When you want comfort food with a touch of elegance, turn to Barefoot Contessa.
Y Ina Garten Lasagna It is a traditional that you will make again and again.
Do you want to save this recipe? Enter your email now and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox!
Ina Garten is the unofficial Queen of the Hamptons. She exudes style and grace, and so does her cooking!
And let me tell you, this turkey lasagna fits the theme.
It is repellent, substantial and exquisitely exquisite.
Seriously, Ina Garten's lasagna is rich, flavorful, and completely comforting. You're going to love it.
Ina Garten's Turkey Lasagna Recipe
You're probably wondering what precisely makes this lasagna so unique. Particularly when there are so many lasagna recipes out there.
Well, there are 5 reasons, to be precise.
First, this recipe uses Italian turkey sausage instead of beef or pork. It's packed with flavor, but it's much lighter and leaner (aka healthy!).
That means you won't feel overwhelmingly heavy if you "accidentally" eat 3 slices.
The other 4 reasons can be quickly summarized: ricotta, goat cheese, parmesan and mozzarella.
Yes, you read it right. This exquisite lasagna is loaded with FOUR types of cheese.
Each one has a different flavor that goes well with the rest.
Combined with the tomatoes, noodles, and seasonings, each bite is perfectly balanced.
Do you want to save this recipe? Enter your email now and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox!
Barefoot Contessa Lasagna Recipe Ingredients
This is what you will need to make Ina's lasagna:
- olive oil - Sauté the vegetables for the sauce. I like extra virgin olive oil, but you could use avocado or any neutral oil if that's what you have on hand.
- Alliums – Specifically, yellow onions and garlic. Each briny recipe requires its alliums for flavor and nutrition. And fresh is always the best!
- Italian Turkey Sausage – It has great flavor, with little fat. Use mild or spicy sausage, depending on your tastes.
- Tomatoes - You'll use crumbled tomatoes and tomato paste for maximum flavor.
- Herbs and Seasonings – You will need fresh parsley and fresh basil for this recipe. In addition to this, salt and pepper, of course.
- Lasagna noodles – Use your favorite brand and choose white, whole wheat, gluten-free, or even chickpea noodles for extra protein if you want.
- Cheese - Lasagna without cheese is blasphemy. And this recipe calls for goat cheese, ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella.
- Substitute goat cheese for extra ricotta if you don't like the taste.
- Add a little blue cheese if you like it really spicy.
- If you can't find ricotta, cottage cheese is a great substitute.
- egg - The egg acts as a binding agent to hold the cheese filling together. It also adds protein and a bit of rich flavor.
How to Make Ina Garten's Turkey Lasagna
If you've ever made lasagna before, this should be very simple. That being said, it's a breeze anyway.
1. Prepare the baking dish and preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to four hundred degrees Fahrenheit (205°C) and lightly spray a nine by thirteen-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
(You can also use two eight × eight-inch pans or cut the recipe in half and use one eight × eight-inch pan.)
2. Gather each and every ingredient and weigh/measure everything.
Chop the onion and garlic, slice the mozzarella and, if the turkey chorizo comes in casing, remove it as well.
The reason you want everything ready and measured (la mise en place) is so you know you have everything.
The last thing you want is to get halfway through cooking and realize you don't have (or enough of) a key ingredient!
3. Make the meat sauce.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the chopped onions and cook until translucent.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about two minutes).
Crumble the Italian sausage into the pan and brown for about ten minutes. When it is no longer pink, add the tomato paste and crumbled tomatoes.
Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Then sprinkle two tablespoons of parsley and all the basil.
Let the sauce simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes.
4. Soak the noodles, but do not cook them.
Add hot water to a large bowl and soak the lasagna noodles for twenty minutes. Stir them occasionally so they don't stick.
After twenty minutes, drain them and set them aside.
5. Make the cheese filling.
Mix the ricotta, goat cheese, and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl until almost smooth and blended.
Gently beat the egg in a small bowl, then mix it into the cheese with the rest of the parsley.
Season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir until a compact mixture is formed. Put it aside.
6. Assemble the lasagna.
Pour about a third of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Spread it evenly over the glass so that nothing is visible.
Next, put half of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Follow that with half the mozzarella cheese slices and then half the ricotta mixture.
Spread another third of the meat sauce over the ricotta. And then do it all again.
You'll end up with the final third of the sauce on top.
Take the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the meat sauce. Now, it is ready to bake.
7. Bake the lasagna, uncovered, for thirty minutes..
It's ready when the cheese is gooey, the sauce is bubbly, and the top is golden brown.
Your kitchen should smell completely fabulous too!
Let it rest for five to ten minutes and serve the lasagna warm.
