A Nice Cheese Lasagna
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
You May Also Like
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.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I lost my go to lasagne recipe and this recipe has taken its place. So delicious. Just curious if anyone has tried freezing it and if so, how did that work out? Thanks.
Hi Barbara, Glad you like it! And, yes, this can be frozen (but I’ll let any readers weigh in on whether or not they have frozen it b/c I have not).
This lasagna was a mouthful of cheesy deliciousness. When the dish was brought out of the oven, it was picture perfect. I did use more cheese, garlic and basil, but the flavors blended. I also used sour cream, as after 2 stores not finding creme fraiche, I moved on. The flavor in the sauce was great but next time I will make my own creme fraiche. This is sooooo good, I want to make it again this weekend!
Made it last night! Very light and not too filling. However I made it in a stoneware pan and it needed more cook time. Also I think I will let it sit longer because it was a little runny. But even my carnivore husband liked it❤
This was absolutely delicious. My entire family loved it and said it was a “keeper”. I love the simplicity of the recipe and ingredients (especially since I used the no boil lasagna noodles). I used 16 oz of mozzarella cheese since I didn’t want to waste any 🙂 but other than that and the noodles, I didn’t change a thing. One question, would you use diced or crushed tomatoes instead of the whole tomatoes to simplify the recipe even more or would that ruin the consistency of the sauce somehow?
Hi Adriene, Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did! I think you could definitely get away with using diced tomatoes — or 1 can diced, 1 can crushed — but I’d avoid using all crushed.
Hi Jen,
Can I use two, 28-oz. cans of crushed tomatoes instead of whole ones / breaking them up? Or could that throw off the consistency and make it too soupy (even after resting)?
Thank you!
Hi Kelly, I would use diced tomatoes or 1 can diced, 1 can crushed. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it that way.
Made this tonight and paired it with the focaccia and a green salad. This was hands down our favorite lasagna recipe (and that it was by far the easiest to make is just a bonus!). Probably added a little more cheese and next time, I will blend the tomato before adding the creme fraiche… This and the focaccia were HUGE hits. Definitely make this recipe.
I made this lasagna and it was delicious. I’m one to make it with bechamel sauce and just regular pasta. However after trying this one I dont think I’m going back. The sauce was delicious and I could not taste the difference between regular pasta and the no boil pasta.
Hi Jen,
Loving the new ” pair with” button! Just to clarify, the fresh pasta doesn’t need to be boiled first before assembly, right?
So glad, Lu! And yes that’s right – the pasta does not need to be boiled first.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I would mix in a bag of fresh spinach once the sauce is prepared and if you want to take it up a notch, maybe add a few links of ground sausage that’s already been sauteed. The recipe was great as is but I always look for ways to get a few more veggies and some more protein into my meals.
Jen, really adding mushrooms to this recipe. Do I cook them first or put in raw? Thanks. Susan
Hi Susan, I’d definitely cook them first. Please come back and lmk how it turns out :).
I cooked the mushrooms in butter and also thawed some frozen spinach and added both in as a layer. I am not sure about the mushrooms, perhaps they should have been cooked longer. Not sure that I would use them again but definitely the spinach. The sauce is delicious.
All good to know– thanks for the follow up and glad you enjoyed it!