Basically Skillet Lasagna

Recipe by Kat Boytsova, Basically - Bon Appetit

Finally, an easy, cheesy, vegetarian lasagna recipe that doesn't require you to dirty every pot and pan in your kitchen. But that's not all!  It also comes together in just over an hour and, thanks to all that frozen spinach, delivers enough veggie goodness to justify eating a big pan of baked pasta on a Monday. If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, don't sweat—any sturdy, similarly-sized pan that has a heatproof handle will work almost as well here.

Ingredients

2 tsp. kosher salt, divided plus more

1 large onion

6 garlic cloves

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 14.5-oz. cans crushed tomatoes

1 tsp.dried oregano

¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Small bunch of basil, divided

2 10-oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed

2 cups ricotta

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3 oz. store store-bought grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

10 oz. dried lasagne noodles

2 8-oz. packages shredded low-moisture mozzarella

Steps

Place a rack in top-third of oven; preheat to 425°. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, get some prep work out of the way. Peel 1 large onion ,  then finely chop. Set aside on cutting board.

Crush 6 garlic cloves with the side of a chef’s knife, then peel and coarsely chop.

Heat  ¼ cup extra-virgin oil in a 12" ovenproof skillet over medium. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally until onion is beginning to brown and soften, about 5 minutes.

Add 3 14.5-oz. cans crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 3/4 crushed red pepper flakes, 3 whole basil sprigs, and 1 Tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened and flavours have melded about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and pluck out basil sprigs.

Meanwhile, place 20 oz. thawed spinach on a large clean kitchen towel and wring it out over the sink until no more water can be squeezed out. If you don't have any clean kitchen towels, you can also just try to squeeze water out of the spinach by hand one small handful at a time or press it in a fine mesh sieve. Whatever you do, just don't skip this step—water-logged spinach will make the finished dish too soupy.

Mix spinach, 2 cups ricotta, 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 3 0z.grated Parmesan and remaining 1tsp, slat in a medium bowl to combine. 

Cook 10 oz. lasagna in boiling salted water, stirring occasionally and separating with a spatula to keep them from sticking, 4 minutes (they'll be  very al dente at this point, but will finish cooking in the oven). Drain noodles and leave in the colander until ready to assemble.

Using a ladle, transfer 3 cups sauce to a medium bowl, leaving just a thin layer of sauce behind. Spread to coat bottom of the pan.

Arrange noodles in a single layer over sauce in the pan, breaking up a few sheets to fit and cover the whole surface. Top noodles with one-third of tomato sauce, spreading evenly with a spatula. Using a spoon, dollop half of the ricotta mixture in small mounds all over sauce. Sprinkle one-third of shredded mozzarella over ricotta mixture.

Repeat layering noodles, one-third of sauce, remaining ricotta mixture, and one-third of mozzarella one more time.

Top mozzarella with another layer of noodles. Spoon any remaining sauce over, then top with remaining mozzarella.

Bake lasagna until browned and bubbling, about 15–20 minutes. Sprinkle some Parmesan over, then garnish with remaining basil leaves.

Feature Image: Chelsea Kyle; Food styling by Jenn Ophir