Gluten-Free Lasagna
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
This gluten-free lasagna is a delicious and filling dinner classic packed with Italian seasoning, herbs, and three types of cheeses. With just 20 minutes of prep and minimal effort, this homemade beef lasagna will leave you happy, full, and excited for leftovers.
It’s truly a family favorite in our house! We like to make this easy recipe for family gatherings, like the holidays, since it’s so easy to make ahead and pop in the oven when you’re almost ready to eat. But, it’s also a great recipe for meal prep or weeknight meals, too. It’s true comfort food no matter when you serve it.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Cheeses – I always like to buy my cheeses in blocks and grate them myself to ensure that they melt properly. Pre-shredded cheeses typically come with a coating that keeps them from melting well.
- Ground beef – This homemade lasagna is pretty versatile. I used ground beef, but you can also use ground pork, Italian sausage, or a mixture, if you prefer. To make this recipe vegetarian, you can simply omit the meat and either leave as is or add mushrooms to help make it more substantial. Just give them a quick sauté with the onions for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Egg – If you don’t have an egg or are egg-free, you can omit the egg. Your ricotta mixture won’t be as creamy and may fall apart a little bit more easily, but the flavor will still be there, which is the most important part!
Step-by-Step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (or 190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or casserole dish with olive oil or cooking spray and set aside. Set a large skillet or dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat and add olive oil, ground beef, and diced yellow onion.
- Sauté, breaking up the beef with a spatula or spoon, for 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.
- Add the minced garlic, salt, and pepper and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring often to make sure the garlic does not burn.
- Add the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Let cook for an additional 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and fresh chopped parsley. Reserve the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese for later. Stir the ricotta mixture until well combined.
- To assemble the lasagna, place 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking pan and spread with a spoon or spatula until the entire pan is covered.
- Place ⅓ of the gluten-free lasagne noodles in a layer on top of the sauce. Depending on the size and shape of your lasagne noodles, you will be able to fit 4-5 noodles in a layer. Break up lasagne noodles as needed to cover the entire pan. With Barilla Gluten-Free Lasagne Noodles, I was able to fit four noodles next to each other and then broke up a fifth noodle to fill the entire space.
- Add approximately 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture to the top of the noodles, and gently spread across the noodles so that it is evenly distributed.
- Top the cheese with 1 cup of sauce, then lasagne noodles, then ricotta cheese again, all evenly distributed. Repeat with the sauce and lasagne noodles one more time (note we have already finished uses up all the ricotta so there will not be another layer of that), finishing with a final layer of sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce. To recap, the order from bottom to top goes 1 cup sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, ½ the ricotta, 1 cup sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, ½ of the ricotta, 1 cup sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, remaining sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella (see how to layer lasagna diagram below in post).
- Spray a piece of aluminum foil on one side and cover the baking dish with foil, sprayed side down. Bake at 375F (190C) for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.
- Remove lasagna from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Top with additional fresh parsley, if you desire.
How to layer gluten-free lasagna
To me, a lasagna needs to have 3-4 layers to be hearty and filling. I personally like to go with a 3-layer lasagna. It’s the perfect ratio of filling, to gluten-free pasta, to sauce.
I’ve created this graphic to show you how I layer lasagna, which I think is helpful to see if you’re new to making lasagna at home.
Here’s how I layer my lasagna:
- First, you start with 1/4 of the sauce (which should be about 1 cup).
- Then you top it with 1/3 of the lasagna noodles. For me, that was 5 noodles.
- Next, top with half of the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella mixture.
- Repeat again – 1/4 of the sauce, 1/3 of the lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese. Note: we are now done with the ricotta mixture.
- Here’s where it gets different – on the last layer! Again, we have 1/4 of the sauce, 1/3 of the gluten-free lasagne noodles, but instead of going back to ricotta, we instead top with the remaining 1/4 of the sauce and then top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
I hope this graphic helps you figure out how to layer your lasagne! If you were doing 4 layers, you would do the same though the sauce would be come 1/5 of the sauce, noodles would be 1/4 of the noodles, and the ricotta would be 1/3 of the noodles. You would repeat that 3 times and then on the 4th layer is when you switch it up and replace the ricotta with sauce and top with mozzarella.
Expert Tips
- It is key to let the lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes after cooking before you cut into it. If you try to cut into it too early, everything will still be really loose and the lasagna slice will fall apart. Trust me, the lasagna will still be plenty hot after it sits at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Make sure you spray the aluminum foil before covering the baking dish. This will keep the aluminum foil from sticking to the melted cheese on top of your gluten-free lasagna. You may also want to loosely cover your pan with the foil rather than having it touching your cheese if you can help it.
