Easy Four Cheese Lasagna Roll Ups – no eggs needed

Packed with flavor and cheese, these easy four cheese lasagna roll ups are a a fresh take on traditional lasagna, with individual portions!

Rich and creamy cheeses, fresh parsley and tender lasagna noodles come together to form this merry meal. Easy four cheese lasagna is a fun diversion from classic lasagna. Each bite is filled with equal amounts of noodles, cheese and sauce. Unlike typical lasagna where it it sometimes a gamble with each mouthful. Will it be all noodles with no cheese? Or a bunch of cheese with no sauce? You won’t find that guessing game with this dish!

Easy four cheese lasagna is also suitable for a small family meal. I do not know about you all, but when we make lasagna, we end up eating it for DAYS. Sometimes, not always a bad thing. But you do tend to get tired of it on about day 3.

This recipe for easy four cheese lasagna can be catered to all family sizes. Sometimes you need only a little to serve your immediate circle, and sometimes you need a lot to serve a larger crowd (is aunt Stephanie coming over for dinner again!?) Just add a few extra noodles to the pot and you are good as gold. The individual servings make it easy to count out and mentally prepare. The sauce and cheese filling can also be used sparingly or with a heavy hand, however you prefer.

All this to say, this recipe still makes great leftovers. So if you wanted to, these lasagna roll ups will be tasty re-heated the next day or even 2 days later. Maybe longer, I would not know because they do not last that long in our house.

The Sauce

I am all about homemade goods and baking, but marinara sauce is truly one of those things that I find can be ‘contracted’ out. In fact, my Nonna had a marvelous recipe of her own, that she made from scratch. However, sometimes you need something quick and easy.

And let’s face it, unless you grew up in Italy, your sauce is not going to be as good as a fancy jarred variety. Which brings me to my next point… please do yourself a favor and use a *nice* brand of sauce. Sauce can make or break any pasta dish, and in this case you might as well get a good sauce. I currently recommend Rao’s and Carbone marinara. Of course, you can use whatever you have on hand or what you prefer. Even if it means making from scratch!

Another plus to using sauce from the jar is that you never have too much or too little, just scoop from the jar as you go 😂

The cheese

The cheese is quite easily the best part about this recipe, right? Or at least the most important part about this recipe. Let us have a look at the four cheeses you will need:

• Ricotta (obviously, a classic when it comes to any lasagna dish)
• Cottage cheese (easy to find, great neutral flavor, and texture)
• Parmesan cheese (again, a classic for any Italian style dish)
• Mozzarella cheese (perfect for melting and browning… yummm…)

And yes, all four cheeses will be mixed together in the perfect marriage and used inside the roll ups. Mozzarella is also sprinkled on top so pay attention to the directions and don’t be adding all the mozzarella to the filling!

The seasonings

Here is what I particularly love about the recipe: it does not require you to get out your entire cupboard full of seasonings. All I ask is that you use fresh parsley for this recipe (any variety is ok but I prefer the curly kind.) I have both plants growing strong in my kitchen but tend to gravitate towards curly parsley since it has a slightly lighter flavor. This also works in my favor to not scare away the kids when eating a pleasantly mild ‘green thing’.

Salt and pepper are of course used as well, but that is it for the additional flavors. You could add more if you wanted but between the rich flavorful sauce, the plentiful cheeses, and parsley, I think you’re good.

The lasagne noodles

Each brand and variety will be different so if you are making this egg free, you need to double check the ingredients on the pasta box. This is especially important if someone is allergic to eggs in your group. Many pasta types and particularly lasagne noodles contain egg. Whole Foods brand lasagne does not have egg (at the time of me posting this, obviously double check every time you purchase.)

Be sure to get the long form of the lasagne noodles as well. There are the short form lasagne noodles that would not really work for this recipe!

It probably goes without saying, but worth reminding that we will be cooking the noodles so they are pliable enough to be rolled up. This means we will be boiling them, so if you’re tempted to get a ‘no boil’ noodle I would avoid it. No boil noodles have never worked for me in regular lasagna anyway!

This easy four cheese lasagna roll ups are naturally vegetarian (unless your marinara had some rogue meat in there.) It is also a nut free and egg free meal!

Even better, I have a short video on easy four cheese lasagna roll ups 🙂

How to achieve Easy Four Cheese Lasagna Roll Ups:

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F. Cook Noodles as per package directions, until al dente. I add a drizzle of oil to the water so they won’t stick to each other as much.

Drain and place in an even layer on a cookie sheet. Set aside.

Prepare filling mixture:

-In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella, fresh diced parsley, water, oil, and salt and pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are combined. Set aside.

-Add 2-3 tablespoons of marinara sauce to the bottom of a casserole dish, and spread into a somewhat even layer (just do your best to cover the entirety of the dish with a thin layer)

-With a spoon, scoop and spread the cheese filling evenly across each noodle. Approximately 2-3 tablespoons per noodle.

-Next, scoop your marinara sauce and spread over the length of the cheese filling. Approximately 1-2 tablespoons per noodle.

-Roll each noodle into a tight roll and place seam side down in the prepared casserole dish, repeat with all roll ups, side by side.

-Top with remaining sauce or add any additional sauce as per your preference, just to at least cover the tops of the noodle roll ups.

-Lastly, sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Use more if desired.

-Cover in tin foil, making sure tin foil isn’t touching the cheese (use a toothpick to tent the tin foil if it’s close or spray with oil)

-Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until cheese is nicely melted.

Remove the tin foil, crank the heat to >525 (or broil) until the cheese gets golden brown, approximately 5-7 minutes but set a timer and keep your eye on it so it doesn’t burn! Also be sure your pan is capable of high heat.

-Sprinkle with more fresh parsley, then serve warm.

Things that helped in the kitchen for this recipe, and can help you too:

Le Creuset 5 quart braiser – This pan is great for meals that need to be stove cooked and then oven baked, I even use it for my sourdough skillet flat bread recipe. Find a deal since it is pricey

Staub baking dish (7.5×10.5”) multifunctional and can be used in high heat/broiler.

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Looking for another pasta recipe? How about this recipe for chicken parm!