Mini Lasagna Bakes

Time :1 40

Yield :4 servings

Recipe Background

These Mini Lasagna Bakes are the perfect way to enjoy all the flavor of classic lasagna in a compact and adorable form! Layers of creamy ricotta, spicy sausage, and zesty tomato sauce are nestled between tender lasagna noodles, all topped off with parmesan cheese. The individual portions are perfect for entertaining and will have your guests reaching for seconds (and thirds!). These Mini Lasagna Bakes are sure to become a new favorite!

Ingredients

4 slices thick bacon roughly chopped
1/2 onion diced
1 large clove garlic minced
1 1/4 pounds Italian sausages cut open with the filling taken out
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 (28-ounce) can Italian whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 (15-ounce) container full-fat ricotta cheese
1 box no-boil lasagna sheets
4 cups parmesan cheese finely grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large 10-inch skillet, cook the bacon until it starts to turn pink.
Add the onion to the bacon and cook over medium heat, while stirring, until the onion is soft.
Add the garlic and the sausage to the bacon mixture and break up the meat using a wooden spoon and stir well.
Add the olive oil, the basil, and the oregano to the meat mixture and cook until the sausage has browned, about 5-7 minutes.
Use your hands to slowly squeeze and roughly crush each of the whole tomatoes into the meat mixture.
Add the tomato paste and the wine to the meat mixture and stir well.
Season the meat mixture with the salt and the pepper.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, and cook on low heat until it is thick and rich, about 30 minutes.
Add the ricotta cheese to the sauce mixture and stir well until all of the ricotta is mixed through evenly.
At the bottom of four small, round baking dishes, add a thin layer of the sauce and then a layer of the lasagna noodles.
Spread more of the sauce over each of the pasta layers and sprinkle it generously with the parmesan cheese.
Repeat the layering process for each dish until there is just enough sauce to finish with a final layer on top.
Sprinkle the tops with the remaining parmesan cheese.
Bake the mini lasagnas until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the cheese has melted, about 30-40 minutes.
Let the mini lasagnas cool for 5 minutes.
Serve.