- I used oven-ready lasagne noodles, which means you do not need to pre-boil your lasagne noodles for this recipe. Be sure to check the package instructions of your lasagne noodles to check if you need to boil them prior to assembly.
Recipe FAQs
I tested this recipe with Barilla Gluten-Free Oven-Ready Lasagne Noodles since they are available at most local grocery stores in the US. You can use your favorite dried gluten-free lasagne noodle, but just be sure to check the box for any prep instructions if it does not say oven-ready. Most brands of gluten-free pasta noodles seem to contain between 10-13oz, which works well for this recipe.
I think 3-4 layers of noodles makes an excellent lasagna. Since my box of noodles came with 15 noodles, I decided to do 3 layers, each consisting of 5 noodles. I used 4 noodles side by side, and broke up the 5th noodle to fill in the empty spots on the side of the pan. Check out the graphic above for easy layering instructions.
To make ahead, prepare the lasagna through the steps just before baking (Step 10). Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When ready, continue from Step 10.
Leftovers can be stored in the pan covered in aluminum foil or in a sealed container for up to 3 days in the refigerator.
Related Recipes
- Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Mushroom Risotto
- Gluten-Free Mozzarella Sticks
- Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to know! Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also share your pictures and tag @adashofmegnut on Instagram.
Gluten-Free Lasagna
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef ((454g))
- 1/2 large yellow onion (diced (1 cup diced / 25g))
- 2 cloves garlic (minced (14g))
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 32 oz marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)
For the lasagna:
- 32 oz Ricotta Cheese (907g)
- 1 egg (50g)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese (divided (171g))
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded, divided (228g))
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley (chopped (15g))
- 10-13 oz 1 box gluten-free lasagna noodles, I used Barilla Gluten-Free Oven-Ready Lasagne Noodles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (or 190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with olive oil or cooking spray and set aside. Set a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove top and add olive oil, ground beef, and diced yellow onion.
- Sauté, breaking up the beef with a spatula or spoon, for 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.
- Add the minced garlic, salt, and pepper and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring often to make sure the garlic does not burn.
- Add the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Let cook for an additional 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and fresh chopped parsley. Reserve the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese for later. Stir the ricotta mixture until well combined.
- To assemble the lasagna, place 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking pan and spread with a spoon or spatula until the entire pan is covered.
- Place ⅓ of the gluten-free lasagne noodles in a layer on top of the sauce. Depending on the size and shape of your lasagne noodles, you will be able to fit 4-5 noodles in a layer. Break up lasagne noodles as needed to cover the entire pan. With Barilla Gluten-Free Lasagne Noodles, I was able to fit four noodles next to each other and then broke up a fifth noodle to fill the entire space.
- Add approximately 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture to the top of the noodles, and gently spread across the noodles so that it is evenly distributed.
- Top the cheese with 1 cup of sauce, then lasagne noodles, then ricotta cheese again, all evenly distributed. Repeat one more time, finishing with a final layer of sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce. To recap, the order from bottom to top goes 1 cup sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, ½ the ricotta, 1 cup sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, ½ of the ricotta, 1 cup sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, remaining sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella (see diagram above in post).
- Spray a piece of aluminum foil on one side and cover the baking dish with foil, sprayed side down. Bake at 375F (190C) for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.
- Remove lasagna from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Top with additional fresh parsley, if you desire.
Notes
- As always, check the labels of all of your ingredients to ensure that they are gluten-free!
- I used a block of mozzarella and shredded it myself so that the mozzarella would melt really easily. Pre-shredded mozzarella cheese is coated with starch which makes it difficult to melt.
- I used beef in this recipe, you can also use ground pork, Italian sausage, or a combination if you prefer.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, omit the ground beef. You can also add mushrooms if you prefer, instead. Just give them a quick sauté with the onions. You do not need to cook them for the full 8 minutes like you do ground beef. Just cook until the onions are translucent.
- If you are egg-free, you can omit the egg. Your ricotta mixture won’t be as creamy and may fall apart a little bit more easily, but the flavor will still be there.
- Be sure to spray the aluminum foil with cooking spray (check for gluten-free) so that it does not stick to the melted cheese on top of the lasagna.
- To make ahead, prepare the lasagna through the steps just before baking. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bake when you are ready.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
I’m Megan
A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…
