White Lasagna With Sausage and Ricotta Recipe
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
1 hour, 10 minutes
Servings:
8 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound Italian pork sausage
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
  • 2 large handfuls baby spinach
  • ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 (16-ounce) container whole milk ricotta
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan
  • 2 ½ cups grated low-moisture mozzarella
  • 12 (or more, if needed) store-bought oven-ready lasagna noodles
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the sausage from its casing and cook, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove and reserve to the side.
  3. In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. Once melted, add the sliced onions and stir to coat. Mix in the thyme, sage, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to low and let it rest, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over medium heat for the ricotta béchamel.
  5. To create a blonde roux, melt ¼ cup butter in the saucepan until bubbling. Lower the heat and whisk in the flour, stirring for 4 minutes or until the raw flour smell dissipates and you're left with a nutty scent.
  6. Slowly add in the milk, continuously whisking until the béchamel has a smooth consistency. Raise the heat to medium-high. Right after it reaches a boil, remove it from the heat. Fold in the ricotta, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and garlic powder. Set aside.
  7. Once the onions have softened and begun to brown, deglaze the pan with white wine, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir, scraping up anything stuck to the pan. Boil until the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the balsamic glaze. Remove the onions from the pan and set to the side.
  8. Over medium heat, add the spinach to the same skillet and let it wilt down, about 2 minutes. Remove from the skillet and reserve.
  9. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Spread a fourth of the ricotta béchamel onto the bottom of the dish. Top with 2 to 4 lasagna noodles, depending on their size. Cover with half of the cooked sausage, caramelized onions, and spinach. Sprinkle a third of both the grated Parmesan and mozzarella, then another fourth of the béchamel. Cover with another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat.
  10. Top with the final layer of lasagna sheets, the last fourth of the béchamel, and last third of the mozzarella and Parmesan.
  11. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes.
  12. Rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.