No Frills Cooking: The Young Adult’s Lasagna

I was a resident advisor in college, and a large part of my job was coming up with ice breakers to help freshmen adapt to their new environment. In a world where you’re constantly meeting new people, having a dependable conversation starter is essential. Because I love food and believe everyone should be debating peanut butter (smooth or crunchy?), my go-to question is always: if you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

My answer is, and always will be, lasagna. Pasta makes me happy. Pasta decked out with a tangy red sauce, flavorful chunks of meat, and most importantly, cheese, elates me.

There are several things I love about baked pasta dishes. For one, they’re cheap. Say what you want about pasta, but a $0.87 box of lasagna noodles sounds very appealing.

Second, your sad, empty freezer becomes fully stocked. As someone who boarded the meal prep train a while ago, there’s something to be said about not having to stress about what to make for dinner. The hardest part is deciding what pair of sweatpants to change into while waiting for the microwave to ding and signal that your food is ready.

Third, baked pasta dishes like lasagna are incredibly versatile. Vegetarian? No problem. Want to use fresh pesto or an Alfredo sauce? Go for it. Meat lover? Pack in as much protein as you want. Clearly, the pasta-bilities are endless. I’m sorry, that’s an overused pun, but it’s so spot on.

The key to this recipe is using no-boil lasagna noodles. All you have to do is layer the noodles with the sauce and cheese mixture, and you’re set — the noodles will bake themselves in the oven. This is modern-day convenience at its finest, and honestly, I don’t hate it.

It is also so easy to add vegetables to this! I personally like roasted red bell peppers and mushrooms. I’ve also done zucchini. Simply give ‘em a little sauté and add with the rest of the ingredients when you bake it. You can enjoy this with ground beef or turkey, or omit meat altogether for an easy vegetarian dish.

We all have things to do and places to be, so here’s my recipe for lasagna that I could eat all day, every day, and that can be made in a small kitchen on a budget.

The Young Adult’s Lasagna

1 package of no boil lasagna noodles

1 28-ounce jar of pasta sauce (It’s easy to make your own, but this recipe is geared toward those who might not have that option.

Shredded mozzarella or any Italian cheese blend (I refuse to put an amount here because you measure that with your heart)

1 egg

1 15-ounce container of part-skim ricotta cheese

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground turkey (you can use any protein here, but I wanted to lighten it up with turkey, which of course won’t matter in the end because of the absurd amount of cheese I end up using)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown your meat in a large skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper. While the meat is cooking, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 egg, and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a small bowl. When the meat is cooked, drain the fat and pour the pasta sauce into the skillet. Coat a 9x13 oven-safe baking dish with a layer or pasta sauce. Add your first layer of lasagna noodles (three should fit). Spread each noodle with the cheese mixture and meat sauce and smooth over with a spatula. Repeat the steps until you’ve filled the baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Top dish with more cheese and put back in oven and, as they say, bake until bubbly — about another five minutes. This freezes fantastically, so you can enjoy it the next night or a month down the road. Serve with a green salad.

Yield: Serves 6–8.

This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 4:30 PM with the headline "No Frills Cooking: The Young Adult’s Lasagna."