Learn how to make spinach lasagna roll-ups! A fun and delicious twist on traditional lasagna. Rather than layering the lasagna in a baking dish, these noodles are rolled up with fresh herbs, Italian cheeses, and healthy green spinach!
I don’t usually like messing with classics, but this fresh twist on Lasagna might just be my new favorite pasta dish. These lasagna roll-ups are loaded with flavor from fresh garlic, a robust blend of herbs, creamy Italian cheeses, and rich tomato sauce.
What’s the difference between lasagna roll-ups and traditional lasagna? Not much! The ingredients are very similar but the form factor is different. Rather than layering the noodles and cheese in one dish like you would for traditional lasagna, the boiled noodles covered in the filling mixture are rolled into individual roll-ups perfect for serving a crowd or making it fun for kids.
Another difference is the amount of ricotta cheese in the filling. While delicious, ricotta can be a bit heavy and overwhelming if too much is added. For these roll-ups, a thinner layer of ricotta paired with parmesan cheese and cooked spinach is a perfect balance in every bite.
Ingredients – What You Need
Below you’ll find the full list of ingredients (minus black pepper and oil) that you need to make this recipe happen!
Lasagne noodles: you’ll need boiled noodles and not oven-ready noodles to create each roll-up before baking.
Spinach: for some healthy greens! I recommend fresh spinach that you can cook yourself, but you can also use frozen cooked spinach to save time.
Garlic: I use two forms of garlic – fresh cloves as well as garlic powder to pack more flavor into the cheese filling.
Basil: fresh basil (not dried) is a must for flavoring the cheese filling.
Oregano: I love using fresh oregano to add more herb flavor to the filling.
Ricotta cheese: this cheese will be used for the filling!
Parmesan cheese: I recommend using authentic Parmesan Reggiano to add flavor to the cheese filling and to sprinkle for melting over top!
Mozzarella cheese: to get that perfect cheesy top over the roll-ups!
How to Make Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
Preheat oven & boil pasta water: First, preheat the oven to 350F and bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles as the box instructs.
(1) Saute the garlic – in a pan with oil, saute the minced garlic for 30 seconds.
(2) Cook the spinach – in the same pan as the garlic, add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted. Then set aside and let the spinach cool.
(3) Mix the filling ingredients – in a medium-sized bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, cooked spinach, herbs, egg, garlic powder, and black pepper.
(4) Spread the filling over lasagna noodles – lay out the cooked lasagna noodles on a sheet pan or on your counter, then spread a thin amount of cheese filling over each noodle. Start with a thin layer first to make sure you have enough filling, then you can go back and top off the noodles at the end with what’s leftover.
(5) Roll up the noodles – use your hands to then roll the noodles into individual roll-ups.
(6) Prepare the baking dish – then spread 1/2 to 3/4’s cup marinara sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
(7-8) Add rolls up to the baking dish and sauce! Arrange the lasagna roll-ups in the baking dish, then spoon the remaining marinara sauce over top of each roll-up.
(9) Top with cheese and bake! – Then sprinkle with mozzarella and a dusting of parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then broil on HIGH for the last minute. Then serve with chopped fresh basil!
Tips for Success & Recipe FAQs
My favorite sauce options – For this recipe, you can use either homemade tomato sauce with canned or fresh tomatoes. Or if you like a little spice, you can try my spicy arrabbiata sauce! If you’re skipping on making your own sauce, I recommend using my favorite store-bought marinara.
Fresh herbs are a must! – A lot of the flavor from this recipe comes from the fresh herb flavor, so make sure to use fresh basil and oregano, not dried!
Switch up the greens – this recipe uses fresh spinach as the leafy green, but you can also use power greens (a mix of baby kale, spinach, and arugula) or soft kale that is finely chopped.
Use a large pot to boil lasagna noodles – Make sure to boil the lasagna noodles in a large enough pot so the noodles have enough room to cook. If the pot isn’t large enough the noodles will stick together.
Make it gluten-free! – if you are needing to make this recipe gluten-free friendly you can use GF lasagna noodles instead of regular wheat noodles.
Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh?
Absolutely! If you want to save time you can skip cooking the spinach yourself and use frozen spinach. Just add the garlic cloves that would be cooked with the spinach in with the cheese mixture.
How long do leftovers keep?
Leftovers should keep fresh for about 3-4 days due to the cheese. Store them in an airtight container and refrigerate them.
Can I freeze it?
Yes! I would recommend freezing it before baking. Prepare the entire dish but don’t bake it, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, foil, and then freeze it for 1-2 months. Remove and let thaw at room temperature before baking as the recipe instructs.
What to Serve it With
Complete your meal by serving these cheesy mini lasagnas with a bowl of greens like our Italian salad or this Tuscan artichoke salad! Then finish it off with some crusty bread like our no-knead cranberry walnut or cinnamon raisin bread. Perfecto!
More Lasagna Recipes to Try
The Best Vegetable Lasagna
Sweet & Spicy Italian Sausage Lasagna
Eggplant & Zucchini Lasagna
Zucchini Lasagna
Herb & Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 10 boil lasagne noodles
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
- 5 heaping cups fresh spinach or 1 package of frozen spinach. Remove the extra moisture with paper towels.
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for dusting over top
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 2 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 egg
- generous pinch of black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups marinara
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Boil water and cook pasta: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, then cook the lasagne noodles as the box instructs. Drain from the water and let sit in a shallow dish or tray of cold water, this will prevent the noodles from sticking together.
- Cook the spinach: in a medium saucepan, saute minced garlic in oil for 30 seconds. Then add spinach leaves and cook down until wilted. If your pan isn't big enough you can cook the spinach leaves in batches until they cook down enough to add more. Let cool.
- Mix the filling ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, egg, and cooled cooked spinach.
- Spread the filling over the noodles: arrange the cooked lasagna noodles on a tray or just on your counter, then spread a thin layer of filling over each noodle top to bottom. Start with a thin layer on the noodles to make sure you have enough filling, then if you have extra cheese & spinach filling you can go back to layer a little more.
- Roll up: then from the bottom of the noodles roll up into individual pinwheels.
- Arrange in a baking dish: in a large baking dish, spread 1/2 to 3/4 cups of marinara sauce over the bottom. Then place the roll ups in the dish, spoon remaining marinara over each roll-up then top with mozzarella and some additional parmesan cheese.
- Bake: Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil at the last minute then broil on HIGH to slightly brown the cheese. Serve right away with additional fresh basil.
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