Do you have a large group you have to feed? Or maybe you need a potluck recipe? Or even a freezer meal? This Giant No Boil Lasagna is the way to go!
Giant No Boil Lasagna is made up of layers of spinach, tomato, turkey sausage, and lots of CHEESE! This is the best homemade lasagna for a crowd!
Make up some garlic bread, toss a salad and you are ready to go! Here is a fool-proof recipe to make a fabulously delicious lasagna for the masses!
I love this recipe because it uses no boil lasagna sheets, I just find it so much easier! To make things even easier, I make my giant lasagna in a disposable dish instead of having to scrub caked on cheese for hours on end.
For Giant No Boil Lasagna, I use a turkey pan! But if you want to use a lasagna pan
, go for it, just make sure it is very deep, this is a BIG lasagna! A turkey pan is typically 16×13, plan accordingly.
Lasagna is obviously Italian, but how long ago was lasagna actually first made? I wondered this myself so I had to check it out. I found out that the first known recorded recipe of lasagna goes all the way back to the early 14th century during the middle ages!
The term “lasagne” means wide, flat sheets of pasta and is one of the oldest types of pasta around and is traditionally from Naples, Italy. There are two spellings, lasagna with an “a” and lasagne with an “e”.
Lasagne is the plural form which means more than one pasta sheet which is how you’ll find the spelling in Italy.
Lasagna is the singular form and is how it’s spelt in the states. I just have to say thank you to whoever decided to create this beautiful creation, we’d be seriously missing out without it!
People also tell me it is fabulous COLD, but I don’t care for cold lasagna. DO YOU? (Leave me a comment to let me know!)
Another frequently asked question I get for lasagna is how long do I cook lasagna? This is a loaded question and quite frankly varies from recipe to recipe, but a good starting point is 350 degrees for 1 hour for a thawed, 9×13 lasagna regardless of if the noodles are no-bake or boiled. It simply takes that long to heat all the way through and melt your cheese.
The good news is that all of your ingredients are cooked, so we aren’t worried about bringing it up to 145 degrees for sanitary reasons. If you did use no-bake noodles, insert a sharp knife into the center, if it easily glides through, your noodles are done. If there is a little resistance, it needs longer to cook.
Frozen lasagnas can take up to 2 hours or more to cook, depending on the size. For this giant lasagna, I recommend thawing it before cooking to shorten the cook time, otherwise it can take about 2 1/2 hours in the oven. But ovens vary and the size of the cooking vessel will also vary.
Lasagna is pretty hard to mess up- just don’t burn the top and make sure the knife glides!
If you liked this baked lasagna recipe, check out these other easy pasta recipes:
- Mexican Lasagna Rolls
- Green Chile Chicken Lasagna
- Lemony Artichoke Pesto with Pasta
- Squid Ink Pasta with White Wine Cream Sauce
Giant No Boil Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning divided
- 6 ounce bag baby spinach
- 1/2 white onion chopped
- 15 ounce can diced petite tomatoes drained
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 eggs
- 32 ounce ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
- 20 sheets no-boil lasagna
- 67 ounce marinara sauce
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
- 10 turkey sausage links sweet or spicy, cooked, remove from casing and crumbled, about 2 pounds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning through garlic. Toss well.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs. In a different mixing bowl, mix with ricotta and Parmesan cheeses.
- Set all ingredients near by. Spray turkey tray with cooking spray. Lay a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of the dish, then line with no-bake lasagna sheets. You may need to break a few to cover evenly. Follow with a layer of ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, turkey sausage and then spinach mixture. Continue the process starting with marinara. Only use 3 cups of shredded mozzarella. You should get through 3 layers. Gently press down and end with a thin layer of marinara sauce.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from oven, remove aluminum foil and top with remaining 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and remaining 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted and is bubbly.
- Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. Don’t worry, it will retain heat well. Slice and serve! Enjoy your Giant Lasagna!
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Hello I will be making your recipe for about fifty guest. What size pans should I use and measurements.
The pans we used are 13×16. You can adjust servings on the recipe card to fit your needs.
The ingredients list onion and canned tomatoes but the instructions make no mention of where you add these
Hi Katie, step #2 states “1 tablespoon Italian seasoning THROUGH garlic” which would include the onion and tomatoes. Enjoy the recipe!
