Polenta Lasagna With Spinach and Herby Ricotta Recipe (2024)

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Gaston

Oh, Melissa. You always make it too hard! My nonna made polenta regularly. Start the polenta in cold water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes, then put it on the stove. No lumps and smooth consistency. Add some ricotta or marscapone to the polenta along with Parmesan cheese, and it also becomes more silky. Let it cool just a bit, then just ladle or spoon it over sauce and add layers of other delicious things. Bake it all and serve.

Nell

I've made a variation of this dish with the pre-cooked polenta in plastic sleeves (also adding more veggies like red peppers and onions to the sauce) and it is delicious, easy and quick to assemble.

bcolmers

This is in spirit very much like a dish we often had as kids made by a Swiss friend of our parents, which lacked the ricotta and mozzarella needed to make the lasagna, but which was layered with polenta and marinara. Each layer of the dish also contained lots of crisply fried onions (2-3 onions worth, crispy and brown) which also topped the dish. Perfect for a winter dinner, especially when the adults get to have a nice sangiovese or another juicy norther Italian red

Susan Margaret

Loved it, but agree with others: unnecessarily complicated. Made half a recipe. Put spinach between the layers, not in the polenta. When polenta was cooked, divided it between two square 9-in. baking dishes, baked until firm and cheese getting brown. After cooling for 20-30 minutes, removed one of the polenta squares to a cooling rack. Then layered ricotta mixture, sauce, spinach and cheese on polenta in other dish, topped with other polenta square, then rest of ingredients.

maita

Hmmm, no need to call it lasagna, it’s polenta and you can make it the very same day! When hot and donde pour half of the polenta in the pan, add all the ingredients ricotta, mozzarella, etc and then quickly pour the other half of the polenta and... done! To the oven it goes. Cold next day or heated it’s delicious! Note: no need of butter just extra olive oil! And the oregano should be Italian, not the Greek oregano which is way too strong. And no nutmeg either! Buen provecho!

RAC

Opted to put down parchment for baking the polenta which was really helpful when cutting and transferring. FOrgot to add the spinach in the polenta so cooked it and rang out the water and added to the ricotta mixture instead. Really hearty vegetarian dish that could also take sausage if you are looking to add a protein.

tibik

Yes . I have made it by slicing the polenta into discs and grilling before assembling the Lasgna

Mardee

I don’t think it’s complicated and I like the idea of mixing the spinach in with the polenta. My grandkids are much more inclined to eat it that way. Not sure people have such a burning desire to change well-tested recipes, especially on the first try.

MaryBretired

Any savory dish I make with ricotta, I always mix into it everything being added to the ricotta (except the egg) 8 to 24 hours ahead and let the flavors meld in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container, for this I added a very very very finely minced clove of garlic & 1 TLB of very very very finely minced onion (whatever kind you have, mine are usually sweet.). When ready to use the ricotta in the dish stir in the beaten egg. The above results in much better flavored ricotta.

Scott Cole

It’s been a long time since I’ve used those pre-cooked plastic tubes of polenta. But this is the perfect recipe for it and cuts cooking time WAY down. I cut and layered the polenta but made the mistake of making the slices too thin. I’d suggest 1/4”-1/2” slices so the polenta doesn’t just become total mush. It’s nice to have a little structure besides sauce and cheese.

BKB

This is yet another variation on mamaliga. My Romanian mother made it with layers of polenta (or mush as she called it), American cheese, and sour cream, then baked it. A heart attack on a plate, but no better comfort food anywhere.

Catherine Woodman

I love this idea, as I have a DIL who has Celiac disease and while we all love pasta, we never serve it for her, but this would be a familiar and comforting dish that we could all share.

Val

Polenta is a breeze with Instant Pot (or similar). Plus no painful splatters that tend to happen with traditional stove top method. Whisk 1 cup polenta with 4 cups water in Instant Pot. Season with 1 tsp. salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to simmer, whisk again, then seal pressure cooker. Cook high pressure 9 min, natural release (it will splatter with quick release, but after a 15-20 min can open vent if desired). Finish with a knob of butter & grated Parmesan to taste.

Gretchen

I have made a more simple version of this dish for years, Polenta Concia, from Madeleine Kamman's "Madeleine Cooks" (1986). Can't remember seeing the public TV show which this was a companion to, but the cookbook is full of great recipes, easily executed. Her sauce includes onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, parlsey, garlic, anchovies and Fontina or Gruyere cheese.

kathy borst

It seems a little odd to put a layer of the ricotta mixture on top, with no polenta over it. Something tells me some mushrooms would be yummy in this too.

