This quick and easy lasagna recipe is full on flavor and perfect for anyone at a mere 5 grams net carbs a serving. It's noodleless, sugar free, packed with cheese, and tastes like regular lasagna! This recipe is perfect for anyone craving a lazy lasagna that is ready in 30 minutes.
If you can't live without noodles, try my easy zucchini lasagna recipe with ricotta cheese and a touch of oregano. If you have zucchini, make this recipe!
Contents
⭐ Why this recipe works
IT IS, it's easy, and it tastes absolutely delicious!
Move aside lasagna pasta sheets and welcome creamy cheese and meat sauce piled together and topped with mozzarella. Not your moms homemade classic lasagna from Italy, but still a great alternative if you're on the pasta train.
It is now a family favorite in my house, and hopefully, it will become for you too, once you see how easy the homemade noodleless lasagna is to prepare and how tasty it is!
🍽 What you need
You need a wooden spoon to stir that sumptuous tomato sauce with the ground beef and some bowls or ramekins to mount the cheese layers together before baking them on a sheet tray.
Ingredients
- 32 oz marinara sauce
- 15 ounce package ricotta
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese cut into 4 thick slices
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
🔪 How to Make Noodeless Lasagna
Preparation is a piece of cake, and the whole cooking process takes around 30 minutes from start to plate. Just follow these simple instructions below, and you will be eating a delicious kid-friendly meal in no time! Typically I will double this and freeze some.
Cooking Instructions
- Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat and add the sausage, cooking until it is browned and cooked through.
- Add the marinara tomato sauce to the meat mixture and cook for ten minutes on medium heat until the sauce is bubbling.
- In a bowl, mix the parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese together ready for mounting on the meat sauce.
4. Collect the ramekins, place them on a baking sheet, and spoon a thin layer of meat sauce into each ramekin.
5. Then spoon half a cup of the ricotta mixture on top,
6. Then top with half a cup of meat sauce, and
7. Finally add a slice of mozzarella to cover it.
8. Place lasagna bowls on a large baking sheet and broil in the oven until completely cooked through and the mozzarella starts to golden. Roughly it will take 10 minutes.
💭 Cooking Tips
- If sausage meat is not your thing, you can always use chicken or grass-fed beef to mix with the tomato sauce.
- Can't find ricotta?? Don't worry, you can always substitute it for cottage cheese to emulate the same flavor. Just make sure you drain the excess moisture and squeeze the saturated fat from it before mxiing with the parmesan.
- Using a good quality marinara sauce will always make a difference to the taste of the meat sauce. Muir Glen is one I tend to use when I can find it, as it's organic and delicious.
📖 Variations
Looking for something a bit different than traditional lasagna? There are other healthy recipes that are sure to be a huge hit with the whole family. Try some of these alternative lasagna's at home.
Zucchini noodles lasagna - If you do NOT have bowls, I suggest my easy zucchini lasagna for a no-fuss, easy, and delicious meal.
Gluten free Cabbage noodles lasagna - This version involves cabbage leaves as an alternative to pasta lasagna noodles, and mozzarella slices on top for a stringy texture. Simple tear the cabbage leaves off from large cabbage and mix them with olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Make the meat sauce as shown above but this time add a touch of Italian seasoning to the ground beef, and then mix a package of cream cheese, and 1 cup of ricotta together with 2 eggs.
Layer the sauce on the bottom of your baking tray, followed by the cabbage noodles and spread ricotta mixture over. Repeat this step 3 times and before broiling add the remaining mozzarella slices on top.
🥗 What to serve with
Best to pair this with a light side dish. I'd go with steamed vegetables, zucchini spirals, or tossed salad. The star is the lasagna, best to keep the side dish simple and easy.
🥫 Storage
Storing the homemade no noodle lasagna is straight forward really. just like most oven-baked ground beef dishes, they are perfect for storing in the fridge or freezer inside an airtight container.
From the Fridge
To store the lasagna in the fridge, all you need to do is wait until it has cooled down, and then either transfer the lasagna into an airtight container or just wrap the oven dish with aluminum foil and pop it on the fridge shelve. It will keep for up to 4 days.
From the Freezer
Depending on how much lasagna is left, it would be wise to cut it up into single portions, and transferring to individual containers that are airtight. It will keep for 6 months in the freezer.
How to Reheat Lasagna
Reheating is super easy. Just make sure to thaw it for a few hours before baking time. The best method to cook defrosted lasagna is in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes in a baking dish until piping hot, or you can always the microwave on high heat for 5 minutes.
⏲️ Make ahead
The great news is that you can prepare the best low-carb noodle lasagna way in advance to give you time to do other things until you are ready to bake it.
All you need to do is make the meat sauce as instructed before, let it cool down to room temperature, and then make the layers in the bowls with the cheese mixture and place the mozzarella on top. Wrap the bowls with aluminum foil and place them in the fridge until you're ready to cook.