How to make lasagna ahead of time
Ina Garten's lasagna is a fabulous make-ahead dish. And there are a few ways to do it.
1. Prepare the entire dish a day or two before you need it.
Prepare the lasagna according to the instructions, but do not bake it. Instead, wrap the dish in plastic and aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator.
Then let it come to room temperature for about thirty minutes before baking.
2. Prepare the sauce and cheese mixture, but do not assemble the lasagna.
Make the sauce as directed, measuring and mixing each and every cheese (not the egg). So, store everything in airtight containers for up to a couple of days beforehand.
Let the ingredients come to room temperature for thirty minutes, then assemble the lasagna and bake.
Prepare the noodles while the sauce and cheese heat on the counter.
3. Prepare and bake the lasagna, then cool and freeze for later.
Make the recipe according to the instructions, then bake until golden and bubbly.
Let the entire dish cool for about an hour, then put it in the refrigerator until it is completely cold.
When cool, wrap the entire dish in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Then put it in the freezer for up to three months.
When you're ready to eat it, cook it from frozen, covered with foil, for about an hour. Then cook uncovered for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Or thaw overnight and bake as usual.
Tips for the best lasagna
Lasagna is a fairly simple dish. But I even have some tips to make sure your dish is exquisite!
Let refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before using them.
Yes, even your flesh. Let me explain…
Cold meat shrinks when you cook it, making it dry and tough. On the contrary, meat at room temperature cooks more evenly and stays nice and juicy.
Then, leave the turkey sausage on the counter for about thirty minutes (no more than an hour). Any more and it will go bad.
This is also true for ricotta, goat cheese, and egg. They will mix more evenly if they are at room temperature.
Use no-boil lasagna noodles instead of traditional noodles.
This will save you the step of soaking them. That way you can add them right to the pan.
Check the noodle box for heating/time settings that need to be made.
How to avoid thick lasagna
1. Let the meat sauce thicken. – is built into the steps for a reason. If after twenty minutes it is still liquid, let it continue cooking.
It will reduce after a while and become nice and thick.
2. drain the noodles. Again, it's a part of the steps for a reason.
If you don't drain the noodles properly, you will add moisture to the dish.
3. Do not use pork or beef chorizo. These are very greasy and will make your lasagna more moist.
That said, you can cook and drain the excess moisture if you want. But really, turkey sausage is just as tasty!
Add sugar to the sauce and red wine to the meat.
Mix 1-two tablespoons of white sugar into the tomato sauce when you add the tomatoes. This helps reduce acidity and add balance.
Also, add a splash of red wine to the meat sauce for an extra rich flavor.
Make sure the dish is cooked before removing it from the oven.
Insert a toothpick into the center of the lasagna to make sure the noodles are ready. If it passes without resistance, you're good to go!
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Lasagna
Leftover lasagna is the best! If you have any, that is.
Luckily they last a long time in the refrigerator, so you can enjoy this fantastic dish the rest of the week.
Leave leftovers in the pan or move them to an airtight container.
If you leave them in the pan, be sure to wrap them well. You don't want the lasagna to dry out.
Either way, store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to five days.
To reheat, cut individual slices and microwave.
or you can reheat the entire pan in the oven at three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit until it is warm and bubbly.
This time you will want to cover it with aluminum foil, as it will heat up faster and may burn on top if you don't.
How to freeze lasagna
We covered this a bit in the previous section, but let's delve a little deeper. After all, making lasagna is going to make next week considerably easier!
It will last up to three months in the freezer.
How to freeze baked lasagna
You can freeze baked lasagna in two ways. And in both situations, the lasagna (and the pan) needs to come to room temperature before freezing.
Freeze lasagna in small portions or individual slices. Add each serving to a freezer-safe, airtight container. Then, freeze.
Reheat portions in the microwave.
Second, you can freeze the entire pan of baked lasagna. Wrap the baking dish a couple of times in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Then freeze it until it is solid.
When you are ready to reheat, let the lasagna thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Bake in an oven at three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit (lowest temperature) until heated through. This is going to take thirty to forty-five minutes.
How to freeze lasagna without baking
You can also freeze the lasagna before baking it.
Simply follow the instructions to prepare the lasagna. Although I advise waiting to assemble the lasagna until the meat sauce has cooled.
Make sure the lasagna dish is both freezer and oven safe. Then wrap the plate in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil.
If your baking dish has a lid, use that as well. We don't want any freezer burn!
When it's time for lasagna, you can cook it two ways.
More Ina Garten Recipes You'll Love
Ina Garten Pasta Salad
Garlic prawns Ina Garten
Ina Garten Chicken Salad
Ina Garten's Meatloaf
