These Lasagna Roll Ups are so easy to make and taste amazing. They are perfectly portioned and packed full of protein, veggies, and cheesy goodness. The perfect dish for the whole family to enjoy.
Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups with Italian Sausage
I love a simple meal that I know the whole family is going to love. These lasagna roll-ups are perfect. Lasagna rolls have all the flavors of classic lasagna, but they are individually rolled and portioned, making it super simple to serve up and also freeze for later.
I remember the first time I made lasagna roll ups. This was back when I was dating my now husband. His brother and father were coming over for dinner and I planned to make a real lasagna.
And then, like many of my days before kids, I procrastinated a little too long was SO busy, I lost track of time.
Anyway, thanks to Rachel Ray, I decided to give lasagna roll ups a try and they were a huge hit! And so easy and quick.
Ingredients
This recipe uses similar ingredients to traditional lasagna. You need:
- Lasagna noodles – whole wheat or Gluten Free noodles will both work great, as will regular lasagna noodles. Just cook them al dente according to the package directions.
- Olive oil spray – I love my EVO sprayer
- Ground sweet Italian chicken sausage or turkey sausage – You can make your own using ground chicken or use store-bought sausage. You can always sub ground beef or turkey too! Spinach– You can use fresh or frozen, depending on what you have on hand. Just make sure the frozen is thawed and completely drained- use a clean kitchen towel to squeeze out all the liquid!
- Part-skim ricotta cheese or low fat cottage cheese – see below for my thoughts on cottage cheese… spoiler: you won’t taste it!
- Grated Parmesan cheese – I am a big fan of using Pecorino Romano cheese, but your favorite parmesan would also work
- Egg – this helps to bind the filling together.
- Crushed red pepper – This is optional and gives the lasagna a little kick
- Tomato sauce or Marinara Sauce – Make some Homemade Tomato Sauce or Fresh Tomato Sauce [Instant Pot] or use a store-bought, no-sugar-added pasta sauce like Rao’s.
- Mozzarella cheese – You can shred your own in the food processor (my preference) or buy pre-shredded at the store to save time!
Substitutions
- Swap up the protein: You can use any ground meat in this dish. It will work just as well with lean ground beef or even some shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Add more vegetables: You could easily add some grated carrot, zucchini, or even some mushrooms to the sauce.
- Make a vegetarian version: Omit the meat and add more vegetables or your favorite meatless crumbles to make a veggie lasagna roll-up.
- Make them dairy free: use dairy free cheese and dairy free ricotta in place of the dairy in this recipe. I love Violife Brand Cheese and Kite Hill Ricotta.
Instructions
- Boil lasagna noodles until they are al-dente, drain, then set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking, spray a skillet with olive oil spray and cook the sausage until browned and no pink remains. Remove from heat, drain, and let cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a little cooking oil in a 9×12 baking dish or casserole dish.
- Combine the cooked sausage, spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and half of the mozzarella, egg, salt, black and red pepper (if using) in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Place a piece of wax or parchment paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. If necessary, pat noodles dry with paper towel.
- Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the baking dish
- Take about 1/3 cup of sausage and cheese filling and spread evenly over one noodle. Repeat until all noodles are covered. Roll each noodle carefully and place the seam side down into the baking dish.
- Ladle 1-2 spoonfuls of sauce over top of the roll-ups in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over the noodles.
- Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese melts. Uncover for the last few minutes if desired.
Recipe FAQs
You can easily use part skim ricotta for lasagna roll ups. But I promise you can’t taste the cottage cheese. Find a small curd (love Good Culture brand) one or whipped cottage cheese and you will be good to go!
YES! I love to make these on a Sunday during meal prep, cover and store in the fridge, and then just bake on Monday for an easy dinner. In fact, in my weekly meal plans I usually suggest prepping this way. It starts the week off right!
They totally can be. If you use gluten free lasagna noodles, these are a yummy gluten free option! Just cook your noodles according to the package.
YES! I love to make these on a Sunday during meal prep, cover and store in the fridge, and then just bake on Monday for an easy dinner. In fact, in my weekly meal plans I usually suggest prepping this way. It starts the week off right! Follow instructions below!
