Cheesy Spinach Lasagna
I’ve been making this Cheesy Spinach Lasagna for years, and it’s always a winner at my holiday gatherings and special occasions. It’s super hearty, delivers the saucy and satisfying richness of classic lasagna, and yet it’s surprisingly simple to prepare.
What makes it even better is that you can skip the extra step of boiling noodles (thanks mom for the tip!), making this lasagna a cinch to assemble without any hassle. The combination of lean ground turkey and nutrient-packed spinach keeps it light and healthy, while still providing that rich, comforting flavor and texture we crave. Plus, it’s a great make-ahead meal that can be refrigerated or frozen, saving you time on busy days.
You can also have fun with it—decorate the top to match the holiday theme, whether it’s a snowman, Christmas tree, or even a Chanukah menorah. Once, I even spelled out the name of my daughter Jesse in colorful pepper sticks to celebrate her birthday!
Feel free to use any tomato or marinara sauce you prefer, and if you happen to find whole-grain lasagna noodles at the store—bonus points! Also, I’m using frozen spinach (thawed and drained) for convenience, but feel free to swap it for fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped and added in. The same flexibility applies to the herbs and garlic: if you prefer fresh basil over dried, or garlic cloves instead of powder, go for it!
Try this Grilled Chicken Parm!
Cheesy Spinach Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey, 90 to 94% lean
- 1 (24-ounce) jar tomato or marinara sauce
- 2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 4 minced garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained of all water
- 9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 1 ½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the turkey sauce. Liberally mist a deep skillet or pan with nonstick oil spray and warm over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and cook for about 7 minutes, breaking it up with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until fully cooked. Add the marinara sauce and ½ cup of water to the cooked turkey, stir to combine, then cover and turn off the heat. Set aside.
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick oil spray.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, garlic powder, pepper, basil, and oregano until well combined. Add the thawed and well-drained spinach to the mixture, stirring until fully incorporated.
- Assemble lasagna. Spread about ½ cup of the meat sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on top. Spread half of the spinach-ricotta mixture over the noodles, followed by about 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat this process with another layer of noodles, the remaining spinach-ricotta mixture, and more meat sauce. Place the final 3 noodles on top and pour the remaining meat sauce over everything, trying your best to evenly distribute it.
- Top with cheese and bake. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top. Carefully pour about ½ cup of water around the edges of the pan (this helps cook the noodles while it’s baking in the oven). Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Let the lasagna cool and set for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Lasagna can be stored in the refrigerator (in a sealed pan or container) for up to 4 days. To freeze, let it cool completely, then wrap individual slices or the entire lasagna and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, cover and place in the oven at 350°F until warmed through. Uncover towards the end to get the cheese nice and bubbly. Alternatively, you can reheat single servings in the microwave.
- To make this vegetarian, replace the meat with cooked lentils, canned black or white beans (rinsed and drained), sautéed chopped mushrooms, or swap in a plant-based ground meat substitute.
- For an extra dose of vegetables, mix in finely chopped, pre-sautéed zucchini, bell peppers, or mushrooms into the ricotta mixture. Make sure the veggies are pre-cooked before adding to the cheese for the best results.
- To make this gluten-free, simply use gluten-free lasagna noodles.
- To add a festive twist, decorate the top of the lasagna for special occasions, like Christmas, Chanukah or a birthday. For a snowman, use three slices of tomatoes in different sizes for the body, olives for eyes and buttons, and a carrot slice for the nose. For a Christmas tree, arrange baby spinach leaves into a tree shape and decorate with star-shaped bell peppers and cherry tomato ornaments. For a Chanukah menorah, use the same vegetable pieces to create the shape of a menorah. To spell out the name of a birthday celebrant, use pepper or carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, tomatoes slices and more.
Are the lasagna noodles the dry uncooked ones or the pre-cooked noodles?
Hi Mary-Caryl, thanks for your question! The noodles are dry (uncooked) for this dish. Joy shares a trick in step 5 about pouring water around the edges of the pan to help cook the noodles as the lasagna bakes. Hoping you love the recipe as much as we do!
—Team Joy
Thank you so much. Family loves spinach and this will be something new for them.
So glad to hear that, Betty!
Hi. Two questions- can I use the already no boil lasagna instead and if so do I need to add the water? Also I am
Confused why the cooking time is so long? 45 minutes covered then additional 30 minutes uncovered? I have made traditional lasagna but only cooked for 30min covered then 15 minutes uncovered. I really want to try this. I love spinach! Thank you
Hi Pat, this recipe was designed specifically for no-boil (the standard type that’s dry, uncooked and hard) lasagna noodles! That’s why I included the extra liquid (½ cup water)—it helps cook the noodles right in the oven without having to pre-boil (one less pot to clean) and creates perfectly tender noodles every time! As for the cook time (45 minutes covered + 30 minutes uncovered), it is longer than a traditional lasagna cook time, but this extended time helps fully cook the dry noodles and soften the spinach filling as well as set the layers, which will enable you to slice more easily.
I think from your question, you may be asking about using already boiled noodles, and in that case, you would not
need to use the water and yes, the bake time would be shortened.
Hoping you love the recipe—it’s one of my family’s favorites!