This Is How You Should Freeze Lasagna For The Best Texture

Homemade lasagna is often prepped ahead of time because layering the sheets with ricotta, tomato sauce, and the rest of the ingredients can be time-consuming. However, you don't want to make a lasagna, cook it, then reheat it to serve later (gross). Instead, you can freeze the lasagna for another time. That said, there's a delicate process to allow the dish's texture to taste like it was just made from scratch before serving rather than days before.

The key before you freeze lasagna is to assemble it as if you were about to place it in the oven to cook it. When you freeze the dish before it's cooked, the texture of the lasagna sheets and ricotta filling will be preserved — which is essential when it comes time to serve and eat. To make it happen, assemble it according to the recipe, perhaps with our classic lasagna bolognese recipe. You can use a freezer-safe glass dish, or a heavy-duty aluminum pan to freeze the lasagna. To prevent freezer burn or loss of flavor, wrap the dish tightly with aluminum foil and mark the date if you don't intend to use it within a couple of days.

When you are ready to cook your frozen lasagna, there's not much more work to do. To reduce the cooking time, defrost the lasagna in your fridge overnight then bring it to room temperature just before cooking. You can also cook the frozen lasagna right out of the freezer, but it will take far longer to bake. Go with a temperature of around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If it's frozen it might take up to one-and-a-half hours to bake whereas a defrosted one will be ready in just under an hour. Hold off any garnishes like fresh herbs until after the lasagna comes out of the oven. Don't forget to follow our baking tips for lasagna to make sure all of that prep work doesn't go to waste.

There are many other mistakes people make with lasagna, but one mishap is to bake a lasagna that's been in the freezer for too long. In reality, lasagna can last for up to three months in a freezer set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Meanwhile, a refrigerated lasagna should be cooked and eaten within a couple of days due to all of the dairy content. When it's cooked, you have around five days to eat it to enjoy the best flavor and texture — and avoid spoiled or molded lasagna.