Layer upon layer of Italian sausage, spinach, and mushrooms, this easy lasagna is made with the most delicious and creamy ricotta cheese and Alfredo sauce. This white lasagna recipe is perfect for a family dinner!
I've always loved a good traditional lasagna made with marinara sauce, cottage cheese, and mozzarella, but I've found a new lasagna dish I've fallen in love with. I've made this white lasagna recipe four times this month, not only for my family to enjoy but I've also taken it to parties and potlucks and just like this chicken and rice casserole and this beef enchilada casserole, there are never any leftovers. It's a huge crowd pleaser!
I attended a holiday party a couple of years ago and they served the most delicious white lasagna. The chef told me that white sauce lasagna is truly an authentic Italian recipe and originated in northern Italy. White lasagna is made with ricotta cheese, sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, and Italian sausage mixed with a creamy Alfredo sauce layered on top of lasagna noodles. It was absolutely the best white lasagna I've ever had. I knew I had to go home and recreate my own version and after 6 attempts, I nailed it.
Try pairing this with my Cheese Garlic Cauliflower Breadsticks or these Homemade Herb Ciabatta Rolls. I also love pairing it with my Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing, as well as my Summer Corn Salad! If you're a wine drinker, white sauce lasagna pairs extremely well with a nice fresh and crisp Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. I love pairing this with Domaine Salmon Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc or this Rothchild Saga R Selection Prestige White Bordeaux.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Texture & Layering Matters More Than You May Think – a lot of lasagna recipes focus on the ingredients, but few discuss how finely chopping the sausage and mushrooms significantly improves texture and overall taste. Larger chunks can create an odd texture that's just not very palatable. That's why I chop the meat and mushrooms up super small...it allows for a creamier dish and everything blends together well both flavor and texture wise.
- It yields lots of leftovers, stores really well in the refrigerator, and can easily be turned into a freezer meal!
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Lasagna Noodles - Precooking the lasagna works best for this recipe. You can use oven-ready noodles to save time, but traditional noodles offer a more classic texture.
- Ricotta Cheese - use the full fat version. It's way more creamy and brings a lot of richness.
- Alfredo Sauce - after testing this recipe with many different Alfredo sauces, I found that the Buitoni Alfredo sauce tastes best and it saves some time. But, feel free to use a different store bought brand or make a homemade version. You can also make a Béchamel sauce recipe.
- Mozzarella cheese - use whole milk mozzarella instead of part-skim. It will make the white lasagna more creamy. If you have time, grate a block of cheese for a more fresh flavor.
- Parmesan Cheese - for best flavor results, grate a block of cheese. I use it the layering process, but I also like to sprinkle some on top for a golden, flavorful crust.
- Spinach - use frozen spinach that has been thawed. Make sure you squeeze out all the water before layering.
- Italian Sausage - this is a key ingredient to giving the lasagna a true Italian flavor. Either mild or spicy sausage can be used depending on what you like best.
- Mushrooms - use fresh white or cremini sliced mushrooms.
- Garlic - skip the jarred version and use fresh garlic cloves.
- Onion - use a non-sweet onion, such as yellow or white.
- Dried Herbs - I use Italian seasoning for the base herbs and then add in dried oregano and dried basil to give the lasagna for Italian based flavors.
- Parsley - fresh chopped parsley is used as a garnish
- Salt and Pepper - use as much as needed to add any additional flavor.
👩🏼🍳 See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements!
📋 Variations
- Meat Substitutions: Ground chicken, turkey, and beef can be used in this recipe, but they won’t provide the same bold Italian flavor as sausage. You can also use vegetarian meat!
- Cheese Alternatives: Try substituting fontina, asiago, or gouda cheese in place of the mozzarella and ricotta.
- Add Fresh Vegetables: Chopped eggplant and zucchini are great additional to this lasagna. If using them, add them at the same time you add in the mushrooms, onions, and garlic.
- Make a Healthier Version: Try using part-skim ricotta and mozzarella to cut down on some of the fat. Swapping sausage for leaner ground turkey or chicken will also reduce the fat.
🔪 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. In a large skillet, ground the Italian sausage. When it's cooked all the way through, drain the grease and transfer the ground sausage to a cutting board. With a sharp knife, finely chop the cooked sausage and then set aside.
Step 2: Next, grab a large saucepan and open the 2 tubs of Buitoni alfredo sauce and cook on medium-low heat until warm, making sure to stir the alfredo sauce so it does not burn.
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Step 3: While the Alfredo sauce is warming, finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and fresh garlic. In a large pan, sauté on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add in the chopped Italian Sausage and sauté for another 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms and onions are well combined and tender.
Step 4: Now it's time to prepare the ricotta cheese and seasoning mixture. Put the ricotta cheese and dried spices in a medium bowl and mix well on low speed with an electric mixer. Set aside.
