Whole Wheat Lasagna

I found some whole wheat, oven-ready lasagna noodles at Target a few weeks ago and I finally got around to trying them out in my basic lasagna recipe. I was a little unsure about them since they seemed to be a bit thin, but this dish came out great! The noodles were the perfect consistency and they tasted great, the ones on top crisped up a little but weren’t too overcooked or gummy like some noodles can be. Target actually has a whole line of whole wheat and regular pastas that are “bronze cut”. They are more pricey then regular pasta but I can definitely tell the difference when we use them, they hold sauce better and always cook up perfectly.



I made this with fresh marinara sauce made from crushed tomatoes and I think that really added to the flavor. I served dinner with Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon, it complemented the meal perfectly, I will definitely be getting that wine again.



Ingredients:

1 package Archer Farms whole wheat oven-ready lasagna noodles
3 cups Marinara Sauce
1 lb Ground beef or Italian Sausage
2 cups ricotta cheese
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1.Preheat Oven to 375 Degrees F

2.Brown meat in a skillet on medium heat, drain and return to skillet on low heat.

3.While meat is browning, mix ricotta, egg, and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle in salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning.

4.Add Marinara Sauce to meat in skillet and combine thoroughly on low heat.

5.To assemble lasagna, spread ½ cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a casserole pan, cover mixture with lasagna noodles. Next, spoon ½ of the ricotta mixture onto the noodles and cover with 1/3 of the remaining sauce mixture, cover with another layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat this with one more layer.



6.Cover the final layer of lasagna noodles with the last 1/3 of the sauce mixture and sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.

7.Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

8.Let the lasagna rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.