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A piece of pesto lasagna sprinkled with parsley sitting beside a stack of colourful bowls.

Pesto Lasagna with Italian Sausage

Lasagna never tasted so good!
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pesto lasagna gluten free
Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

  • 12 oz ground beef
  • 12 oz Italian sausage, casing removed (mild, medium or hot)
  • 12 oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz/796 ml)
  • ½ cup pitted, chopped Kalamata olives
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 can tomato paste (5 oz/156 ml)
  • 1 cup basil pesto (8 oz/218 ml)
  • 2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
  • 8-10 gluten free no-cook lasagna noodles (I use brown rice noodles)
  • 1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

MEAT SAUCE

  • Cook ground beef, sausage, mushrooms, onion, green pepper and garlic in large pot over medium heat until onion is translucent and meat is cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain off some of the fat if desired.
  • Add tomatoes, olives, bay leaf and tomato paste. Bring to a boil over medium heat then decrease heat and simmer 45 minutes. Discard bay leaf and set aside.

CHEESE LAYER

  • In a medium bowl combine cottage cheese and pesto sauce. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

  • In a large baking pan layer the ingredients as follows:
  • Spread half the meat sauce over the bottom of the pan.
  • Lay half lasagna noodles over the sauce in a single layer, completely covering the pan.
  • Spread half pesto cheese mixture over noodles.
  • Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese.
  • Sprinkle with half the Parmesan cheese.
  • Repeat layers.
  • Lasagna can be prepared ahead to this point. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or freeze. Thaw overnight before cooking.

COOKING

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook lasagna for 45 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly around the edges.
  • Let rest 15 minutes. Cut and serve.

Notes

This is my cryptic note (written on a piece of paper) as a quick reference to get the layers right for the final assembly.
  • ½ Meat sauce / Noodles / ½ Pesto cheese mix / ½ Mozza / ½ Parm
  • Repeat