Step 5: Add 6 quarts of water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
Step 6: Boil the lasagna noodles until done, about 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over the noodles. Set aside.
Step 7: Now it's time to start layering. First, add ½ cup of the warmed Alfredo sauce to the bottom of a 13x9 oven safe Pyrex dish. Then, place 3-4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Add half of the ricotta cheese on top of the lasagna noodles and spread evenly.
Step 8: Evenly layer half of the spinach on top of the ricotta cheese covering the noodles. From there, add half the sausage, onion, mushroom, and garlic mixture. Add 1 ½ cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan cheese and spread until even. Layer on 3-4 more lasagna noodles on top of the mozzarella cheese and then pour on half the alfredo sauce. Repeat the layering steps again.
Step 9: Once the lasagna has been layered, cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Once it's done, remove the aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy!
🙋🏼♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes! Assemble it up to 1 day in advance, cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate. Bake on 350°F when ready to serve.
It could be from not draining enough liquid from the spinach. Try using paper towels to press on the thawed spinach to ensure all the water is absorbed.
Yes! Assemble per the instructions below and freeze it unbaked for up to 3 months, then bake straight from frozen, adding extra baking time as needed until done.
Expert Tips
- It's super important to finely chop the ground Italian sausage and mushrooms. If they are too thick and chunky, it changes the taste and texture of the lasagna.
- When spreading the ricotta cheese and the Alfredo sauce, use a basting brush. This method will make your life a whole lot easier because ricotta is hard to spread.
- Store any leftovers in the container with a lid in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Avoid covering the leftovers in the baking dish with aluminum because it will dry out faster.
- White lasagna tends to dry out faster than your traditional red sauce lasagna because it lacks the acidity from tomatoes and those really help retain moisture. To reheat white lasagna, place the pieces of lasagna in an oven safe dish and cover with aluminum foil. Heat on 325°F until warm all the way through.
🍝 More Pasta Recipes To Try
If you tried this white sauce lasagna or any other recipes on my website, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love hearing from you! And please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!
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White Sauce Lasagna Recipe
Equipment
- 9x13 baking dish
- large pot
- large skillet
- cutting board
- chef's knife
Ingredients
- 6 quarts water
- 9 lasagna noodles,
- 1 lb Italian sausage, ground
- 2 10 ounce Buitoni Alfredo sauce
- 1 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 15 ounce package whole milk ricotta
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 10 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ¾ cups Parmesan cheese, divided
- fresh parsley, to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add 6 quarts of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles until done, about 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over the noodles. Set aside.
- Brown the Italian sausage in a large skillet. When done, drain and transfer the sausage to a cutting board. With a sharp knife, finely chop the sausage and then set aside.
- Using a large saucepan, open 2 tubs of Buitoni Alfredo sauce and pour into the skillet. Simmer on medium-low heat until warm.
- While the Alfredo is warming, finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and fresh garlic. Add to the same skillet used to cooked the sausage. Sauté on medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Add in the chopped Italian sausage and sauté for another 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms and onions are tender. Set aside.
- Now it's time to prepare the ricotta cheese. Put the ricotta cheese, oregano, basil, and Italian seasoning in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer (or hand whisk) on low speed, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- It's now time to start the layering process. First, add a ½ cup of the warmed Alfredo sauce to the bottom of a 13x9 oven safe pyrex dish. Expert Tips: This will ensure the noodles don't stick to the bottom of the dish.
- Then, put 3-4 of the cooked lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. From there, add half of the ricotta cheese mixture on top of the cooked lasagna noodles and spread evenly using a basting brush.
- Layer half of the thawed spinach on top of the ricotta cheese and spread evenly.
- Next, add half the sausage, onion, mushroom, and garlic mixture on top.
- Add 1 ½ cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan cheese and spread evenly.
- Then, layer on 3-4 more lasagna noodles on top of the mozzarella cheese. Pour on half the Alfredo sauce.
- Repeat the layering process by following steps 8 through 13 again.
- Once the lasagna has been put together in the baking dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Once done, remove the aluminum foil and let the white lasagna rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh parsley and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- It's super important to finely chop the ground Italian sausage and mushrooms. It changes the taste and consistency of the dish if the sausage and mushrooms are too chunky.
- When spreading the ricotta cheese, use a basting brush. You can even dip it in the Alfredo sauce to help spread it around. This method will make your life a whole lot easier because ricotta is hard to spread.
- Store any leftovers in the container with a lid in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Avoid covering the leftovers in the baking dish with aluminum because it will dry out faster.
- To reheat, place the pieces of lasagna in an oven safe dish and heat on 325°F until warm all the way through. Or, reheat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds until warm.
- When spreading the ricotta cheese and the Alfredo sauce, use a basting brush. This method will make your life a whole lot easier because ricotta is hard to spread.
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Alecia
Outstanding! I made this and it was a HIT👍
Amanda Mason
So glad it was such a big hit for your family!!!