A Nice Cheese Lasagna
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From cookbook author Julia Turshen, this cheese lasagna is light, simple, and elegant—a fresh take on a classic that’s as effortless as it is delicious!
This cheese lasagna recipe is adapted from Julia Turshen’s cookbook, Small Victories (2016), and it’s one of the simplest, lightest, and most elegant lasagna I’ve ever made. The recipe includes a few “small victories” that make it both easy and delicious: using no-boil noodles that are ready to use, replacing ricotta or béchamel with crème fraîche stirred directly into the tomato sauce for effortless creaminess (I love this cheat—the sauce is so good it’s hard to resist sneaking spoonfuls!), and a high sauce-to-pasta ratio that lets the noodles soak up the sauce’s flavor as they bake. It’s proof that lasagna doesn’t have to be complicated to be absolutely delicious.
“This is a lovely lasagna.”
What You’ll Need To Make Cheese Lasagna
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands (this is a messy but fun job—it’s a very good one for children) until they are in bite-size pieces.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the garlic until it begins to sizzle.
Add the tomatoes and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer, stirring every so often, until it is slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.
Whisk the crème fraîche into the sauce and season to taste with salt. Set the sauce aside to cool to room temperature while you conquer the pasta.
Preheat your oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Ladle a thin layer of room-temperature sauce onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-in baking dish. Spread the sauce with a spoon to cover the surface of the dish. Add 3 sheets of pasta in a single layer over the sauce.
Spoon over just enough tomato sauce to cover the pasta and then scatter over some of the Parmesan, mozzarella, and basil.
Repeat the layering process until you’ve used up all of your components, ending with sauce and cheese (not naked pasta or basil, both of which would burn if exposed).
Bake the lasagna, uncovered, until it’s gorgeously browned and the edges are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This lets the pasta fully absorb all of the bubbling sauce, so you don’t end up with soupy slices.
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A Nice Cheese Lasagna
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 2 (28-oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup crème fraîche
For Assembling
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I like Barilla)
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1½ cups coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese
- 2 large handfuls fresh basil leaves torn into small pieces if large
Instructions
For the Sauce
- In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands (this is a messy but fun job—it’s a very good one for children) until they are in bite-size pieces.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until it begins to sizzle, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer, stirring every so often, until it is slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.
- Whisk the crème fraîche into the sauce and season to taste with salt. Set the sauce aside to cool to room temperature while you conquer the pasta.
For the Lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Ladle a thin layer of room-temperature sauce onto the bottom of a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) baking dish. Spread the sauce with a spoon to cover the surface of the dish. Add 3 sheets of pasta in a single layer over the sauce. Spoon over just enough tomato sauce to cover the pasta, and then scatter over some of the Parmesan, mozzarella, and basil. Repeat the layering process until you’ve used up all of your components, ending with sauce and cheese (not naked pasta or basil, both of which would burn if exposed).
- Bake the lasagna, uncovered, until it’s gorgeously browned and the edges are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This lets the pasta fully absorb all of the bubbling sauce, so you don’t end up with soupy slices.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Meatless and full of fresh flavor! I’m not much of a pasta person but for whatever reason, this recipe spoke to me. Made it last night, with the stormy rain and blowing wind outside and the smells of this lasagna cooking inside. I did not skimp on the fresh basil measurement, and this really helped promote the freshness. There is only one problem with this meal: It’s really hard to stop eating it!
If I could give this ten stars, I would!
Made a half batch tonight adding a sautéed diced onion, a sautéed diced red pepper and 8 oz. sautéed sliced mushrooms to the sauce. Everything else the same, except I added a little bit more of the Parmesan and Mozzarella just because! I used 6 Barilla oven ready lasagna sheets. Great Consistency; right amount of sauce. My grocery store puts the Creme fraiche in the specialty cheese section near the crumbled cheeses. My husband said its the best ever and not to go back to my heavier meat lasagna. I always read reviews and enjoyed all the comments. I have a great stainless 8.5 x 8.5 inch pan that was perfect. Next time I’ll make the full recipe.
I love getting the emails with great inspiring ideas like this one. Thanks, Jenn
This is the best lasagna ever….bar none! I have made this numerous times and guests have raved about it!
Can’t wait to try this! Quick question, if I wanted to add mild Italian turkey sausage (the kind I use for your amazing ziti recipe), how much would you use? Thank you!!
Hi Shelley, I’d suggest 1 pound of sausage. in this. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks so much! I love your recipes and your book!
❤️
DELICIOUS!!!! I love your recipes. Thank you.
Hello Jenn
I love all your recipes and I love your book. I have made the lasagna recipe many times in a9x13 pan. I would like to use a 4 qt (10.5″ x 14.75″) casserole for a larger crowd. How would you adjust the volume of sauce and the number of no cook noodles? Thank you Mary
Hi Mary, Not 100 percent sure, but I would guesstimate that you’d need to multiply the recipe by 1 1/4.
Made lasagna yesterday, using this recipe as a reference. My best take away from it besides using basil instead of oregano was mixing the cheese in with the tomato sauce for the tomato sauce layers and layering the other cheeses, the Parmesan and mozzarella, for the cheese layers. This made the whole process so much easier! What a terrific recipe!
Hi Jenn,
I’m planning on making this along with your Garlic and Herb Ciabatta. I also want to make your Caprese Salad. Will that salad pair well with this or will it be tomato overload?
Thank you,
Jenny
Hi Jenny, I think the Caprese salad would work; I might just arrange the tomato and cheese slices over a bed of arugula to add some greens.
The title of this recipe is very apt. It is nice. It is light and fresh tasting, and if one could say there is such a thing as “summer lasagna”, this would be it. It went together well and is super easy. One could add sausage or mushrooms (or both) and easily change this dish up. In the future, I might use more cheese and maybe a square pan instead of a 9×13. I would like it to be a bit taller. AND, I learned to make my own creme fraiche! That’s going on everything now lol.
And another outstanding recipe from you, Jenn! After wiping off the drool from your pictures, I went straight to my kitchen! I have never made lasagna as it was always such a cumbersome endeavor. But this? So fast, so easy and OMG so delicious! My hubby was a bit sceptical as tomato sauce is HIS bailiwick in the kitchen…..but he was bowled over as was I! I added chopped dried bird’s eye chilis, plus some Sri Lankan dried chili flakes to make it spicy and it was utterly fantastic. The lightness and delicacy of the lasagna was incredible. I had a small amount of precooked italian sausage and added it in. Just a hint of meat. But made it second time without and every bit as good. Now, I am making just the sauce once a week and putting it over the pasta choice of the week and adding sauteed mushrooms, pan crisped pancetta, or whatever else I am in the mood for. I have to make extra as 2 of my neighbors ask for a takeaway whenever I make it!
Thanks again for another Grand Slam recipe!
just a question ; so i have DECECCO Lasagne no.1 where it says to cook in the oven for 24 min at 425 do i use this time or the time in the recipe ?
Are they no-boil lasagna noodles? If so, I’d use the instructions from my recipe. If they aren’t no-boil, I’d suggest purchasing that variety for this dish.