Ina Garten's Lasagna With A Twist

If you are familiar with the delicious recipes and cooking of Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, you know Garten is all about big, satisfying dishes that are jam-packed with flavor. So, if you're looking for a great meal that can serve a group of hungry people, you are certainly in the right place.

Recipe developer and private practice registered dietician Kristen Carli of Camelback Nutrition & Wellness says this recipe for Ina Garten's lasagna with a twist "is medium level difficult," but it's well worth the effort. The time you spend prepping this meal will yield eight hearty servings of a unique dish your guests or family will request time and time again. And if you're looking to do weekday meal prep for yourself on a Sunday, Carli says, "This keeps and reheats great, [just] keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days [and] reheat in the microwave." Your midweek self will be thrilled your weekend self put in the time and effort to prepare something so delicious.

As for what to pair with this clever lasagna with a twist? "I love to eat this with garlic bread and asparagus," Carli says. A nice fresh green salad will also balance things out nicely ... and maybe even a nice nap for dessert!

Grab a shopping cart and fill it up with the following ingredients: olive oil, a yellow onion (which you'll chop), garlic cloves (which you'll mince), sweet Italian turkey sausage, canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree, canned tomato paste, chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped fresh basil leaves, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, a big bag of frozen cheese ravioli, ricotta cheese, creamy goat cheese (crumbled), grated Parmesan cheese, an egg, and a lot of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Once you have all of your ingredients rounded up, it's time to get cooking.

First off, preheat the oven to 400 F. Then, move on to cook the onions, garlic, and sausage.

Start off by heating the olive oil in a large skillet. Next, add the diced onion, and cook for five minutes over medium-low, stirring often until the onions are translucent. Next, add the garlic, and cook for one more minute until the garlic grows fragrant, and then add the sausage (with its casings removed), and break it up with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Cook everything for eight to 10 minutes, stirring often until the sausage meat is no longer pink.

Once the sausage is cooked through, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the ravioli. Cook the ravioli for six to eight minutes, then drain.

Next, in a medium bowl, add the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and set it aside.

Ladle ⅓ of the meat sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish evenly. Then, add the layers as follows: half of the ravioli, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and another ⅓ of the sauce. Next, add the rest of the pasta, the mozzarella, ricotta, and finally the last of the sauce. Sprinkle the top of the dish with ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese, then bake your Ina Garten's lasagna with a twist for 30 minutes.

Once your lasagna has baked, take it out of the oven, and let it rest a few minutes. Then, serve it and enjoy!

Are you wondering what the spin is on Ina Garten's turkey lasagna, or have you already figured it out? Let's take out the guesswork. Carli says, "The twist is to use cheese ravioli instead of lasagna noodles for an extra cheesy surprise!" And extra cheesy this recipe most certainly is, given the four kinds of cheese you use along with the cheese ravioli.

As you experiment with the recipe, you can even try your own twist, like using spinach ravioli. But for a first go at it, stick with the twist Carli put on this scrumptious dish, because it's a winner through and through.