Hello! I see the recipe calls for 10 turkey sausage links. How many pounds of turkey sausage is this? I already have ground sausage that I will be using. i just need to know aproximately how many pounds are in 10 links. Thank you.
Hi Vicki- great question and I’ll add it to the post. It is about 2 pounds of ground turkey sausage.
Thanks for answering my question and adding it to your post. I am excited about making this lasagna and can’t wait to tell you how it came out ! I have one more question please. I am not adding the spinach to my lasagna. Since I’ve already made up the mixture excluding the spinach, should I just use the mixture as one of the layers or add it to my marinara sauce? I wait for your reply. Thank you Jessica!
And now I’ve failed you cause this one was so late. I’m sorry! We were traveling back from our family vacation yesterday. Just use it as a layer, no need to add it to the marinara, although it wouldn’t hurt either. 🙂
How many servings does this make? What are the dimensions of a disposable turkey pan?
Hi Carla! I’d say it feeds 12-16, depending on appetites of course. I use one that is 120 fluid ounces, about 16×13 inches and 2 inches deep so you can stack a lot!
I’m making Lasagna without the turkey but just 4 cheese in a large 11 x 19″ size pan. I will be feeding 40 people maybe 45. I planned on making this size in 4 pans. Can you expand your recipe for this size pan? I took out the unbaked strips and they fit width wise perfectly so it will run 8 noodles across per layer taking 1 1/4 box per pan for 3 layers. (each box has about 20 per box). I’m also making a chicken alfredo with spinach too and did a test recipe and was fantastic in a small 8 x 8 pan and is so yummy. I will make one with hard salami and we will serve meatballs on the side with extra sauce for those who want meat with their meal.
Hi Mary, that is quite a feast and sounds delicious! The size of a typical turkey tray is 16×13, but without the crumbled turkey, it will probably fit just perfectly into a 11×19. I estimated about 12 servings per tray for mine (although we all know some people eat less and others WAY more)! I would just say to quadruple the recipe and make one batch per tray. Does that make sense?
There is also a tool where you can pop “45” into the servings and the recipe will update with how much of each ingredients you need, then you can just equally divide those among your 4 trays.
Make sure to come back and let us know how it all went!
In doing one to in a 11×19 was wandering howling to bake at 359
Hi Nora, probably 45-60 minutes. The good news about lasagna is that they are virtually impossible to completely mess up and all the ingredients are pre-cooked, so you are really just heating it up.
Hello,
The Italian seasoning and garlic mix is put together with which other ingredients?
the ricotta or Parmesan cheese ?
And what mix of spices do I need to get the Italian seasoning type?
Note: Just a suggestion if you put on top a little bit of bread crumbs it might be a good idea! =D
Hi Lucienne, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning,onion,baby spinach, garlic and canned tomatoes all get tossed together. The remaining tablespoon gets sprinkled on top. You can buy pre-mixed Italian seasoning or make your own mixing equal parts dried basil, parsley, thyme and oregano, even rosemary, if you’d like. I hope you enjoy- this is one of my families favorite recipes!
Where is spinach mixture. You don’t show what it is
Hi Vera! In step #3, it explains to add a layer of the spinach mixture and then repeat the layers. I hope that helps and I hope you enjoy this recipes as much as my family does. Cheers!
Step three doesn’t mention this…
I’ve updated the instructions (and photos) since the original comment (and response was made). The spinach mixture is now in step #2.
Just so I’m clear on the ingredients, but the no boil noodles, put them in dry, do not boil?
This is great Jessica. I’ll need to remember the tip about the pan next time I make lasagna for a crowd. Your recipe looks terrific and is a real crowd pleaser.
Thanks so much!
This looks fabulous! I have to feed a crowd in a couple of weeks so I am pinning this to make! And I love the idea of using a disposable pan to make cleanup a breeze. Thanks!
Great, Kristin! Let me know how it goes!
I like the look of this! Pinning this as well 🙂
Thanks!
Looks Scrumptious! Using a turkey roaster pan is a great idea.
Thank you Danielle! It is the only way to get a true “deep dish” lasagna.
My kids love lasagna, thanks for sharing!
You know what is funny, Stephanie? As a child I hated lasagna. I didn’t like my foods to touch, so I think that is where it came from. As an adult- I LOVE it!