pomodoro ricotta lasagna

Cars are expensive, life is expensive, so we’re getting all meal preppy up in this bish.

One of my most recent financial goals is to cut down on my grocery bill. I fell into a Reddit rabbit hole one day, curious about what households of two spend on food each week. The answers really floored me: it was quite common to see as low as $80 and probably an average of $100-120.

Yikes I’m fucked.

Granted, running a recipe blog is probably not conducive to logical food purchases, at least not all the time. While I try to correlate ingredients so nothing is bought in excess or completely at random, and I’m not blowing cash on niche ingredients I might only use once a month, I’m not always successful at this. My bills, to be totally candid, are usually around $180-200. This does count household supplies, too, but still.

Oof.

Perhaps lasagna isn’t the first dish to mind when you consider thrifty eating, but consider this: the stacked pasta mainstay makes a lot of servings, and is incredibly filling particularly when paired with salad, steamed veggies, or garlic bread if you’re feeling really frisky. Pomodoro Ricotta Lasagna is not only simple and friendly for those of you hoping to meal prep a bit more often, it’s fancy enough to bookmark for Valentine’s Day this weekend or for Easter later on in the spring.

Hearty and flavorful, with a simple vegetarian beef-laced pomodoro sauce, plenty of cheese, and a sneaky serving of veggies thanks to frozen spinach in the filling. Dish it out for a week of lunches and freeze the rest. And like I said, a smallish square goes a long way!

Pomodor-oh YEAH

I’ve used my pomodoro sauce in pizza and stuffed shells before. It is the only pasta sauce I make entirely from scratch – I’m usually lazy and buy jars from the store because, if you choose the right brand, it’s hard to fuck up.

Pomodoro sauce is really easy, and here I add some vegetarian ground beef for a hit of protein. This is not traditional, but I wanted something a touch more filling for my own meals that week. You can swap this out for regular ground if you’d like: turkey, Italian sausage, chicken, whatever.

Whichever you choose, brown that ish first. Heat plenty of olive oil in a skillet and add the beef along with shallots, garlic, dried oregano/parsley/fennel, and a slap of salt and pepper. Stir around for 5-8 minutes or so until the meat(less) is cooked through.

Pour in a big can of crushed tomatoes, a slightly less big can of tomato sauce, and a touch of sugar or honey to cut the sauce’s acidity. Cover and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, long enough for the sauce to thicken and the flavors to meld. Uncover and stir in lots of fresh torn basil.

Stack It Up

The filling is a two-hit blend of whole milk ricotta and frozen, thawed spinach. Be sure to squeeze as much moisture out of your spinach before stirring it with the ricotta.

Now, build thy lasagna. Choose oven-ready noodles for ease of creation: they will absorb all the sauce and goodness and simultaneously soften while in the oven, shaving off time and hassle from having to pre-boil.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Pour 3/4 cup of sauce on the bottom, just enough to cover. Then repeat the following layering three times: 3-4 lasagna noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella cheese. The fourth and final layer will be noodles, sauce, remaining mozzarella, and a good hit of grated parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish with foil. Here, you can pop the lasagna in the fridge for a few days before baking, if you want to prep ahead. Otherwise, slide into a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 12-15 minutes longer, enough time for the cheese to get bubbly and golden in spots.

Let the lasagna rest its ass on the counter for 10 minutes or so before slicing, else it’ll come out as a slop of noodly shit. Tasty, noodly shit. I served up my portion with steamed broccoli, but a crisp green salad is nice too, or any veggie you’d like. Garlic bread if you’re feeling frisky.

Like I said, a great option for V-Day or for Easter whether you’re trying to be a bit more frugal or not. Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will rejoice at its impressive flavor and presentation. Surprise freezer lasagna when you don’t feel like cooking one night is a nice incentive, too!

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

Bake, bake, bake, señora, bake your pasta right:

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