Spicy Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

When you’re craving the ultimate in Italian comfort food, you want this spicy sausage and spinach lasagna. It’s truly a thing of beauty! Layered with a rich, homemade marinara infused with Italian sausage and meaty mushrooms, layered between sheets of pasta and a savory ricotta and parmigiano reggiano blend. This sausage lasagna recipe is the best!

This post is sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano and I have been compensated for it.  All opinions are my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that support Garlic & Zest! #ad  #theonlyparmesan

I very seldom make lasagna.  The time commitment alone makes me scurry for the pizza delivery phone number.  There are occasions, however, that mandate the effort, like when your daughter comes home from college for the weekend and she’s craving Mom’s Spicy Sausage and Spinach Lasagna.  Time to roll up your sleeves.

Sausage and Mushroom Ragout

My not so secret trick is to build up to making the lasagna.  I don’t EVER make it in one day, instead I go in stages.  

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I don’t make my own pasta (tongue sticking out emoji) but that’s about the only thing I short-cut on.  And I always insist on using real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  You can tell it’s the real deal by the tell-tale PIN DOTS on the rind.  If you were to see an entire wheel – those dots would spell out: PARMIGIANO REGGIANO.

There are many ways to grate parmesan – you can toss a chunk in the food processor and give it a whirl, or use a fancy cheese grater.  My personal preference is just running it along a microplane for fluffy, light parmesan perfection.

mixing cheese filling

The parmesan goes into the cheese filling with eggs, parsley, salt and pepper.

cottage cheese filling

Stir until blended and then start the assembly.  In the past, I’ve used both regular lasagna noodles that you cook as well as the thinner, no cook lasagna sheets and I have to say, I prefer the no cook variety.  

 

layering lasagna

Aside from the fact that it saves you a step, those sheets are also thinner and more delicate, providing just the right structure for this lasagna.

chopped spinach

Frozen chopped spinach that’s completely thawed and squeezed dry is a great way to add vegetables to this casserole — you know, in between those layers of mozzarella cheese and sauce… 

lasagna casserole

Finish off the lasagna with more sauce, mozzarella and plenty of parmesan and bake!

Spicy Sausage and Spinach Lasagna hot from the oven.
adding parmesan to lasagna

This is enough to feed a crowd, so either invite a group (and have them bring the wine, bread and a salad) or divvy it up into smaller portions and freeze in heavy duty aluminum foil for a night when you DON’T feel like cooking, but DO feel like eating!

More lasagna recipes you’ll love:

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4.09 from 12 votes

Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

This layered sausage and spinach lasagna makes a huge casserole to feed a crowd. There’s a few moving parts, so I like to spread out assembly over several days.
Author: Lisa Lotts
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword lasagna, sausage, spinach
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 8

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 recipe sausage and mushroom ragout
  • 1 package lasagna noodles either the kind which require boiling first or the ready-to-use variety
  • cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheee
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese divided
  • 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach I wrap it in a clean dish towel and use all my strength to ring out the liquid over the kitchen sink, completely thawed and all excess moisture squeezed out
  • 4 cups grated part skim mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a medium bowl add cottage cheese, egg, 1 cup of the parmesan cheese and the parsley. Stir to combine.
  • In a 13×9 ceramic or glass baking dish, add a half cup of sauce and using a spoon or spatula, spread it thinly over the bottom of the dish.

Layer the lasagna as follows

  • Arrange about 5 pasta noodles on top of that so that they cover the bottom of the dish.
  • Spread a quarter of the ragout over the pasta
  • Spread about one half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.
  • Spread 1 cup of mozzarella over the cottage cheese mixture.
  • Top with half of the spinach.
  • Repeat the layering: pasta, ragout, cottage cheese, mozzarella, spinach.
  • Top with pasta noodles (if using pre-cooked noodles, tuck the ends down into the side of the casserole – you won’t have that option with ready-to-use noodles) Top with remaining ragout and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is melty and crust turns golden.
  • Serve.

NOTES:

The prep time listed is 25 minutes — this is assuming that you’ve already made the ragout.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 1026mg | Potassium: 157mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 650IU | Calcium: 768mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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#ad Spicy Sausage and Spinach Lasagna is the best lasagna recipe with a meaty sausage bolognese, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano & layers of spinach & pasta! #theonlyparmesan

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15 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is a truly excellent lasagna ! The only change I made is to use ricotta , rather than cottage cheese , as I prefer ricotta.

    1. I like ricotta too! So glad you enjoyed it, Paula!

  2. i totally agree, going in stages is the best. that’s the only way i can deal with lasagna prep without getting freaked out halfway through. ps, ever tried pureeing the spinach into some of the ricotta for the spinach layers? it is DIVINE.

    1. That sounds like a great idea — does it give it a paler green color?

  3. Dang, this lasagna sounds amazing! Sometimes you just have to make your babies happy, am I right? Even when they’re not babies! 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    This looks so delicious! I love that you used both sausage and spinach!! Oh my! I love Parmigiano Reggiano cheese! I will be making your lasagna real soon!! Beautiful photos as usual!

  5. I love lasagna but this recipe really has won me over with the spicy sausage and Parmesan cheese. The saltiness fro that fluffy cheese combined with the spicy ragout is making me hungry right now. Lucky it’s lunch time! 🙂

  6. Jenn @ Peas and Crayons says:

    5 stars
    LOVE the step by step photos and cannot wait to faceplant into a big pan of this hearty lasagna!

  7. Katherine says:

    5 stars
    That tomato sauce looks fantastic in the first shot, so rich. I like the addition of the spinach too, anything to get my kids to eat some extra veggies.

  8. 5 stars
    You had me at spicy sausage! This lasagna looks to-die-for; lasagna happens to be my favorite Italian meal EVER! Pinning this to make next week, thanks!