Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna Rolls

A couple weeks ago I made a spinach artichoke lasagna that was just not so good.  I had been having a lasagna craving and decided to try a new vegetarian version that I had found.  I didn't even blog about it because neither Matt nor myself enjoyed it at all.  You know how the leftovers can sometimes be better than when the dish is originally served?  Well, that didn't even happen in this situation.  It was definitely a bummer.

So because my lasagna craving was not fulfilled and because we had extra spaghetti sauce and noodles hanging around, I decided to make my own attempt at fulfilling my craving.  If a recipe on allrecipes.com can't do it, I will take things into my own hands.  

Below is my recipe for Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna Rolls.  I was so happy with how they turned out.  This recipe doesn't make a lot so if you are planning on making it for more than three really hungry people, you might need to double the recipe.  For some reason, in my mind I could see kids really like this dish.  The rolls are fun to look at and to put together.  In my experience with lasagna, I have sometimes found that the layers fall apart because they are so filled with sauce and vegetables.  This dish definitely didn't do that.  It is stayed in tact and wasn't so messy to eat.  I hope you enjoy!

This was actually a really fun meal to make and came together a lot easier than I expected.  Outside the noodles cooking and the actual baking time, I think the prep time for everything else was about 15 minutes.  The sauce cooked up nicely in about 10 minutes and while it was bubbling away, I chopped the spinach and mixed it with the ricotta and parmesan. After the noodles were cooked, spreading the cheese and spinach filling on them and rolling them up just took a couple more minutes.

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Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna Rolls
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes
Makes 9 lasagna rolls which could serve about 3-4 hungry people (along with other sides).

Sauce
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of oregano

Noodle Roll Filling
3 cups spinach, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
9 lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot, add salted water and begin to heat.  Once the water is boiling, add noodles.  Cook until just tender.  Strain and let cool. (I quick cooled the noodles by running cold water on them after they were done.)

Meanwhile, pour about a teaspoon of olive oil into a large sauce pan and place on stove at a medium low heat.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Stir to prevent burning. Add the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, onion salt, and oregano.  Continue stirring.  Heat until the sauce is warmed through and then place the pan to the side.

For the spinach and ricotta filling, coarsely chop the spinach and place in large mixing bowl.  Add the ricotta and parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the noodles are cooked and cooled, lay them out on a flat surface.  Starting at the front of the noodle, spread about 1/3 cup of the spinach and ricotta filling on the noodle.  Only spread the filling about 3/4 of the way up the noodle.  Then starting at the front of the noodle, roll it up and place it in a oven safe dish.  Continue this process until all the noodles and filling are used up.  Then take the sauce and pour it over all the rolls.  Make sure it is spread as evenly as possible over the top of the noodles.

Cover the dish and bake for about 20 minutes.  Then uncover the dish and bake for about 15-20 more minutes or until the sauce begins bubbling around the edges. Enjoy!

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