Delicious Lasagna with Ground Turkey Meat Sauce
This hearty lasagna is layered with cheesy, meaty goodness—fresh mozzarella, creamy ricotta, and tender ground turkey!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 866kcal
Ingredients
LASAGNA
- 1 lb no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna noodles
- 2 cups grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced very thin
FILLING
- 1 lb whole-milk ricotta cheese, strained *See notes.
- 1 large egg
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
GROUND TURKEY MEAT SAUCE
- 1 35 oz can of Italian plum tomatoes
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 6 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano
- 1/4 cup dry red wine
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2-1 cup chicken broth
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
To make the ground turkey meat sauce.
- Pass the tomatoes through a food mill fitted with a fine disc over a large mixing bowl. Or, you could simply place the tomatoes and their juices into the large mixing bowl and crush them very well with your hands, leaving the sauce a little chunkier.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions to the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly golden brown—about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic to the pot and stir until the garlic has softened and is aromatic—about one minute.
- Transfer the ground turkey to the pot and season it lightly with a few pinches of salt. (You can always add more salt later if needed.) Bring to a simmer, stirring the meat and breaking it down as it cooks, until the meat has changed color and the water from it has evaporated—about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the bay leaves and oregano, then add the wine. Bring to a simmer and scrape away any brown pan bits with a spoon or spatula. Simmer until the wine has fully evaporated.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and stir until the tomato paste has completely melted into the sauce.
- Add another pinch of salt, bring the sauce to a boil, and let it simmer uncovered for about 2-3 hours. By this time, the sauce should be deep red in color.
- Add a bit of broth at a time as necessary to maintain the level of liquid for the length of time the sauce cooks. You could also use water, but I find broth brings on more flavor.
- When ready, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to your preference.
- This sauce will keep in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to five days and in the freezer for three months.
Ricotta Filling.
- Place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly; set aside.
To make the lasagna.
- Preheat the oven to 375º F.
- Ladle about 3/4 cup of the meat sauce into a 11.5 x 8-inch baking dish. (These are the dimensions of the pan I used. You can use something close to that.)
- Spread the sauce over the bottom to cover as much as you can—it doesn't have to be perfectly even.
- Arrange noodles lengthwise, side by side, to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon about 2 cups of meat sauce over the noodles to cover the noodles in an even layer. Sprinkle the sauce evenly with ½ cup of the grated cheese.
- Place a single layer of noodles, now crosswise, over the cheese.
- With a spatula, spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the noodles.Again, arrange a single layer of noodles, lengthwise, over the ricotta.
- Distribute the sliced mozzarella in an even layer over the noodles.
- Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce over the mozzarella, then sprinkle 1 cup of grated cheese over the sauce.
- Cover the cheese with a layer of noodles arranged lengthwise.
- Spoon enough meat sauce, about 2 cups, over the noodles in an even layer and sprinkle the sauce with the remainder of the cheese.
- Loosely cover the lasagna with tin foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the cheese; you could also give your lasagna a few minutes under the broiler to really brown the cheese and give youa. few crispy noodles on top.
- Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
To strain ricotta, place a cheesecloth over a sieve or strainer, and place that over a bowl. Dump the ricotta into the sieve, and let it sit in the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours to get the majority of the water out.
This recipe yields 6 servings, but doubling this recipe with a larger pan is easy: just double all of the ingredients. The cooking time should remain the same.
*Inspired by Lidia Bastianich, Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 866kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 60g | Fat: 37g