👪 Serving size
Searching for a lasagna that is low carb may not appeal to everyone, especially when it is cooked without pasta noodles which is basically the main attraction for the traditional recipe, but I assure you, it's the best lasagna you're gonna try and still tastes fabulous with melty cheese and beefy sauce.
Feel free to give the delicious noodleless lasagna a whirl or even the cabbage noodles alternative, which is also one of my go-to recipes when I have cabbage hanging around. Whichever you try, you can be sure it will be simple and stress-free!
📋 Recipe
Ditch the Noodles Lasagna
Ingredients
- 32 oz marinara sauce
- 15 ounce package ricotta
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese - cut into 4 thick slices
- 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese - shredded
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage.
- Add the marinara to the skillet once sausage is cooked.
- In a small bowl, combine Parmesan and ricotta cheeses.
- Place 4 ramekins onto a baking sheet.
- Spoon a thin layer of meat sauce into each of the ramekins.
- Spoon ½ cup of ricotta into each ramekin.
- Top each with about a half cup of the meat sauce.
- Add a slice of mozzarella to each ramekin.
- Place lasagna bowls (on baking sheet) under broiler until heated through, about 10 minutes.
Notes
- If sausage meat is not your thing, you can always use chicken or grass-fed beef to mix with the tomato sauce.
- Can't find ricotta?? Don't worry, you can always substitute it for cottage cheese to emulate the same flavor. Just make sure you drain the excess moisture and squeeze the saturated fat from it before mxiing with the parmesan.
- Using a good quality marinara sauce will always make a difference to the taste of the meat sauce. Muir Glen is one I tend to use when I can find it, as it's organic and delicious.
Patti
This would be great to try when zucchini or eggplant are no longer in season!! Thanks!!
Denisha
I’m not a cooker and this was pretty easy to follow. Hope I enjoy it. Wasn’t as pretty as picture but I give myself a pat on back
Katie
Is this something you could freeze?
730 Sage Street
Hi Katie, yes we have done it many times and my mom does the same. Also to clarify, only cook what you need and freeze the rest. Whenever I make this I always freeze about half for another day.
Lori Moore
I've cooked a double batch and pre-bowled into serving-size containers. They froze just fine and were great when reheated as well. One thing I do just to avoid ice crystals forming though is put freezer wrap over the bowl to seal and put the lid over that. It's not absolutely necessary - I just hate ice crystals on my dishes.
730 Sage Street
Awesome, and yes, i think it is important to cover anything you freeze. Obviously avoiding the ice crystals, but also to avoid your lovely lasagna from absorbing external odors.
Laurie Jennings
Can they be done in cupcake tins?
730 Sage Street
I think in my cupcake tins yes but it would depend entirely on the type of cupcake tins. In the past others who have not had bowls just make this in a casserole dish. If you try it please let me know!!!
Cynthia meetze
Can you give me grams per serv. Or grams overall?
730 Sage Street
Hi Cynthia, I guess it would depend on your bowl size, which would be 1 serving. I will make a note of this next time I make it. Also this recipe varies a lot due to the various types of marinara and Italian sausage (or meat options) available. Given how easy this is to tweak I hop e you can make something great!
Reshel
Have you ever made it in a bigger dish?
730 Sage Street
Hi Reshel, no I have not. However, I've seen photos from others who have!
Jorge
They are not noodles........ They are pasta. It's Italian. Not asian. Totally different things.
730 Sage Street
Hi Jorge, whatever works for you.
Lasagne or Lasagna
Type: Pasta
Place of origin: Italy
Lasagne is the Italian plural for lasagna, and it is the form that predominates in British English. Lasagna, of course, is a type of wide, flat pasta noodle that originated in Italy around the 14th century. These noodles are one of the oldest known types of pasta and were probably first made in the city of Naples.
Also, to clarify further, it appears websites like FineCooking.com, Cooksillustrated.com, and bonappetit.com. Literally everyone references Lasagna Noodles!
Donna Leonardo
You are correct - they are Lasagne “noodles”
Pasta refers to any item made with semolina, egg, etc. kneaded & cut to shapes
Claudia
I found THIS recipe searching for "lasagna without the noodles." My family called them "noodles," so it wouldn't have occurred to me to search for "Lasagna without the pasta." Perhaps it's a regional thing.
By the way, this recipe is delicious and more than satisfied my craving for lasagna. Found I didn't need the **noodles**. 😉 Thank you for sharing the recipe!
txgrandma
Love the bowl idea. I prefer keto lasagna more than high carb version. Thanks for sharing!
730 Sage Street
Check out our Easy Keto Lasagna, this is one of my favorites!
Tracie
How large are your ramekins in picture?
Gissela Martinez
I used 10oz ramekins! thanks for asking.
Jemma
Made this last night for dinner—it was so good, I didn’t even miss the fact that there were no noodles in it! I used cottage cheese, didn’t have any ricotta cheese and will continue using cottage cheese. This recipe is a keeper.
Susan
Can this be made in a 8×8 pan? Ifso, recommended bake time?