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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes » Fast and Easy Gluten-Free Meat Lasagna

    LAST UPDATED: September 25, 2020 • FIRST PUBLISHED: February 17, 2017 By Toni Dash 65 Comments

    Fast and Easy Gluten-Free Meat Lasagna

    Jump to Recipe

    This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Lasagna can take soooo long to prepare and cook but no more with this Fast and Easy Gluten-Free Meat Lasagna. An easy recipe with some tips to cut down on the prep time making it a great mid-week dinner option.
    Fast and Easy Meat Lasagna

    Lasagna has been a favorite comfort food in our house for as long as I can remember. I will confess I really avoided making it however because it took to darn long.

    Between building the sauce from scratch, boiling the noodles and the cooking time, it felt more like making a Thanksgiving dinner than something possible for a weeknight.

    I have two hungry, busy kids, a hard-working husband and I’m busy too.

    My kids love lasagna so much that I became determined to find a way to make it more approachable and easy to make on a regular basis.

    I had a few break throughs a few years ago that have made it so simple that I really look forward to making it now.

    NOTE FOR GLUTEN-EATERS: the only difference between making this gluten-free or with gluten is the lasagna noodles. If you aren’t gluten-free swap the noodles for regular lasagna noodles and make as directed!

    white baking dish of meat and cheese lasagna from overhead with servings on plates nearby

    Tip #1:  Everything does not need to be from scratch.

    There are great prepared sauces that can be used as a base. No matter what your preference, whether it be to use mainstream brands, gourmet options, simple flavors or more seasoned, organic or not, you can find something to fit your preferences.

    Also with an eye to making things quick, the sauces are already seasoned so it removes that step of the preparation.

    Buy the cheese already grated. That saves time and clean up too.

    Ingredients for meat lasagna

    Tip #2: You don’t need to boil your noodles.

    I don’t know about you but either I am the least coordinated person in the kitchen or handling boiled lasagna noodles is like trying to catch an eel barehanded. It’s crazy.

    Instead of preboiling the noodles, once the lasagna is assembled, pour ¼-1/3 cup (depending on how thick the lasagna is) of boiling water just around the very edge of the lasagna by the baking dish.

    I do this with a liquid measuring cup to control the placement.

    Seal the lasagna with 2 pieces of heavy foil and it will turn out as beautifully as if you’d pre-boiled the noodles.

    overhead view of cooked pan of meat lasagna with cheesy top

    Tip #3:  Use this as a base recipe and change it up to fit your mood.

    This recipe is comforting and delicious but is also a great jumping off point to mix things up.

    Sauté some onion and garlic before adding in the ground beef to bump up the flavor of the sauce.

    Add in some Italian herbs (I’m loving the herbs in a tube you can buy in the produce section; perfect for fast cooking and no chopping).

    serving of meat and cheese lasagna with gluten-free noodles on blue plate from overhead

    I love to throw in some spinach to get some greens in the lasagna. I’ll add a few large handfuls of fresh spinach to the browned ground beef, sauté it down in volume and add the sauce. Or frozen, thawed spinach works too.

    We love sausage and there are so many flavor options. I’ll buy a package of hot or sweet Italian sausage (pre-cooked), slice it and add it into the ground beef before adding the sauce.

    It adds more flavor, texture and volume to the lasagna for only a few minutes more.

    You can also replace the 4 cups of cheese with a pre-grated Italian blend available in the dairy department of your grocery store. Are you getting the idea?

    serving of meat lasagna on blue plate with part of white lasagna dish showing with serving scooped out

    I now can put this lasagna together in 10 minutes. The longest lead-time is the cooking of the beef and sauce. The hardest part for me?

    Remembering the order of the layers! This can also be done with regular gluten lasagna noodles too.