Meal Prep and Storage
To prep ahead: This is a great recipe to prep ahead. You can make the lasagna roll-up recipe up to the point where you would bake, then place a tray of the individual rolls in the refrigerator.
To store: You can store prepared lasagna roll-ups or any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure all leftovers have cooled and you have transferred to an airtight container for storage. Or wrap a prepared dish in plastic wrap to store.
To freeze: You can freeze this dish with no problem. For best results, prep the lasagna roll ups and place directly in the container you will freeze them in, but do not bake. I love to use a disposable foil tin if I know I will be putting some right in the freezer. Then, cover with foil, label, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze any leftovers you have. Wrap the baking dish or individual portions in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and then freeze for up to 2 months.
To reheat: If you are reheating frozen lasagna roll-ups make sure they have had time to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You can reheat the lasagna roll-ups in the oven for around 10 minutes until it is piping hot.
Looking for more healthy lasagna recipes? Try one of these next!
- Low Carb Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Instant Pot Zucchini Lasagna
- Healthy Instant Pot Lasagna Soup | 21 Day Fix Lasagna Soup [Gluten-free | Slow Cooker Option]
- Lazy Butternut Squash Lasagna
- One Skillet Lazy Zucchini Lasagna
- Mexican Lasagna
- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 8 whole wheat or GF lasagna noodles
- Olive oil spray
- 1 pound ground sweet Italian chicken sausage don’t like? Use lean ground beef or turkey
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach thawed and completely drained or 2 cups of of fresh spinach, chopped small
- 8 oz part skim ricotta or cottage cheese I used cottage cheese and it was GREAT!
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- Salt and fresh pepper
- Sprinkle crushed red pepper optional
- 2 cups homemade or 1 jar of no sugar added, tomato pasta sauce (I like Rao’s)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Cook lasagna noodles al-dente
- While noodles are cooking, spray pan with olive oil spray and cook sausage until browned and no pink remains. Remove from heat, drain, and let cool slightly.
- Preheat oven to 350
- Combine cooked sausage, spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, HALF of the mozzarella, egg, salt, black and red pepper (if using) in a medium bowl.
- Place a piece of wax or parchment paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. If necessary, pat noodles dry with paper toweling.
- Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish
- Take about 1/3 cup of sausage mixture and spread evenly over one noodle. Repeat until all noodles are covered. Roll each noodle carefully and place seam side down into the baking dish.
- Ladle 1-2 T of sauce over top the roll ups in the baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over noodles.
- Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese melts. Uncover for the last few minutes if desired.
Rachel says
just made these tonight and they are awesome! I used the cottage cheese and left out the spinach because I forgot to buy it…. oops lol. but everyone in my family loved them, even my 6 year old! will definitely be making these again…. and for guests next time we have company! thank you!!!
Nancylynn says
Yay! Yes, they are perfect for company! Making a double batch is always a non-negotiable at my house!
Paige says
This is SO good. Could I freeze them in servings after I have baked them?
Nancylynn says
Absolutely! I highly recommend this!
Nancylynn says
Yes! We do this all the time!
Andrea says
Could you tell me what size jar and brand of sauce you use?
Nancylynn says
You need about 2 cups so a 16-24 oz jar will work perfectly! If not using homemade sauce, I like Rao’s brand marinara!
Carrie Dunning says
This is my go-to recipe when we have dinner guests over, or when I bring a meal to a family in need. It’s just the best! Everything is perfect and I get tons of compliments! I double the batch to make sure we have plenty of leftovers- I love them for days afterward. Make. These. Now!
Justin says
These things are just so DARN GOOD!
Ive made this enough times now that I’ve been getting creative using what Ive got at home. Put some mushrooms in the food processor and then good those into the meat has just taken this to another level!
I love that Im able to prepare these ahead and then just pop them in the oven when its time for dinner. Perfect for busy nights when I won’t have time to be in the kitchen. Get home, pop them in the oven, take a quick shower and BAM they’re done.
If you have a hall of fame for recipes, this one has earned the right to be there!
Nancylynn says
Ahhhh Justin, thank you!! I’m not sure which part of the comment is my favorite – maybe the hall of fame part 🙂 totally agree!!
LauraD says
This was fantastic! I made it with cottage cheese and Italian sausage. I will definitely make this again, even when not doing the 21 day fix. I can’t wait to eat my leftovers!