Boston pickle

This was delicious and I thought way better than lasagna made with gluten free pasta. The polenta is a lot heavier than pasta so a little goes a long way.

April Vigardt

Can I use grits if I do not have polenta?

Nancy

Simplified this recipe a little. 1 cup fine polenta cooked with 4-5 cups water, spinach, Parmesan, knob of butter and cracked black pepper. Skipped step 3 entirely. Poured creamy polenta into buttered 8x12 pan. Next layered ricotta mixture. Then marinara with cut up cooked Italian sweet sausage. Finally, layer with mozzarella. Bake until bubbly. Polenta lasagna becomes easy to slice at room temp.

Jack

This was delicious. Everyone really enjoyed it. I made one significant change: I only used half a tablespoon of salt in the polenta mixture instead of the full tablespoon, which seemed like way too much. With just the half tablespoon, we all found the recipe was perfectly seasoned. Also: do not skip the step of spreading out the polenta and baking it, then cooling it. If you just make layers with the hot mush, the lasagna will not have defined layers and with lack any structural integrity.

Amanda

Way too much salt in the polenta! Half it. A home made marinara needs to be really thick or it gets super runny. I would make the polenta softer, and cool it more like noodles so you could pick them up instead of creating a cardboard like layer. It takes too long for them to soften in the oven. The ricotta was way too runny also-- I would add the mozzarella (not fresh) to its middle layer. Use a firm ricotta. This recipe is popular but disappointing . Also I cooked it about an hour.

LuckySpumoni

This was delicious! I used Rao's tomato sauce and added a layer of sauteed mushrooms and spinach (instead of incorporating spinach into polenta.) It was so good!

Rosie

Family loved this, even my polenta adverse 15 yo. Prepared as written with the only adjustment being adding the entire 8oz bag of spinach vs the stated 5oz. Makes a ton and am looking forward to the leftovers.

Morgan

I thought I read several notes that suggested skipping the step of pre-baking the polenta. DON’T! Unless you want a delicious polenta soup. Also, I tried the tip of soaking the polenta for 10-12 minutes before bringing to a boil and it worked great!

sandra b

Recipe works perfectly as is and it’s not complicated in the least. I did use parchment paper as suggested by a reader and made the ricotta more flavorful by adding garlic and shallots. Easily a weeknight dinner.

MKL

I am making this for travel: Should I make it and bake it or make it refrigerate and cook when I am ready? ( which will be 2 days later)

Katie Fischer

This is tasty and inventive, but totally unnecessary. It left me feeling I rather just save time and eat polenta and assemble everything else as toppings.

Beezelet

This was really delicious! We made the polenta a day in advance, and everythibg was very quick to pull together. Thought it might be a little bland with all the cheese but the herbs and polenta added a great flavour and texture. Next time will add extra spinach to the polenta, and more basil to the ricotta.

Maureen

This may be very embarrassing on my end, but do you think I could make this recipe using slices of polenta from a tube I got at Trader Joe's?

Judy

add mascarpone to the polentapour polenta & layer instead of cooking ahead--let each layer firm a little

Debra R

This was simply fantastic--and I didn't find it too complicated at all. In fact I loved making it, especially because the result was so good. There was something so satisfying about making the polenta with gorgeous fresh spinach. I have a gluten allergy and miss real pasta but what was especially wonderful about this dish was that it had a distinctive flavor and texture that exceeded my memory of the pasta I miss!

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Polenta Lasagna With Spinach and Herby Ricotta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you bake lasagna covered or uncovered? ›

In an oven preheated to 375 degrees F, this homemade lasagna should be perfectly baked in about 50 minutes (30-40 minutes covered, 5-10 minutes uncovered).

Do you put egg in ricotta cheese for lasagna? ›

Adding egg to ricotta cheese helps to bind the cheese for lasagna so that it doesn't ooze out of the casserole when you cut it. Basically, the egg helps all the cheesy goodness stay intact. So what happens if you don't put eggs in your lasagna? It'll just be a bit runnier, but omitting the egg won't affect the taste.

Do you bake lasagna at 350 or 375? ›

Assemble the lasagna in an oven-safe container and store it in the refrigerator. The temperature should be at or below 40 degrees. When you are ready to cook the lasagna, bake it in the oven for approximately 60 minutes at 375 degrees.

