Over the years, I am often asked how to cook lasagna noodles without boiling them. Some people want a faster method, but most want to prevent breaking the noodles, while others just do not have a pot that is large enough. Using a large casserole dish, this method prevents breakage of the noodles which makes for a less stressful recipe and a large pot is not needed, just a long casserole dish. This method saves a little time because it doesn’t take as long to boil 2 quarts of water compared to a stock pot full of water. Meanwhile, I hope you find this method useful.
See the video here.
Inspiration:
Sometimes rather than being inspired by a desire for a particular food, I am inspired by what I need to use that I have on hand. My pantry is overflowing with gluten free pasta because I switched back to brown rice pasta. The ones that contain corn, I no longer tolerate well. Meanwhile, I had two boxes of lasagna noodles that were taking up too much room. So, I decided to make my husband lasagna. (I owed him a special birthday dinner. I had hives that week, but luckily I had made his cake in advance.)
Dairy-Free Substitutes:
Be sure to check out my Substitutes Page to grab the recipe for a wonderful cheese Dairy Free Ricotta Cheese Substitute. One of my veteran gluten free/celiac recipe testers raved about this recipe. I took her advice and increased the salt. You may be surprised at the star of this lovely mixture. It’s cashews! If you do not have a high-powered blender, use cashew butter instead.
Gluten Free Lasagna Recipe plus a video from start to finish without any broken noodles. You even save a little time. No large pot is required to boil the noodles.
Ingredients:
- 2 quarts water
- 1 package Tinkyada Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles
- 2 teaspoon neutral-flavored oil
- 4 cups Gluten Free Authentic Italian Bolognese Sauce (Meat Sauce) (or your favorite gluten free spaghetti sauce)
- 8 ounces gluten-free ricotta cheese (or pureed gluten free cottage cheese or gluten free cream cheese (Philadelphia) + 1/4 cup milk)*
- 12 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese, or as needed
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup grated Aged Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
Instructions:
- Boil 2 quarts of water. Place the lasagna noodles in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and pour the boiling water on top. Add 2 teaspoons or so of oil and lift the lasagna noodles using a dull tool (silicon spatula or silicone tipped tongs work well), allowing the oily water to coat each noodle. Do not skip this step or they will stick together. Set aside and allow the noodles to soak for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the noodles three or four times with cold running water.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF with a rack in the center of the oven.
- Place about 3/4 cup of sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Place a layer of noodles on top. Smear on ricotta cheese (or whatever you are using) sprinkle on some of the Mozzarella cheese. Smear some sauce on top and continue to layer the lasagna in this fashion, repeating the layers until all of the lasagna noodles are used. Then top the final lasagna noodles with 1-1/2 cups of sauce. (If you want, you can layer it with cheeses and then top with sauce. Finally, top with Mozzarella cheese and shredded Parmiagiano Reggiano or grated Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with parchment paper and then aluminum foil. (This prevents the condensation that can get on the foil from dripping into your lasagna. You don't want that from a metal.) Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and parchment and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
- Allow the lasagna to rest for 15 minutes prior to serving. If you leave it out too long, just microwave it to rewarm each serving or cover and reheat in the oven at 350ºF.
Tips
Dairy-Free Ricotta Substitute: *Puree together 1/4 cup cashews (or sesame seeds for nut-free), 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 14 ounces drained and crumbled extra-firm tofu (such as Nasoya brand), and seasonings that compliment your dish (fresh basil, parsley, garlic, onion, etc.)
Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Brands: I heard Tofutti is wonderful. The second choice would be Go Dairy Free. I haven't tried or heard anything about Nasoya.
Dairy-Free Mozzarella Brand: Follow Your Heart (1st choice) Daiya (second choice)