I made an easy one-pan lasagne in 30 minutes that tasted incredible – no oven needed (Image: Angela Patrone)
Coming from an Italian background, lasagne is one of those classic my family loves to from scratch.
There’s truly nothing more comforting than a baked lasagna made with homemade beef ragu, béchamel sauce and al dente pasta topped with melted mozzarella and Parmigiano cheese.
However, the process of making an authentic Italian lasagna can take upwards of two hours – not something I feel like cooking after a busy day.
After scrolling online one day in search of quick dinner ideas, I found a few lasagne that were labelled as “one-pan”.
Initially, the idea of cooking your sauce and lasagne pasta sheets in one dish sounded bizarre and far from appetising, but after making some much-needed changes to recipes I had found online, I was shocked at how good it tasted.
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Ingredients I used for the one-pot lasagne (Image: Angela Patrone)
The problem with most of these one-pot lasagne recipes online is that they don’t allow enough time for the onions to brown, the carrots and celery to soften and the sauce to simmer before instructing to add in the lasagne sheets. This led to the pasta sheet quickly overcooking and falling apart.
After cooking this dish twice since making the changes, I think this is a fantastic alternative for those who love lasagne but don’t want to put the effort in. Plus the washing up is minimal.
While a traditional Italian ragu doesn’t include garlic, I did decide to add garlic granules just for some added flavour.
Ingredients (serves one to two)
One carrot, chopped into small pieces
One celery, chopped into small pieces
Half an onion, chopped
125g beef mince
200g chopped tomatoes
450ml vegetable stock – made with 1 vegetable stock cube and water
Four lasagne sheets
40g soft cheese
30g mozzarella cheese, grated
5g parmigiano reggiano, grated
One tablespoon of tomato puree
Olive oil
One teaspoon of garlic granules (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
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Let the onions cook until they are softened and browned before adding in the carrots and celery (Image: Angela Patrone)
Fry off the mice before adding in your stock and chopped tomatoes (Image: Angela Patrone)
Method
I started by grabbing a large pan and heating it with one to two tablespoons of oil before adding in my chopped onions. Let the onions cook until they are softened and browned.
The next step is to add in your chopped carrot and celery and let that soften for a few minutes. Putting a lid on the pan will speed up the process.
After, it’s time to add in your mice and season with garlic granules, salt (but not too much as there will be salt added in from the tomato puree and stock) and pepper, then fry off until the mince has fully browned.
With the mice cooked, you then want to add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, stock and give it a mix.
After the sauce has been simmering for 20 minutes, add in the lasagne sheets and cook for 10 minutes (Image: Angela Patrone)
Finish off by mixing through the soft cheese and mozzarella (Image: Angela Patrone)
Leave the sauce to simmer for at least 20 minutes, or longer if you have the time. The longer the sauce is left to simmer the better it will taste.
After 20 minutes, add in your pasta sheets making stir regularly for the first few minutes to avoid them sticking to one another. The pasta sheets will take around 10 minutes to cook.
Once the pasta sheets are cooked, turn off the heat and add in your soft cheese and grated mozzarella and mix it up until the cheese is melted through.
Finish up by serving and topping off the pasta with your parmesan cheese and enjoy.