I hope you guys had an awesome Christmas? We spent Christmas Ever with Pete’s family, my parents and little brother and some really good friends and then went to my moms for Christmas Dinner with just my huge family (I am the third of 4 children- plus spouses and grandchildren). We ate a disturbing amount of food, drank a very disturbing amount of red wine and ended the night with a drunken reading of a play my nephew wrote for school (he won an award for it!) we all got a part and pulled out our best Irish accents. I have to say, I haven’t laughed that hard in probably years. Then we all passed out on the living room couches and had the teenagers drive us home. It is very handy to have a bunch of teenagers with licenses!

And now I just am keeping the ball rolling with the serious eating I guess. (As soon as we get to January a massive smack down is happening by the way!) Lasagna. Oh heavenly lasagna. Because I made this recipe twice this last week, I just had to share it with you.

Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLast Monday, Pete and I went out with our friends John and Annie, and Annie who is Italian was talking about this incredible lasagna that she makes every year over the Holidays. While she was talking about it I was watching Pete eat lasagna at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants (Crow) and basically was feeling really sorry for myself as I desperately was craving it. Before this last week, I hadn’t had lasagna in over two years due to the fact that it is pretty much made up solely of Gluten, Dairy and Eggs- my main allergy trifecta. Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

I will tell you what it is: the most wonderful thick meat and vegetable sauce layered with gluten free lasagna noodles, almond ricotta and spinach and a light fresh tomato sauce. That’s it. And the result is out of this world.

Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

I made it Wednesday and then again on the 27th because all we are doing all weekend is lying around and watching movies and now, eating lasagna… You should try it ☺ NOTES: I made this once with boil first noodles and once with no boil noodles. BOIL them the old fashioned way!!!!! It makes a world of difference. The dry noodles don’t cook through easily and soak up all the sauce so it is a drier lasagna and the noodles are gummy- not cool. The boil first is awesome. This is what you do: You have your meat and veggie sauce you made, your almond ricotta/spinach mixture, your basic tomato sauce and your noodles (I photographed the no boil variety- but please see my note above!) Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeYou take a 9×13 dish and first layer the basic tomato sauce and a layer of noodles on top. Then a thick layer of meat sauce and another layer of noodles. Next comes the ricotta and more noodles on top. One more thick layer of meat sauce and more noodles. Top those with basic tomato sauce. You will have some extra sauce- reserve it to for after the lasagna is baked . Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

Bake at 400 with foil on top for 30 minutes, slice and serve. Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

The Best Meat Lasagna - Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • For the Meat Sauce:
  • 2 cups finely chopped/minced onion
  • 1½ cups finely chopped/minced celery
  • 1½ cups finely chopped/minced carrots
  • 3 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 10 ounces hot Italian sausage (out of the casing)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 cup loosely packed basil, chopped
  • For the Spinach Ricotta:
  • 10 ounces thawed spinach, dry
  • 1 pound almond ricotta (I use kite hill brand)
  • ¼ cup aquafaba (canned garbanzo bean liquid)
  • kosher salt
  • For the Basic Tomato Sauce:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • ½ yellow onion, chopped
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • kosher salt
  • 2 10-ounce boxes of gluten free lasagna noodles (I usually have a few noodles left over).
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven degree to 400 degrees.
  2. For the Meat Sauce:
  3. In a large heavy pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery and the bay leaves and let cook for 5-7 minutes until softened.
  4. Add the sausage and the ground beef and break up as you cook through another 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add the tomato paste and the large can of crushed tomatoes, then add the dried oregano and the fresh basil and stir in. Put a lid on the sauce and turn the heat to low. Cook at least 20 minutes and up to several hours on lowest heat.
  6. For the Ricotta:
  7. Take the 10 ounces of thawed frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out any moisture. I like to use paper towels to do that to get it really dry. Add to a bowl with the almond ricotta and the garbanzo bean canned liquid and mix well. Season to taste with kosher salt. Set aside.
  8. For the Basic Tomato Sauce:
  9. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat add the olive oil and the garlic and onion. Saute for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes and then add to the jar of a blender. Puree on high until smooth and add back to the sauce pan.
  10. For the Noodles:
  11. Boil in salted water until al dente and then rinse well with cold water.
  12. To Assemble:
  13. You take a 9x13 dish and first layer the basic tomato sauce and a layer of noodles on top.
  14. Then a thick layer of meat sauce and another layer of noodles.
  15. Next comes the ricotta and more noodles on top.
  16. One more thick layer of meat sauce and more noodles.
  17. Top those with basic tomato sauce. You will have some extra sauce- reserve it to for after the lasagna is baked.
  18. Bake at 400 with foil on top for 30 minutes, top with the hot extra tomato sauce, slice and serve.

