These lasagna roll-ups are filling, delicious, fun to prepare and they're easier to serve than traditional lasagna. Plus, the leftovers are always better than the initial meal. Simply pop a few of these roll-ups in the oven to reheat them, and your meals are set for days!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions (see note)
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large portabella mushrooms, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- 1 egg
- 15 ounce ricotta cheese, 1 container
- 2 ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
To Prepare the Filling:
- In a large skillet, heat the oil to medium and add the onion. Sauté until very soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add the portabella mushrooms and jalapeno and continue to sauté, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have softened, browned, and cooked down, about another 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the spinach and cover the skillet, allowing the leaves to steam and wilt, about 3 to 5 minutes (lift the lid periodically to stir everything together). Remove the skillet from heat and allow the veggies to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the ricotta, 1 ½ cups of mozzarella cheese (saving the rest for later), and salt and mix everything together. Add in the cooled veggies and mix together well. Set aside.
To Prepare the Sauce:
- Note: you can prepare the sauce ahead of time, or use your favorite store-bought sauce. I made this sauce while I was cooking the veggies.
- In a skillet, heat the oil to medium and add the onion. Sauté until the onion is beginning to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients, stir the sauce together well, and allow it to cook until it comes to a gentle simmer. If you have time, allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes. If not, simply keep it on the burner until you’re ready to use it.
To Assemble the Roll-Ups:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Pour ½ cup of the sauce into a 9” x 13” casserole dish to coat the bottom.
- Take one of the lasagna noodles and lay it flat on a plate. Spread a layer of the cheese/vegetable mixture evenly over the length of the noodle. Roll the noodle up and place it in the casserole dish.
- Repeat for the rest of the noodles & cheese mixture. Once all noodles are in the casserole dish, pour the sauce evenly over the noodles. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the roll ups.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is just beginning to brown. Allow the roll-ups to cool about 5 to 10 minutes after removing them from the oven before serving.
Notes
Cook the lasagna noodles until they're soft but still al dente. Pour most of the hot water out of the pot, then fill it with enough cold water to cover the noodles. This is the trick I use to make sure the lasagna noodles don’t dry out while I’m waiting to use them. This way, the noodles don’t continue to cook and they will be cool enough to handle once I’m ready to assemble the roll-ups.
Nutrition (estimated per serving)
Calories: 857kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 43gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 20gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 1461mgPotassium: 842mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 5116IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 666mgIron: 4mg
Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
Nicki Escudero says
Hi, Julia, I tried this recipe last night, and it turned out amazing! I made your sauce, and everything was soooo delicious. Also, thank you for the lasagna tip -- the pasta turned out perfectly! What a great recipe -- thank you so much for sharing! Nicki
Nicki Escudero says
Oh, I did have one question -- besides wearing gloves while handling the jalapeno, do you have any tips for not burning from it? My nose and hands burned after de-seeding -- this was my first time cooking with jalapeno, so any tips are much appreciated. Thanks!
Julia Mueller says
Sounds like you ended up with a super spicy jalapeno! It's hard to tell when a jalapeno will be on the mild end or the spicy end. That said, wearing gloves probably is your best bet...I've never had the burning sensation you're describing, so my guess is you just ended up with an abnormally spicy jalapeno. Sounds a bit unpleasant! I assure you, not all jalapenos will give you that much trouble 😀
Nicki Escudero says
Ah, OK...yeah, I ended up putting an ice pack on my hand and on my nose! It went away after awhile, though, and the tasty lasagna made me forget all about it. 🙂
Julia Mueller says
You're very welcome! Thanks for letting me know you tried the lasagna! My family is big on lasagna - no one walks away hungry, that's for sure!
Terry says
Hello.....I'm fairly new to your site and so far everything I've made has been wonderful......thanks for the great veggie recipes, including this one. Also, thank you for the great tip regarding the lasagna noodles.......it worked great!!!
Rebecca says
Can't wait to try this tonight with my family!!
Cesilie says
I make this dish once a week in my home! My husband asolutely loves it. My 5 year old and 1 year old also love it. I use whole wheat noodles and I do not use the jalapeno. I love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Denise says
Just made this along with green lasagna rolls from Post Punk Kitchen, so we had one vegan one vegetarian dish for Christmas Eve dinner - one red one green. We LOVED this recipe! I would definitely increase the spinach. I used at least 10 oz. chopped. The favors are delicious! I also used whole wheat noodles. So filling! So yummy! Thank you for making our holiday dinner so delightful!
Smruti says
I just signed up to receive your newsletter and this was in the first email I received. Took out the jalapeno to make it kid friendly and used a mix of dried shitake and button mushrooms (no portobello mushrooms to be found) and it was gobbled up by kids and adults@ thank you!
Nellie D Olson says
Excellent receipe the only thing I changed was using a jar of alfredo instead red sauce what a delightful flavor these roll ups are