    This fast and easy Gluten-Free Meat Lasagna recipe employs some simple tips and tricks to make it easy to cook lasagna even when you don’t have time to toil over it in the kitchen. Fantastic comfort food as is, or great to build on with different additional ingredients!

    serving of meat lasagna on blue plate with part of white lasagna dish showing with serving scooped out

    Fast and Easy Gluten-Free Meat Lasagna Recipe

    This quick and delicious gluten-free lasagna recipe can be compiled in a snap with no boiling of the lasagna noodles. It's comforting on its own and is also a great jumping off point to mix it up with different flavors and ingredient. Will work well with gluten noodles too.
    5 from 18 votes
    Print Save Recipe Recipe Saved! Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
    Servings: 12 Serves 10-12
    Calories: 249kcal
    Author: Toni Dash
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    Ingredients

    • 3 cups grated Low-Moisture Mozzarella
    • 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
    • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
    • 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
    • 1 24- ounce jar Pasta Sauce (Tomato and Basil, Marinara, etc.)
    • 1 package Gluten-Free Lasagna Noodles (separate the noodles into 3 even groups)
    • 1 15- ounce Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl.
    • In a large skillet add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ground beef and brown breaking up pieces with a spatula as it cooks.
    • Add the pasta sauce to the skillet. Add ¼ cup water to the jar of the sauce, seal, shake vigorously and pour the liquid into the skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
    • Spoon 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish and spread to coat the bottom. 
    • Layer 1: Layer 3-4 lasagna noodles (1/3 of the package) over the sauce. Spoon half of the ricotta cheese on top of the noodles and spread it evenly. Spread 1 cup sauce on top of the ricotta cheese followed by 1 ¼ cups of the cheese. 
    • Layer 2: Repeat the layer of 3-4 noodles (the second 1/3 of the package), the remaining half of the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of sauce and 1 ¼ cups of the mixed cheese. 
    • Layer 3: Remaining noodles, covered with the remaining sauce, topped with remaining cheese.
    • Pour ¼ cup boiling water around the edges of the lasagna and seal with two sheets of heavy duty foil. NOTE: to keep the cheese from sticking to the foil, spray the underside (side facing the lasagna) of the bottom foil with non-stick spray before placing it on the lasagna.
    • Bake for 50 minutes, remove the foil and bake uncovered for 10 additional minutes (1-hour total). Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 684mg | Potassium: 410mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 660IU | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 348mg | Iron: 1.9mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!
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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    TONI DASH
    Toni Dash head shot

    Toni Dash, is a Certified Nutrition Coach and the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder Locavore®. She has been developing easy to make, well-tested recipes since 2010. Her seasonal recipes bring excitement to the dining table for both gluten-free and gluten diners. Toni has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for her creative, delicious recipes and travel features. For more details, check out her About page.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Jennifer Farley says

      October 09, 2018 at 7:24 pm

      5 stars
      So tasty! Love that it’s a gluten free option!

      Reply
    2. Joanna Cismaru says

      October 09, 2018 at 6:21 pm

      5 stars
      Oh I love lasagna, one of my favorite meals. Looks so delicious!

      Reply
    3. Melissa Sperka says

      October 09, 2018 at 5:47 pm

      5 stars
      My gluten intolerant friends thank you!

      Reply
    4. Joanne says

      October 09, 2018 at 5:35 pm

      5 stars
      Such classic flavors here, and really easy to make. Love it!

      Reply
    5. carrie says

      October 09, 2018 at 10:45 am

      5 stars
      Looks Yummy

      Reply
    6. Aysegul says

      October 09, 2018 at 8:57 am

      5 stars
      Woow it looks so good and yummy

      Reply
    7. Stacie says

      October 09, 2018 at 5:15 am

      5 stars
      Gluten-free has come such a long way! I was just talking with a friend who’s been gluten-free for years due to a medical issue. There was a time when she had to forego all of her favorites. Now she can have lasagna. Awesome.

      Reply
    8. aziel morte says

      August 02, 2018 at 12:00 pm

      Lasagna was one of my favorite and I’m so glad that this is gluten free meat. I would love to give this a try Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    9. Kiwi says

      August 01, 2018 at 2:18 pm

      Reading this post made me realize I havent had lasagna in a long time. I am happy there are gluten free ways to enjoy it now!

      Reply
    10. kristin says

      August 01, 2018 at 2:17 pm

      Alweays fun putting new ways to cook into classic foods. I love playing around and finding what works best.

      Reply
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    About Toni Dash

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    Welcome! I’m Toni. I’m a Certified Nutrition Coach and my goal is to MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER with delicious, well-tested recipes and travel tips! More About Me …

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