Post, photos, and recipe updated from the archives. The original post was first published in September 2009.
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For those who have followed along for a while, it’s no secret that around this time of year I wax poetic about the ending of summer (despite the fact that there are still several weeks if not a couple of months of warm weather ahead) and my love for all things fall. I can’t help it, it’s almost September (aka my personal kickoff to comfort food season) and I like to get a little headstart with something that bridges the freshness of summer with the coziness of fall like this spinach lasagna.
So, I’ll skip the autumn musings and cut right to the chase with this herb-filled lasagna made with a creamy white sauce, fresh spinach, and three kinds of cheese. The herbs are a nod to summer and the rest of it is layers of cheese and sauce tucked between tender sheets of pasta. Plus, it’s a small batch spinach lasagna which means there’s just enough for an indulgent dinner for four without tons of leftovers haunting you from the fridge.
Spinach Lasagna Ingredients
- It all starts with some fresh spinach and a generous amount of fresh herbs. I used parsley, basil, and chives which is a nice summery blend. I cook the spinach until it wilts, along with some onion and garlic, and add the herbs right at the end.
- The white sauce is just a simple combination of butter, flour, and milk. You can make it in the same pan you used to cook the spinach.
- One of the cheese layers is ricotta cheese mixed with salt, pepper, and an egg.
- For the pasta, I like to use oven-ready flat lasagna noodles (instead of ones with curly edges). I like Barilla brand. You might need to break off a little of the edge so the uncooked noodles fit in an 8 x 8 baking dish.
- The spinach and herbs, white sauce, and ricotta mixture are layered between the pasta along with some shredded provolone and parmesan cheese.
While there are a few steps to get this spinach lasagna to the table the whole thing comes together in under an hour. It’s a rich and cheesy pasta dish.
Happy almost fall, everyone!
More Small-Batch Recipes
Sometimes, when I don’t want to deal with leftovers, I like to make recipes that serve only one or two people. It’s especially nice when you want something decadent, but only for one night and not a whole week.
If you love smaller scale recipes you might like my cookbook, Gourmet Cooking for One (or Two), which has 75 dinner recipes or here are a few of my favorite recipes here on the site…
- Creamy Gruyere Spaghetti for Two
- Salsa Verde Taco Soup for Two
- 10-Minute Tomato Basil Soup for One
- Bucatini all’ Amatriciana
- Eggs in Purgatory
Small-Batch Spinach Lasagna
This rich and cheesy lasagna has fresh summer herbs and layers of spinach, cheese, and white sauce. It’s a cozy dinner that takes less than an hour to get on the table.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients
For the Spinach and Herbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 3 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 pinches black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
For the White Sauce
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
For the Ricotta Filling
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- 2 pinches black pepper
Everything Else
- 6 ounces shredded provolone cheese
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 8 oven-ready flat lasagna noodles (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Make the Spinach and Herbs
- In a 10-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook them in the oil for about one minute, or until they are fragrant. Add the spinach and cook it with the onion and garlic until it’s wilted, stirring frequently. Add the salt and pepper, stir, and turn off the heat. Add the chopped herbs, stir to combine, and transfer the mixture to a bowl or plate to cool.
Make the White Sauce
- In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it’s melted, add the flour and stir to combine. Cook the flour and butter for 30 seconds to a minute stirring continuously.
- Grab a whisk and add the milk, a little at a time, whisking continuously. Adding the milk in batches will ensure your sauce is smooth. Once you’ve added all the milk cook the sauce for another minute or so until it’s thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat and transfer the sauce to a bowl.
Make the Ricotta Filling
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, salt, and pepper. At this point, you’re ready to start assembling the lasagna so place all of the fillings near your baking dish.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Spoon enough white sauce to lightly coat the bottom of the baking dish. Place two uncooked lasagna noodles on top of the sauce.
- Top the noodles with 1/3 of the spinach-herb mixture and spread it into an even layer. Top the spinach with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Top the ricotta with 1/4 each of provolone and parmesan cheese. Place two more noodles on top of the cheese.
- Spread about 1/2 of the white sauce on the noodles. Top with another layer of the spinach-herb mixture (leaving enough for one more layer) followed by more ricotta (leaving enough for one more layer). Add another layer of provolone and parm (leaving 1/2 for the rest of the layers). Top the cheese with two more noodles.
- Top the noodles with the rest of the spinach mixture followed by the rest of the ricotta. Add more cheese (leaving enough for the last layer). Top the cheese with the last two noodles.
- Spread the rest of the sauce over the noodles. Top the sauce with the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the top.
Bake the Lasagna
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted on top. Rest the lasagna for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- I like to use Barilla oven-ready flat lasagna noodles.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 725
- Sugar: 6.4
- Sodium: 995.2mg
- Fat: 47.6g
- Saturated Fat: 27g
- Unsaturated Fat: 17.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 44.2g
- Fiber: 2.8g
- Protein: 31.4g
- Cholesterol: 176.9mg
Keywords: spinach lasagna, white lasagna recipe, small-batch lasagna recipe
Fran says
Sounds delish! What size of baking dish do you use?
Fran says
Wait! I see it now, sorry! 8×8 🙂
April Anderson says
I hope you like the recipe!
Melanie says
Do you think that fresh pasta sheets would work just as well?
Also, a bunch of comments from 2009 mention pesto in the recipe but I don’t see any reference to it. Was it omitted or was the recipe redone?
April says
I’m not sure how fresh pasta sheets would work because I’ve only used dried. The original recipe from 2009 was very different and I updated it (there’s a note about this right under the first photo)- this new one doesn’t have pesto in it.
Ruth says
Excellent recipe!!!!!!!
Andrea@WellnessNotes says
What a beautiful lasagna. I love the pesto in it!
Rose says
I love lasagne, the veggie kind. What a great idea to put pesto in.
The place in your last post looks amazing!!
Rose
Jessie says
mmmm I would have never thought of adding pesto to lasagna, i can imagine how much great flavoring pesto gives to the lasagna, I’m just drooling thinking about it 🙂
Robert says
Wow Girl gone Gourmet! This looks like an awesome dish! Great work.
Simply Life says
Oh I’m sure the pesto adds so much incredible flavor! What a great idea!
Southern Grace Gourmet says
Looks amazing, I love your secret Pesto, what a great idea!
Fearless Kitchen says
I’ve never had a guest who wasn’t impressed by homemade lasagne…. yours looks really tasty. The pesto is an interesting touch!
Table Talk says
I love making lasagna like this using fresh summer vegetables like roasted red pepper, yellow squash, and eggplant. Your pesto idea is a nice addition.
Cookin' Canuck says
Pesto would be a lovely surprise to discover. What a tasty-looking lasagna!
Mardi @eatlivetravelwrite says
OOOH – I do this also – it’s a great surprise to find buried in the dish!
Divina Pe says
Beautiful lasange. I want my lasagne with sausage too. The spicy one. But yours looks really delicious especially with the addition of pesto.