Make The Ultimate One-Pan Lasagna With This Pillowy Pasta Swap (You'll Never Go Back)

Lasagna is a classic comfort food for a reason. Those decadently stacked layers of thin noodles, combined with the special Italian Sunday sauce, meat (or veggies), and copious amounts of cheese, make for a rich bite that is just as good on the first day as it is for lunch the next. There are endless lasagna recipes and variations that veer from the classic lasagna Bolognese, including those that swap the creamy ricotta for cream cheese or add fun additions like citrus, herbs, and unique veggies. However, those thin noodles are usually a mainstay... that is, until now. 

If you want to give your lasagna a different mouthfeel, try swapping out the conventional lasagna noodles for gnocchi. A.J. Forget's one-pan gnocchi lasagna bake surely veers from the traditional recipe, but it is much more delicious and offers an excellent textual contrast between the pillowy, potatoey bites, acidic sauce, and decadent cheese. Besides this unique textural addition, the recipe can be made in one vessel; the gnocchi will cook in the tomato sauce as the mixture bakes, which means you won't have to dirty a separate pot boiling the pasta.

You can use this noodle swap for almost any lasagna recipe; you just may need to cook the gnocchi separately, depending on how much moisture or sauce is in your recipe. Gnocchi has a fairly neutral flavor — it's carby and starchy, sure, but it pairs well with red, white, or olive oil-based sauces. For one, gnocchi and sage are an excellent pairing and would complement a creamy, root-vegetable-based sauce made with butternut squash and carrots. Add sage to the sauce, or pan-fry crispy sage leaves on top before serving.

If you're a fan of conventional tomato sauces, try taking a page from Jennine Rye's cheesy gnocchi and roasted pepper bake recipe's playbook and create a smoky, savory sauce with roasted tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Either way you go, don't forget to layer your asagna with plenty of cheese. You can also make your own gnocchi for these adaptations, though there's a reason why it's so hard to make gnocchi at home. It's the same reason why store-bought gnocchi is the popular option — and you can even find ones that swap the potatoes for another ingredient, like butternut squash or cauliflower.