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!
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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 recipe four times this month! I've taken it parties and potlucks and just like this beef enchilada casserole, the dish is always left empty! A huge crowd pleaser!
I attended a holiday party this past year and they served the most delicious white lasagna. It was made with ricotta cheese, sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, and Italian sausage mixed with a creamy alfredo sauce. It was absolutely the best spinach lasagna I've ever had. I knew I had to go home and recreate my own version and after 6 attempts, I nailed it.
ℹ️ Why This Recipe Works
1. This simple lasagna is extremely versatile.
2. I make this white lasagna recipe with ground Italian sausage, but you can easily substitute it with ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef, or even a vegetarian meat.
3. You can make your own homemade lasagna white sauce that I feature in this recipe or you can use a store bought version.
4. It yields a lot of leftovers, stores really well in the refrigerator, and can easily be turned into a freezer meal!
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
There's a lot of versatility to this Creamy Spinach and White Lasagna. As far as the lasagna white sauce, it can be made with either a homemade alfredo sauce or a packaged alfredo sauce.
For the lasagna noodles, some people swear by the Oven-Ready Lasagne Noodles. I've made this recipe with those and it turned out fine. But personally, I like using the lasagna noodles you have to boil the best.
Use a 10 ounce bag or box of frozen spinach. Let the spinach thaw and then squeeze out the extra liquid using your hands. If you want to use less spinach, use 5 to 6 ounces.
The three types of lasagna cheese I use are ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Lasagna with cottage cheese is amazing in a classic lasagna, but ricotta blends extremely well with the alfredo sauce and helps contribute to the creaminess. I also add in shredded mozzarella cheese.
Even if you are not a mushroom fan, add the mushrooms. They will be finely chopped and mixed with the Italian sausage, onion, and fresh garlic to make a meaty base. And the lasagna sauce also includes oregano, basil, and Italian seasoning which adds even more flavor.
📋 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
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.
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. Expert Tip: If making a homemade alfredo sauce, prepare it during this step.
While the alfredo sauce is warming, finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and fresh garlic. In a large pan, saute on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add in the chopped Italian Sausage and saute for another 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms and onions are well combined and tender.
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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.
Now it's time to layer. It's easy to layer lasagna. First, add ยฝ 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, place 3-4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. From there, add half of the ricotta cheese on top of the lasagna noodles and spread evenly. Then, 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 1.5 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.
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!
This easy homemade lasagna is one of the most delicious white lasagna recipes you’ll ever have the pleasure of eating. Comfort food at its best, this tasty pasta dish is a huge crowd pleaser!
💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
- While you can use oven ready lasagna noodles, my preference is to use traditional lasagna noodles for this recipe. I like boiling them to an al dente texture and letting the sauce and other ingredients blend in while everything is cooking in the oven. If you're gluten free, you can use a gluten free lasagna noodle for this recipe.
- 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.
- This lasagna recipe is freezer friendly! All you need to do is complete steps 1-11 using a 9x13 freezable container. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to cook the frozen lasagna, place it in the refrigerator and let it thaw completely. Once thawed, cook on 350°F for 1 hour until heated all the way through.
🍲 Pairings
Even though this recipe contains spinach, I love steaming broccoli and serving it alongside any type of lasagna. My Cheese Garlic Cauliflower Breadsticks are amazing with this dish. I love the extra garlic this recipe calls for and it pairs perfectly! Salads are also perfect with any pasta dish. My favorite is this Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing.
Creamy Spinach and Mushroom White Lasagna
Ingredients
Packaged Alfredo White Lasagna
- 9 lasagna noodles, oven ready or traditional
- 1 15 ounce package whole milk ricotta
- 2 10 ounce Buitoni alfredo sauce
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ¾ cups Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 10 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 lb Italian sausage, ground
- 1 lb cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- fresh parsley, to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
How to Make Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Packaged Alfredo White Lasagna
- 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 pan. Simmer on medium-low heat until warm.
- While the alfredo is warming, finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and fresh garlic.
- In a large pan, saute on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add in the chopped Italian Sausage and saute 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 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, place 3-4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. From there, add half of the ricotta cheese on top of the lasagna noodles and spread evenly using a basting brush.
- Layer half of the 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 out evenly.
- Layer on 3-4 more lasagna noodles on top of the mozzarella cheese. Now, pour on half the alfredo sauce.
- Repeat the layering by following steps 6-11 again.
- Once the lasagna has been put together, cover with aluminum foil and bake on 350°F for 1 hour.
- Once done, remove the aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh parsley and serve.
Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes.
- While whisking continuously, slowly pour in the milk and cook until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, and nutmeg until fragrant. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
- Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 7-10 minutes until it starts to thicken.
Notes
- While you can use oven ready lasagne noodles, my preference is to use traditional lasagna noodles for this recipe. I like boiling them to an al dente texture and letting the sauce and other ingredients blend in while everything is cooking in the oven. If you're gluten free, you can use a gluten free lasagna noodle for this recipe.
- 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.
- This lasagna recipe is freezer friendly! All you need to do is complete steps 1-11 using a 9x13 freezable container. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to cook the frozen lasagna, place it in the refrigerator and let is thaw completely. Once thawed, cook on 350°F for 1 hour until heated all the way through.
Alecia
Outstanding! I made this and it was a HIT๐
Amanda Mason
So glad it was such a big hit for your family!!!