This “lasagna” [EDITOR'S NOTE: Um, we typed that word while winking and coughing politely] is both shameless and savvy. Rather than layer lasagna noodles and a made-from-scratch sauce with a ricotta mixture, it cheats—brilliantly—by relying on ravioli, store-bought sauce, and cheese. Did we mention brilliantly?
Bear with us while we gush a little more. The perforated ravioli sheets make it a cinch to cram the lasagna into any size dish. So while the tactic works quite well in the diva of baking dishes, the 9-by-13-inch, it’s also eminently easy to do in several wee-size baking dishes–perfect for when you want to ensure everyone at the table has his or her own personal lasagna that didn’t touch anyone else’s. The recipe also makes it easy to customize flavors, mixing and matching ravioli flavors with various sauces. Or not. It’s all up to you. Our only caveat? With so few ingredients, what you taste is going to depend squarely on the quality of said items. But then, you already knew that.–Renee Schettler Rossi
LC To Heck With Measuring Note
Look, you can’t really mess this recipe up. It’s hardly even a recipe. It’s more a strategy. Which means that while the amounts below work really well, they aren’t by papal decree. So if you’re off a few ounces here or there, not to worry. It can also be scaled up or down. If all you have is a couple paltry ravioli leftover and 1/16th of a jar of store-bought sauce, that’ll do. Conversely, if you need to nourish a large crowd, this recipe can do that, too, when you simply double the amounts and pull out your 9 by 13 inch baking dish. See? It all just sort of works out.
Personal Pan Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- Olive oil for the baking dish
- One 26- to 32-ounce jar fresh pasta sauce
- One 15- to 18-ounce box frozen ravioli (any kind)
- 2 cups (about 8 ounces) shredded cheese, such as mozzarella
Directions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Oil a 9-by-5-inch baking dish, two 4-by-6 baking dishes or six 2-by-3 dishes or ramekins of some sort.
- 2. Assemble your lasagna in layers, starting with 1/3 of the sauce, then 1/2 the ravioli, followed by 1/2 the cheese. Spoon 1/2 of the remaining sauce over the cheese, then layer the remaining ravioli on top. Dump the remaining sauce over the ravioli and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- 3. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until warmed through and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let stand about 5 minutes or so before serving.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Pasta Carbonara from No Recipes
- Italian Sausage Baked Ziti from Vintage Victuals
- Risotto Alla Milanese from Leite's Culinaria
- Rigatoni with Sweet Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Mozzarella from Leite's Culinaria
Personal Pan Lasagna Recipe © 2004 Pilar Guzmán | Jenny Rosenstrach | Alanna Strong. Photo © 2004 Marcus Nilsson. All rights reserved.
[Melinda Hamby] I love baked ravioli! I make a similar version of this, but in a much bigger quantity, as I have five mouths to feed. We used lobster ravioli and it was out-of-this-world good.
[Jean M.] I made this dish using a 7-by-11-inch baking dish, and it worked just fine. I used round ravioli, so I made two layers with the sauce and cheese. I baked it as directed, but found that it needed an additional 5 minutes. The dish browned quite nicely without having to use the broiler. It’s a good idea to let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving. I really enjoyed the recipe, and will make it again.
[Cristina Moore] This was a very easy recipe to follow. It’s a timesaver, and the extra flavors between the raviolis were a surprise to the person I served it to. I was at first leery about the assembly—not because I didn’t think it would taste good, but because I love lasagna and I’d just as soon make a real lasagna over an instant version. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I used two 9-ounce packages of herb ravioli with spinach and cheese, and sprinkled the last layer of noodles and sauce with grated Parmesan. The baking time was perfect.
[Patton C] At first, I didn’t think this recipe was any better or worse than serving ravioli with a sauce on top. But then I began to think of all the combinations you could come up with to make it your own. Also, it was easy to put together, I didn’t have to wait for water to boil, and there was no colander to clean. I used a frozen meat ravioli, and a jar of Rao’s Vodka sauce. My only change would be to play around with the cheese—the mozzarella was a little too gooey and stringy for my taste. I used a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, and ended up trimming rows off of the ravioli sheets to build a third layer. TIP: After the stated 40-45 minutes of baking, give it a few minutes under the broiler to brown the top.
[Joan Osborne] This is a great idea for a weeknight meal. It’s so easy to put together, and there are endless possibilities for using different sauces, cheeses and types of frozen ravioli. I love tackling complex recipes on weekends when I have more time, but on a weeknight, something simple like this usually calls my name when I arrive home. I used mozzarella cheese, cheese ravioli, and our favorite mushroom pasta sauce. Since we’re big eaters, I ended up with three individual servings. With the addition of salad and some garlic bread, I had dinner on the table in no time. The baking time was right on the mark, but I did run the lasagna under the broiler to brown the cheese a bit at the end.
