Gluten Free Lasagna Recipe

Tis the season for all the warm, cozy and hearty meals! This homemade gluten-free lasagna recipe is one that I have used over and over throughout the years! It is fool-proof and one the whole family will love (and dare I say, the best gluten-free lasagna recipe)! It had been years since I had eaten lasagna when I diagnosed with Celiac Disease and had to start eating the gluten-free diet. So making this dish and having this classic meal for the first time in FOREVER was heavenly. 

This dish is a great option if you love an easy recipe and homemade lasagna! As a working mom, I want to cook hearty and healthy meals for my family, but ones that don’t take up a ton of time. And while the CrockPot has its advantages, I typically don’t care for them. I feel like the meal always ends up on the mushy-side and I am not a fan. I prefer creating recipes that take about 20 to 30 minutes to prep, 40 minutes max. After the boys have been at school for the day, that family time is sacred – I covet those hours between 3:00pm and 8:00pm!

Growing up, my mom always preferred spaghetti to lasagna. When the season shifted from summer to fall, a sure-tell sign was the smell of a bubbling tomato sauce with fragrant Italian seasoning, and contrary to the typical melt in your mouth garlic bread, my mom always made the most heavenly rosemary bread. It was a family favorite meal and full of nostalgia. When I went off to college, I attended a University that was only 45 minutes, so I being the homebody I am, I would go home some weekends and inevitably, I would bring a pack of friends with me. My parents ALWAYS welcomed us with hugs and of course, a home-cooked meal. And you could bet money, whatever the main dish was, there was a loaf of my mother’s homemade rosemary bread. Smells like heaven and a recipe I need to duplicate in the gluten-free realm. 

When I married my husband, he preferred lasagna to spaghetti, so compromise it was! I made sure this recipe carried that same spicy tomato sauce my mom used, and to appease my husband I went heavy on the ricotta mixture AND the saucy ground beef mixture. We prefer this meal in the winter – it’s perfect for cold nights because it’s hearty and comforting. Currently, this recipe is enough to feed my crew two meals, which I love. I aim to double or triple recipes so we can get two or more meals out of it, because I am a busy working mama. I love to feed the men home cooked meals, but I really love getting to soak up the goodness of them after being away from one another all day. 

Okay, enough blah blah blah and storytelling – let’s get to cooking! Pour yourself some red wine (check out Dry Wines Farm – the BEST wine) and let’s get to cooking this easy gluten-free lasagna! ! I love this recipe because it’s so simple and takes significantly less time to prepare – there is no need to pre-cook your gluten-free pasta, and though you can use ricotta cheese mixture, I substitute with cottage cheese.

You can layer this lasagna in a 9×13 pan, but I’ve also used a smaller yet taller casserole dish, so it’s pretty flexible. Pst…We will have layers of mozzarella cheese, so make sure to have some on hand! I prefer shredding a block of mozzarella for freshness and to ensure no added “anti caking” ingredients.

Step1:

First, preheat your oven to 350. Now, we want to prepare all the layers! For the ricotta cheese mixture/ cottage cheese, we will combine ingredients in a large bowl. Add the cottage cheese or ricotta, eggs, parmesan cheese (I prefer freshly shredded parmesan cheese) and oregano to the mixing bowl. Simply mix to combine and our first layer is done!

Step 2:

For the meat layer I use two pounds of ground beef for a hearty meat sauce – you can also use a pound beef and a pound Italian Sausage to boost this dish with more robust flavors. Add olive oil to a large skillet and over medium heat start to brown the ground beef. Add a bit of salt and black pepper to season, and I like to chop half an onion to cook with the meat. Once the meat is about 2-3 minutes from being browned, add one to two (I prefer two) crushed garlic cloves (you could do garlic powder) to the skillet and cook the remaining two to three minutes. Reduce heat, add pasta sauce, plus one and half to two cups of water. Stir to combine, then remove from heat. Layer two done!

NOTE:

Now, a key player in this recipe are, obviously, the gluten-free lasagna sheets, since we won’t be using traditional lasagna noodles (because we are on team gluten free – YAY). That being said, the best gluten free lasagna noodles I have found are the Jovial Organic Brown Rice Lasagna Sheets. I love that they are organic and I love that they DO NOT get mushy when cooked – I repeat THEY DO NOT GET MUSHY! And considering they are made from only brown rice, it’s an amazing gift to the world of gluten free cooking. Most local grocery stores will have these, as the brand is growing in popularity. 

Step 3:

Time to assemble this great recipe! Start by ladling the meat sauce into the bottom of the dish, then comes the first layer of gluten-free noodles. Layer them in a single layer – it’s okay if you need to break some of the noodles to find them to fit in a single layer – remember, we ARE NOT PRECOOKING the noodles (which saves us so much time – happy dance). Then spoon a layer of the cheese mixture using the back of the spoon to spread the mixture. Then sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese. Repeat these layers until you have used all the ingredients (typically three rounds of layering) and finish with layer of cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. 

Step 4: 

Pop this gorgeous dish into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. For the best eating experience, let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before cutting it with a sharp knife. Left-overs (if there are any) can be stored in an airtight container. 

Notes:

1. Customize the ground meat: You can totally substitute the ground beef for meat of preference whether ground chicken, turkey, sausage or meat alternative. 

2. Add veggies for a boost in nutrition: I love throwing veggies in when I cook! You could easily add squash or carrots or even spinach to the meat mixture. You will want to make sure you cook them long enough with the meat so they are not crunchy. 

3. Make it dairy-free: Easily swap out the cheeses for a dairy-free alternative. You will need a substitute for parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta. 

4. Storage: You can store this meal in an airtight container in the refrigerator or simple cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil. This can be frozen, just make sure you store it in a freezer-safe container. When ready to reheat, preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 20 minutes. 

Get the full recipe below!