OT- make ahead lasagna?

[SDSorority]

How do you make vegetable lasagna ahead of time? Can you assemble it pre-baked and keep it in the fridge or freezer? How long? Does it loose any flavor by doing that? I'm thinking about making a 'harvest vegetable lasagna' with pesto sauce for thanksgiving this year... but I'll be WAY too rushed actually ON thanksgiving day to assemble it and bake it I'm afraid.

Any tips or tricks would be great!!!!!

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

Lasagna freezes great - I think it is good for at least 6 months. My mom likes to bake it ahead then freeze it. She lets it thaw in the frig and then cuts off a piece and microwaves it. I like to freeze it uncooked , set it in the frig to thaw the night or morning before I bake it and the bake it for supper. I like to freeze it in a foil pan.
I would love your recipe for harvest veggie lasagna.

 

[SDSorority]

Lasagna freezes great - I think it is good for at least 6 months. My mom likes to bake it ahead then freeze it. She lets it thaw in the frig and then cuts off a piece and microwaves it. I like to freeze it uncooked , set it in the frig to thaw the night or morning before I bake it and the bake it for supper. I like to freeze it in a foil pan.
I would love your recipe for harvest veggie lasagna.

That is great information!!! I'm still working on the recipe (figuring out what veggies I want to use ) but as soon as I have it done I'll post it! Hopefully within the next few hours.

 

[msmayor]

I make lasagne for Thanksgiving...but I make individual 'rolls' that freeze beautifully.

Just cook the noodles, place filling on each individual noodle and roll up. No sauce...I cook and keep that separate.

I place the individual rolls on a baking sheet (on wax paper), no covering, and pop the whole sheet into the freezer for a few hours. Once the rolls are frozen hard, I package them using my food saver to lock out all the air and prevent freezer burn.

I'll pull them out of the freezer the night before and put into the fridge to start thawing. On the day I need them, I assemble in a pan on top of a layer of sauce, then cover each with some sauce and bake about 30-35 minutes, adding a shredded cheese blend on top for the last 5-8 minutes.

There's already 2 dozen rolls in the freezer for this year.

 

[lovemygoofy]

That is great information!!! I'm still working on the recipe (figuring out what veggies I want to use ) but as soon as I have it done I'll post it! Hopefully within the next few hours.

I'm actually having veggie lasagna tonight. I make up a couple different kinds of lasgna and freeze. I do put sauce on them but I don't bake them ahead of time. I wrap with saran wrap or the glad touch stuff and then I put on a layer of foil.

I also really don't let the lasagna thaw much because I don't want the veggies or noodles to get soggy. I take from the freezer to the oven and bake for about an hour but that's because my noodles aren't boiled.

 

[crisi]

Some vegetables don't freeze as well as others. And some cheese doesn't freeze well either. I'd google check your ingrediants just to make sure none of them go through significant texture changes during the freeze/thaw.

 

[SDSorority]

I make lasagne for Thanksgiving...but I make individual 'rolls' that freeze beautifully.

Just cook the noodles, place filling on each individual noodle and roll up. No sauce...I cook and keep that separate.

I place the individual rolls on a baking sheet (on wax paper), no covering, and pop the whole sheet into the freezer for a few hours. Once the rolls are frozen hard, I package them using my food saver to lock out all the air and prevent freezer burn.

I'll pull them out of the freezer the night before and put into the fridge to start thawing. On the day I need them, I assemble in a pan on top of a layer of sauce, then cover each with some sauce and bake about 30-35 minutes, adding a shredded cheese blend on top for the last 5-8 minutes.

There's already 2 dozen rolls in the freezer for this year.

Some vegetables don't freeze as well as others. And some cheese doesn't freeze well either. I'd google check your ingrediants just to make sure none of them go through significant texture changes during the freeze/thaw.

These are GREAT ideas. I didn't think of doing individual rolls. That would be SO easy, and much easier to keep in my already-too-small freezer!!!

 

[msmayor]

One of the other great advantages to the individual rolls is that its already 'portioned', so its much easier and neater to serve from the pan.

 

[SDSorority]

One of the other great advantages to the individual rolls is that its already 'portioned', so its much easier and neater to serve from the pan.

That's what I was just thinking.

 

[leight]

I make it in advance by using the no bake lasagna sheets. I usually make two trays- one that I cook that day and the other that I freeze without cooking. It works great and takes so little time to assemble! I prefer this to the sheets you cook as there is less moisture.

 

[SDSorority]

My sister had a good idea of using pasta shells instead of rolling the lasagna noodles and just filling them and freezing them. Maybe a little less messy?

 

[msmayor]

My sister had a good idea of using pasta shells instead of rolling the lasagna noodles and just filling them and freezing them. Maybe a little less messy?

Would work too...but then you call it Stuffed Shells.

 

[Swimnoid]

Would work too...but then you call it Stuffed Shells.

Most people just stuff shells with cheese though. I like them stuffed with meat and cheese and you could do the veggie lasagna filling as well. Hmmmm...I may have to do this for Thanksgiving too!

 

[Happiest mommy]

could someone recommend a good lasagna pan for some reason i'm having a really hard time finding one, especially one that the pre-cooked noodles fit into TIA (great ideas too keep them coming)