What is the purpose of ricotta cheese in lasagna? ›

The key to creating the absolute best lasagna is to use a combination of ricotta and cottage cheese. Ricotta brings the rich creaminess while cottage cheese lightens things up and seasons the whole dish. For even more cheese, we recommend also using shredded Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano).

Is it better to bake lasagna in a glass or metal pan? ›

Save your glass pans for lasagna, plátanos maduros horneados, baked eggs, piñon, casseroles, and doughnut bread pudding—they're easy to clean, they're so smooth they're naturally nonstick, they'll keep your kugel warm as it sits on the table, they won't cause discoloration or off-tastes when you're slow-roasting ...

How long do you cook lasagna in the oven at 350? ›

How long to cook lasagna at 350? The baking time for lasagna is 65-70 minutes in an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

What happens if you forget an egg in ricotta for lasagna? ›

Why should we mix ricotta cheese with egg when making a lasagna? People use egg to make the ricotta firm and bind it, but if you drain the liquid out of your ricotta, you don't need egg. It will be firm enough.

What does adding egg to ricotta for lasagna do? ›

For extra creamy ricotta, add in an extra egg, a handful of grated parmesan, and a quarter cup of shredded mozzarella. Eggs help prevent the ricotta from drying out and serve to bind the ricotta so it doesn't become runny.

How many layers should a lasagna have? ›

Then repeat the layers. Top the last layer of your lasagna with sauce and cheese. You can also alternate layers of sauce and ricotta cheese. Most lasagna recipes have two to three layers.

Can I put lasagna together and bake it the next day? ›

Lasagna is the kind of food that can keep a family fed for many nights in a row, happily. But it has other perks, too: namely, that you can prepare the whole thing in advance, and store it in the fridge overnight—ready to pop in the oven an hour or so before dinner (just before the kids start to whine).

Is lasagna better the next day? ›

Have you noticed if you cut your lasagne as soon as it comes out of the oven, it can be sloppy, falls apart easily and the sauce runs to the bottom of the dish? When you have it the next day, the sauce has had time to firm up and create an even richer tomato taste,” she says.

How do I know lasagna is done? ›

Bake the Lasagna

Once the lasagna is ready, cover the pan with a layer of aluminum foil. Place the pan in the oven and allow it to bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil so the cheese can brown. The lasagna is done when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

What does adding egg to ricotta do? ›

Furthermore, egg yolks are also comprised of fat, which aids in increased moisture for ricotta. So next time you're making lasagna, be sure to use an egg to increase the moisture levels of the ricotta cheese. The final product will be even more delicious and best of all, much less dry.

Does real Italian lasagna have ricotta? ›

While ricotta is included in certain varieties of lasagna in Italy, the style that serves as the primary inspiration for American recipes is the one from the region of Emilia Romagna. There, it's traditionally layered with pasta, bolognese, and béchamel—with no ricotta to be found.

What do Italians use instead of ricotta in lasagna? ›

Mascarpone: Another Italian cheese, mascarpone makes a great ricotta substitute. However, since mascarpone is more tart and flavorful, you should only use it in dishes with other strong flavors. It may overpower milder ingredients.

Does covering lasagna make it cook faster? ›

Cover and Uncover

Covering your lasagna with foil during the initial cooking stage can help retain moisture and heat, ensuring that your dish defrosts more quickly. After the lasagna has defrosted, remove the foil to allow the top to brown and develop a delicious golden crust.

How do you keep lasagna moist? ›

You can prevent lasagna from becoming dry while baking it by undercooking the noodles, adding sauce or cheese sauce to the top layer, using a béchamel sauce or a creamy meat ragú, avoiding ricotta cheese or beating it with egg and herbs, and covering the lasagna with foil while baking it.

Why should you not cover lasagna in a metal pan with foil? ›

It may sound surprising, but you shouldn't cover a casserole dish with foil directly when baking, as it can impact the final dish. "Acidic foods like tomato sauce [in lasagna] will react adversely when exposed to foil under the heat of the oven," says Brian Owenby, chef at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

What does covering with foil do in oven? ›

It's always a great idea to cover your dishes with aluminum foil while cooking at high temperatures in the oven. It protects your food from drying out or burning and helps keep in the heat and moisture, ensuring a perfectly cooked meal.

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