Easy Small-Batch Lasagna Recipe: When You're Only Feeding a Few by Donna John

Lasagna. Who doesn't love it? But face it, when you make lasagna for a small family or for two, you are going to be overloaded with leftovers. Instead of making a pan of lasagna that would feed a tiny village, make this easy small-batch lasagna that feeds four.

The pasta recipe starts by making a meat sauce with onion, garlic, ground meat of your choice and marinara sauce. Next, whip up the ricotta layer that's made with ricotta cheese, an egg, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Now start to layer! First sauce, then noodles, then ricotta, marinara sauce and mozzarella. Repeat the layers, ending with the mozzarella cheese. As you layer, turn the noodles a different direction for each layer. Bake the lasagna for about 35 minutes and dinner is ready to roll.

Serve this small-batch lasagna for dinner with garlic bread and a salad. If you still have leftovers, they reheat beautifully in the microwave.

Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage, ground turkey or ground beef
• 4 cups marinara sauce
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Here's how to make it: 

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook until browned and fully cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain.  Add the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. 
2. In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. To assemble the lasagna, put a thin layer of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9x9-inch or similar size casserole dish. Top with two lasagna noodles, 1/4 of the ricotta mixture and 1/4 of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers three more times, alternating the direction of the lasagna noodles. 
4. Bake in a preheated 375-degree F oven for about 35 minutes or until cheese is golden brown on top. 

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