This lasagna is just like the one my mom makes, but instead of the usual pasta, I’ve subbed in butternut noodles. It’s also conveniently made in a skillet, so there’s no layering involved which makes it just a bit easier. I’ve tried several versions of this lasagna with zucchini noodles and sliced zucchini, but they are alway a little watery, (but still really tasty if you want to go that route). Finally after many test runs, I decided to switch things up and try butternut squash noodles instead, and it was a huge hit with everyone! The butternut adds a subtle sweetness that I love to paired with spicy Italian sausage, and the creaminess of ricotta. Another thing I’ve changed from my family’s lasagna recipe is the type of canned tomatoes. I just started using fire roasted tomatoes, and it adds a whole new dimension of flavor that I know you’ll love.
For the Italian sausage you can use either mild or hot, and bulk ground or thinly sliced sausage links. I used sliced hot links because we don’t have bulk Italian sausage available right now. Bulk sausage is a little easier if you can get it because you don’t have to slice it up before you put it in the pan.
For all my marinara and spaghetti sauces, I always start with good quality whole canned tomatoes. I think the whole tomatoes generally have better flavor than diced tomatoes or tomato sauce. To quickly break up the whole tomatoes into a chunky sauce, I give it a quick whirl in the blender.
For this tomato sauce you want to reduce it down further than you would for regular pasta into a very thick sauce. The butternut noodles won’t soak up as much liquid as pasta does.
For butternut noodles you only use the top portion, keeping the bulb shaped end for another use (I like to make roasted veggies out of the leftover squash). The amount of noodles you’ll get will vary a bit each time depending on the shape of your squash. For spiralizing into noodles, I look for a squash with the smallest ratio of bulb end to the top portion. I bought a 6 pound butternut squash and by the time I made noodles, I had 2 1/2 pounds of noodles. If you can find 2 smaller squash equalling 6 pounds, it is a little easier to spiralize veggies that aren’t gigantic!
When I mix the fresh herbs into the ricotta mixture, I like to mash them a bit with the back of a spoon which helps them give off more flavor and meld together.
The butternut noodles are simmered on the stove for a bit until they’re just tender before the ricotta herb mixture is dolloped around the top.
Next you tear/cut up pieces of fresh mozzarella and scatter them evenly over the surface.
After a little time in the oven, everything is browned and bubbling.
As with any of my mom’s recipes that I remake, I always make sure she is in on the recipe testing to check that my recipe is up to snuff! And on a final note, I know that this recipe makes a massive amount of lasagna, but I’m not sure there’s any other way to make lasagna! (Just kidding, you can totally make a half recipe if you’d like, but the leftovers are really good so you might want the big batch.) No reviews
