Lasagna has to be one of my family's favorite meals. Maybe not my son's but we're not going to talk about his favorite boxed mac and cheese today. I have always reserved this special dish for holidays and weekends because making it can be time consuming. Well not any more! This week I made these cute mini lasagnas which were baked in 12 minutes flat.Last week I happened to be cruising the food blogosphere when I ran into Petite Lasagnas on Can You Stay for Dinner?. Since then, my life has changed. After looking at the gorgeous pictures, I decided to make them my own and this is what I came up with. The nice thing is that you can make your own sauce in advance or use a good brand of jarred sauce to make this recipe super easy. I always keep some homemade meat sauce in the freezer so these are a perfect week night dinner. My husband came home to a nice surprise as lasagna is not our typical weeknight meal.
If you would like to lighten up these lasagnas, you can use low fat ricotta, low fat mozzarella cheese and veggie or turkey meat sauce. I'll admit that I made the fattening kind this time with ground beef and sausage in the sauce. It was worth every calorie!
All week I have been dreaming about the different mini lasagnas I can make. Spinach, roast veggies and mushrooms with cheddar cheese have been floating through my brain. I am thinking about mini assorted lasagnas for the Superbowl. I really have to put an end to this mini lasagna OCD. I will give you a few tips on making these cute little cups that I promise everyone will devour. Then I will move on to the recipe.
When making these, make sure to spray your muffin tin well. If you are using jarred sauce, heat it up first. To make sure the wontons are not dry, wet the second layer before putting them in the cups. This made the noodles nice and moist. I used Naysoya wonton wrappers and they are very easy to work with. Be creative and experiment with different fillings. Almost any sauces or cheeses can be used. Enjoy!
Mini Lasagna Cups (inspired by Petite Lasagnas from Can You Stay For Dinner?) Cooking spray
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 small egg, beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning, divided
24 wonton wrappers ( I used Nasoya)
2 to 3 cups meat or marinara sauce, heated (depending on how saucy you like your lasagna cups)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese and 1/2 tsp seasoning in a small bowl and set aside. Reserve the rest of the seasoning. Place 1 wonton wrapper in each tin, pressing firmly against each muffin cup. Spoon some sauce into each cup using half of the sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture into each cup using it all up. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Dip the remaining wonton wrappers in water individually before placing each one of top of the cheese. Top with the remaining sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and tops are golden. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before carefully removing from the pan. Makes 12 individual lasagnas.