[Cynthia Furey] This is a totally genius way to throw together dinner on a busy weeknight. It’s also a recipe you can play around with: I layered some fresh basil and leftover shredded chicken between the sauce and ravioli layers (I made three layers of each). I also used 1 3/4 cups of mozzarella, and topped the whole thing with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. I couldn’t find ravioli sheets, so I used refrigerated ravioli and squished the pieces together as close as possible. (I can see how using the sheets would resemble lasagna better.) My lasagna fell apart when we cut into it, but that wasn’t a big deal since this was a casual dinner eaten in front of the couch! It’s as delicious as you want it to be—using the very best quality sauces and raviolis is key. You’ll be able to feed four super-hungry people, or six people comfortably, if you serve it with hearty sides.
[Helen Shumway] This recipe is so easy that it’s almost embarrassing to identify it on the website. I’d never have thought of it myself. I made this in two batches with two kinds of ravioli (spicy sausage and mushroom), and a basic tomato-basil sauce from a jar. Both were wonderful. Next time, I’ll top the ravioli witch cheese in the last 10 minutes of cooking, as my cheese was overcooked when I followed the directions as stated. Overall, this was amazingly easy, yummy and, as promised, no broken ravioli! My husband asked for seconds, so I’d recommend it.
[Kim Venglar] This lasagna was very quick and easy to prepare—I made it twice. The first time, I followed the recipe exactly, using chicken and four-cheese ravioli, in eight individual casserole dishes. I baked them while covered for 30 minutes, then for an additional 10 minutes without the lid. They were pretty dry, but we ate them. The second time I made these, I doubled the sauce, and they were fantastic. It was just the right amount of sauce to the ravioli. We served this with a salad and garlic bread, and it was a perfect meal. This is one very quick, inexpensive meal to put together—a new quick-fix meal for our house.
Yesterday I saw a recipe for fried raviolis, also used with frozen raviolis. Basically you batter it in cream and then coat it in bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. I’m liking all these recipes revamping the traditional ravioli.
They’re simply but intriguing, aren’t they Damaris?
Baked ravioli—brilliant! Ravioli, aside from a crispy taco, is one of my favorite foods. I cannot wait to make this—it will be on the wednesday night menu! Thanks!
You’re quite welcome, Susan! Although now I’m craving tacos…
Simply brilliant! Love the idea!
Yup!
Yum. Think we’ll be having this very soon.
Let us know when you do.
This makes lasagne at home special as if served in a restaurant. Love it. Yummy! Makes me so hungry for some.!!!!
Have you made it yet?
What timing! I JUST made lasagna the other day. Antelope lasagna! YUM!!! Oh, and chocolate for dessert.
Duh! :)
Antelope? Where did you get the meat?
Rachael Ray did something like this years ago on her daytime show. One of her “Lazy” Lasagnas. I have made similar in the past too. It definitely takes a lot of work out of the real dish. It is a great idea. I think she put it in an 8×8 pan. This is genius to put it in the tin loaf pans. Also cuts the size of the portion so it is lower in fat too. You know that if you make your own 13×9 inch baking pan of lasagna that you will eat more than 1 slice. I know I eat at least 2 if it is sitting there staring at me.
Great idea to make it in a small loaf pan. I guess it cooks faster too.
It cooks faster, and if you have 4 to 6 people, you know you’re going to eat just one.
Anyone know where I can find those great individual clear square dishes?
Hey Renee, I just checked the book’s credits to see if a source was listed, and unfortunately there’s nothing mentioned. I’ll keep looking around and let you know if I can find anything. In the meantime, anyone else have any suggestions?
Hi, Renee. This is the closest I can find. It’s from Pyrex.
Love the idea of the single serve size of lasagna. Great for when you want something that can be frozen in single servings for later use.
Brilliant idea, crackers.
I make this all the time! It’s simple, endlessly variable, and great for serving a crowd. I call it “cheater lasagna,” and find that it works well with even the inexpensive frozen ravioli from Costco (portobello and chicken ravioli with alfredo sauce and fresh mushrooms & asparagus was a recent potluck contribution). The browned cheese makes it look amazing.
Love that, Courtney. Cheater Lasagna, indeed. But no one else needs to be the wiser…
Love the idea of personal lasagna! Where can I find the personal lasagna bakers/dishes you used??????
Tina, we’re doing a little research and will get back to you…
Putting on my thinking cap and wondering, would this work (just as well) with pierogies? Perhaps with a different cheese and sauce combo. Hmmm.
tc, I think you could definitely do this with piergies. It wouldn’t be as lasagna-like, but I think it would be hearty and good. Let us know what you think!
I used a gussied up simple white sauce along with grated marble and grana padano cheese. What’s not to love?
Exactly, TC. Exactly.