 

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I hope you guys had an awesome Christmas? We spent Christmas Ever with Pete’s family, my parents and little brother and some really good friends and then went to my moms for Christmas Dinner with just my huge family (I am the third of 4 children- plus spouses and grandchildren). We ate a disturbing amount of food, drank a very disturbing amount of red wine and ended the night with a drunken reading of a play my nephew wrote for school (he won an award for it!) we all got a part and pulled out our best Irish accents. I have to say, I haven’t laughed that hard in probably years. Then we all passed out on the living room couches and had the teenagers drive us home. It is very handy to have a bunch of teenagers with licenses!

And now I just am keeping the ball rolling with the serious eating I guess. (As soon as we get to January a massive smack down is happening by the way!) Lasagna. Oh heavenly lasagna. Because I made this recipe twice this last week, I just had to share it with you.

Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLast Monday, Pete and I went out with our friends John and Annie, and Annie who is Italian was talking about this incredible lasagna that she makes every year over the Holidays. While she was talking about it I was watching Pete eat lasagna at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants (Crow) and basically was feeling really sorry for myself as I desperately was craving it. Before this last week, I hadn’t had lasagna in over two years due to the fact that it is pretty much made up solely of Gluten, Dairy and Eggs- my main allergy trifecta. Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

I will tell you what it is: the most wonderful thick meat and vegetable sauce layered with gluten free lasagna noodles, almond ricotta and spinach and a light fresh tomato sauce. That’s it. And the result is out of this world.

Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

I made it Wednesday and then again on the 27th because all we are doing all weekend is lying around and watching movies and now, eating lasagna… You should try it ☺ NOTES: I made this once with boil first noodles and once with no boil noodles. BOIL them the old fashioned way!!!!! It makes a world of difference. The dry noodles don’t cook through easily and soak up all the sauce so it is a drier lasagna and the noodles are gummy- not cool. The boil first is awesome. This is what you do: You have your meat and veggie sauce you made, your almond ricotta/spinach mixture, your basic tomato sauce and your noodles (I photographed the no boil variety- but please see my note above!) Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeYou take a 9×13 dish and first layer the basic tomato sauce and a layer of noodles on top. Then a thick layer of meat sauce and another layer of noodles. Next comes the ricotta and more noodles on top. One more thick layer of meat sauce and more noodles. Top those with basic tomato sauce. You will have some extra sauce- reserve it to for after the lasagna is baked . Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg freeLasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

Bake at 400 with foil on top for 30 minutes, slice and serve. Lasagna- Gluten, dairy and egg free

The Best Meat Lasagna - Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • For the Meat Sauce:
  • 2 cups finely chopped/minced onion
  • 1½ cups finely chopped/minced celery
  • 1½ cups finely chopped/minced carrots
  • 3 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 10 ounces hot Italian sausage (out of the casing)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 cup loosely packed basil, chopped
  • For the Spinach Ricotta:
  • 10 ounces thawed spinach, dry
  • 1 pound almond ricotta (I use kite hill brand)
  • ¼ cup aquafaba (canned garbanzo bean liquid)
  • kosher salt
  • For the Basic Tomato Sauce:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • ½ yellow onion, chopped
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • kosher salt
  • 2 10-ounce boxes of gluten free lasagna noodles (I usually have a few noodles left over).
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven degree to 400 degrees.
  2. For the Meat Sauce:
  3. In a large heavy pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery and the bay leaves and let cook for 5-7 minutes until softened.
  4. Add the sausage and the ground beef and break up as you cook through another 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add the tomato paste and the large can of crushed tomatoes, then add the dried oregano and the fresh basil and stir in. Put a lid on the sauce and turn the heat to low. Cook at least 20 minutes and up to several hours on lowest heat.
  6. For the Ricotta:
  7. Take the 10 ounces of thawed frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out any moisture. I like to use paper towels to do that to get it really dry. Add to a bowl with the almond ricotta and the garbanzo bean canned liquid and mix well. Season to taste with kosher salt. Set aside.
  8. For the Basic Tomato Sauce:
  9. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat add the olive oil and the garlic and onion. Saute for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes and then add to the jar of a blender. Puree on high until smooth and add back to the sauce pan.
  10. For the Noodles:
  11. Boil in salted water until al dente and then rinse well with cold water.
  12. To Assemble:
  13. You take a 9x13 dish and first layer the basic tomato sauce and a layer of noodles on top.
  14. Then a thick layer of meat sauce and another layer of noodles.
  15. Next comes the ricotta and more noodles on top.
  16. One more thick layer of meat sauce and more noodles.
  17. Top those with basic tomato sauce. You will have some extra sauce- reserve it to for after the lasagna is baked.
  18. Bake at 400 with foil on top for 30 minutes, top with the hot extra tomato sauce, slice and serve.