Nancylynn says
Ahhh! Thank you so much! Enjoy those leftovers!
Julie says
My store only had oven ready lasagna noodles so it doesn’t tell me how to boil them. Will they still work? Should I just boil for a few minutes?
Nancylynn says
I have never used these this way, so I am not 100%, but I think it could work! Let me know if you try!
Tiina Allen says
Finally made these tonight and holy smokes were they yummy! My non-fix fam want them added to the regular rotation-thanks!
Nancylynn says
Yay! This made my day!
Danielle says
Hi there!
I love this recipe and I use it often. If I was going to freeze, do I do that before the baking step?
And what temperature and cooking time would you recommend from heating from frozen? I’ve never made meals to freeze, so this will be a first for me.
Thank you 🙂
Danielle
Nancylynn says
Hi! I would freeze before baking, yes! And I would follow the same heating temp as the recipe, but you will need to heat it longer!
Kelly Wilson says
I have a box of large shells at home rather than lasagna noodles. Any idea what would be the serving size using shells? 3 shells?
Nancylynn says
Do you have the calorie breakdown? I would say 2-3 most likely!
Kelly Heelon says
Can I leave the egg out? My son is allergic to eggs.
Nancylynn says
Yes!
Casey says
I’m enjoying your blog Nancylynn! I remember you from Clio although I think you may have been an alumni by the time I pledged (2001). I made these last night for my husband and I could tell he liked them because he took some leftovers to work today, which is rare. Having the individual portions was a fun presentation and helped me split up the recipe between his and mine — I made some meat-free for me and then added pork sausage to make his. I made 12 rolls instead of 8, doubled the egg and cheese, and added some dried Italian seasoning mix as well as some fresh herbs I had on hand. Also added some onions when I cooked the sausage. Next time I will add fresh garlic to the mix — I used garlic powder this time because I was feeling to lazy to peel the cloves but I don’t think it really did much flavor-wise. I like how flexible this recipe is and I look forward to experimenting with it again. Thanks for the great recipes and inspiration!
Nancylynn says
Hi Casey!! Yes – I graduated in 2000…I’m so old, lol!! But I am super happy you found the blog and that it’s helping! So nice to find recipes that you can make work for everyone! Happy New Year to you guys. love-in-clio 🙂
Sarah says
Could you make these ahead and make them the next day or would the cottage cheese get too runy?
Nancylynn says
Not at all!! I LOVE prepping these ahead of time!! They even freeze great!!
Katie Nuest says
How many rolls is considered a serving?
Nancylynn says
2 🙂
Tina says
I seemed to have almost 1.5 cups of filling left over. Why? I followed the recipe exactly as listed but if you only put 1/3 cup filling on 8 noodles you will be left with the same amount as I did. Was there a typo in the amounts??
Nancylynn says
I’m not sure…I’ve made this a bunch of times and never had anything leftover? You can make more rolls then!
Katrina says
I made these last night, and I had a bunch of leftover filling as well! I used 1 lb of ground beef and fresh spinach chopped up, then measured the rest. I used 1 cup of cottage cheese.
They were delicious (I used 8 whole wheat noodles) but I put the rest of the filling in the fridge, not sure what to do with it. I might just boil some penne and mix with the leftover filing and leftover pasta sauce I had in the jar!
Katie Nuest says
How many rolls per serving?
Becky says
Just put in the oven. Excited to try
Nancylynn says
Yay! I hope you love them!
Nikki S. says
This was amazing! I have made lasagna rolls before and they were always missing something. Figured out last night that it was the Italian sausage! So yummy! My husband loved it, too. Will be adding it to my “cook again” list!
Nancylynn says
This made my day! Thanks for the great comment – and I totally agree…Italian sausage adds so much flavor while keeping it light! Thanks again!
Freddie Bonaire says
get rid of that Yellow and use Zucchini lasagna noodles.. slice Zucchini lengthwise into thin strips and then use them to roll the goodies in 🙂
Nancylynn says
I like the way you think, Freddie! Pour the wine!
Roseann W. says
Sounds yummy…shouldn’t a yellow container be counted?
Nancylynn says
OMG! YES 🙂