentioned in previous NYT Lasagna recipes, a great hack for the lasagna pasta is simply placing the noodles in a large deep tray and pouring hot tap water over them. Leave them immersed for ten minutes, every so often re-distributing them from top to bottom. The result is perfectly pliable, undamaged noodles, ready for assembly in your lasagna pan, or the same tray you used for the hot tap water bath. A great hack.
Kat
Heyyyy... where it says "1 recipe Homemade Lasagna Sheets, 16 fresh store-bought lasagna sheets, 2 (9-ounce) packages dried lasagna noodles (preferably without curly edges) or no-boil noodles (boiled until al dente)" does the instruction to boil the noodles apply to "no-boil" noodles? Is that a stupid question? I want to make this in the most lazy way possible, please
Lee
This is the best lasagna I've ever tasted! Took a while but sooo worth it. I cut the recipe in half and used an 8x8 inch pan which fit perfectly. Folding up the edges, bottom over the top is brilliant and held it all together like a pie. Thanks Samin!
Kate
This is almost exactly my lasagna recipe, which I spent years creating and perfecting! Samin Nosrat is a culinary genius, and authentically humble! So excited about this recipe!!
Andrew
Tasty but took a long time to make. Would go a tad lighter on the pasta next time (not as many layers).This beast was so heavy that I weighed the finished product...15 pounds...So, yet another bonus is that you can use it to do squats for a workout if you’re concerned about calorie intake :) Thanks for the recipe!
davidL
If you are using fresh pasta sheets why mess around with boiling water? The pasta will cook in the tomato sauce. I have never had a problem with this
MexicoCooks
I made this lasagna yesterday (5/5/2020). It was superb. Four adults ate about half of it--merciful heavens, we all loved it.In addition to the ease of the step-by-step, the Very. Best. Tip. in the recipe was the parchment paper to cover the top, before wrapping the whole thing in aluminum foil. Major lightbulb time! The parchment paper leaves the cheesy top of the lasagna intact, not ripping it from the next layer as aluminum foil would. Thank you Samin Nosrat!
Rupal
Samin's most important note:make sure each component tastes delicious. Made several changes but kept to that mantra. Loved result. +halved the recipe - used 3 layers of fresh pasta. Baked for half the time. +cooked spinach with onions and garlic and added a good bit of Sicilian oregano to boost flavor profile then pureed and added ricotta +Marcella Hazan's tomato and butter sauce (!) stewed with one onion cut in half then removed +1tsp fennel seed +cayenne. Quick soak pasta in hot water next tim
Dawn
I love the specialness of this event & recipe. I love how she describes the anticipation of an Event/ a true Meeting/ a Happening — a Communion, really. In the effort of preparing each component of the dish, she offers us the opportunity of holding space for Possibility— maybe we could meet each other at the “Table” in a new way, with joy and a sense of Feasting after what has felt like a month of fasting, from others, from pleasure, from ease, from joy. We’ve worked hard, for ea other, really,
Krysten Chambrot, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking
Hey, Lou! That's right: 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning will replace the fresh herbs. Enjoy!
Elizabeth
I’m from an Italian family so my comments probably stem from liking family recipes better. We did not like the simple tomato sauce. While the onions cook down, they leave an underlying flavor that we found unpleasant. The béchamel is a lot of work and calories without much extra flavor. Overall, with all the cheese and dairy, I expected this to taste more indulgent than it did. Homemade noodles turned out well and I liked the ricotta mix. Overall, 5 hours of work and kind of disappointing.
Sara
I made a big tray of lasagna last week and shared it with our neighbors. Time consuming but hey, I’ve got the time! A couple of thoughts to swap out ingredients:- I sliced zucchini length wise, and roasted with olive oil and oregano and layered on top of the ricotta; used low fat ricotta with 2 eggs beaten in, salt, pepper and nutmeg; no bechamel- used basic dry lasagna noodles boiled 5 minutes in batches of 5; made one pan with tomato sausage sauce and one with sautéed mushrooms.Enjoy!
julie
Made this recipe using no-boil noodles (the sheet style) and I did not boil them prior to assembly. It still turned out great!
Sarah
Can’t wait to make this! If I halved the ingredients, think it would work in an 8x8? I live alone and am worried I would eat all 12 servings in 24 hours!
Laura H.
Can I use the fresh pasta sheets without boiling first? What modifications would be recommended? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this with all of you!
Kirsten
Question: could I assemble the lasagna on a Wednesday night and not bake it until Friday?
Jack
Half the recipe, as written fills two dishes of lasagna
Jesse S.
FYI the time to make this recipe(2 1/2hrs) does not include the two sub recipes required so if you choose to make the simple tomato sauce and homemade pasta you will spend 5+ hours in total. Hey thats just good living though, no complaints here.
Nicool
I added a pound of beef and pork to the sauce. Yummy
Karen
Does anybody have suggestions on the best way to reheat this Lasagna?
Dalhia
Next time I won't even do the béchamel; it felt heavy handed. The tomato sauce and ricotta mixture was so good in itself! The béchamel was just too heavy/rich for my family's taste. But a great recipe!!! YUM!
JennyA
Use 3-4 boxes of no boil pasta (to account for mistakes)Make ricotta mixture and tomato sauce a day ahead.Boil “no boil” pasta for 3-4 minutes, then lay flat on parchment. Boil 3-4 sheets at a time.Layers from bottom to top: (7 layers of pasta total)Oil1/4 BéchamelPasta1/3 ricotta mixPasta1/3 Tomato saucePasta1/4 Béchamel Parmesan Pasta1/3 ricotta mix and 1/3 Tomato saucePasta1/4 Béchamel ParmesanPasta1/3 ricotta mix 1/3 Tomato saucePastaBéchamel PARCHMENTFOIL
Emma
Has anyone had success freezing this lasagne? Thank you!
Richard
Did you read the previous comments? A reader's comments just 2 below yours speaks of freezing/thawing/reheating.
Steph
My very first time making lasagna, and first time making pasta… wow! Labor intensive but SO worth the effort. Not sure the reason why, but mine ballooned and grew about three inches taller right out of the oven then sank in the middle while resting. It was still absolutely amazing. Huge sense of accomplishment overall. I have a new found respect for Italian grandmas as well!
Kim
Delicious, but a lot of work! I made it ahead of time, used dried noodles. I baked it for 30 minutes and then let it cool and froze it. Thawed it in the fridge and baked the next day. It was delicious.
Beth F
Made this for our New Year’s potluck party and my Italian American husband and friend both called me ‘paesan’ after they tried it. I would say it was a success! The comments were very helpful especially when it came time for assembling the lasagna. Would definitely make it again!
Megan
If anyone is looking for a time estimate that includes homemaking the pasta and both sauces, I’ve now made this entire recipe three times and it always seems to run me about 7-8 hours — so, best done in components over a couple of days!
Lisa
Made this with no boil noodles and it is perfection.
learned from gramma
I e made this lasagne three times now, and it’s amazing as is and worth the effort. However, this last time I used the No Boil noodles and they REEEEALLY dried it out. I’ll never use them again. The rest of the recipe is spot on, the only other change I’ve made is using bolognese/meat sauce.
Ashley in Mexico
This recipe has become our annual Christmas - and if it’s just for 2 people, it scales down easily and deliciously. We are most often in a rental house or apartment for Christmas and this works beautifully even in a minimally furnished kitchen, although that often means we need to make adjustments, like a jar of good marinara and no boil noodles. Thanks Samin!
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