topic Re: Freezing lasagne in Recipes

Freezing lasagne

Kokob — Wed, 21 May 2014 00:39:36 GMT

I'm taking some frozen lasagna to our beach house. My questions...should I freeze it before I bake it or after, and will no boil noodles work either way? Thanks!

Re: Freezing lasagne

Annabellethecat66 — Wed, 21 May 2014 00:41:51 GMT

I hate to brag.....well....OK, I will. I'm kind of known for my wonderful lasagna.

Anyway, I usually boil the noodles and put all of it together. I just don't put it in the oven for the noodles (outsides to turn crisp) and the cheese to melt.

I wait until I take it out of the freezer to put it in hot oven for all of that.

Re: Freezing lasagne

sandy53 — Wed, 21 May 2014 00:43:17 GMT

Freeze it before you bake it. I don't know how well no boil noodles free, but traditional noodles freeze well.

Re: Freezing lasagne

chickenbutt — Wed, 21 May 2014 00:44:55 GMT

I bake mine, let it cool completely, then I cut it into squares, freeze them, then vacuum seal them and they keep beautiful in the freezer for ages. That way we can have lasagne all year long. I make mine in a 17x12" pan, so it's pretty large - many many meals.

I don't know about the 'no boil' pasta, however. I'm not one for shortcuts with some things and my lasagne is one of those things. That's probably why it takes me two days to make it. But it's worth it!

Now I want lasagne. darn

Re: Freezing lasagne

adelle38 — Wed, 21 May 2014 00:44:56 GMT

I've always baked first and then frozen it. It always comes out great.

Re: Freezing lasagne

Kokob — Wed, 21 May 2014 02:25:21 GMT

Annabellthecat... Would you share your recipe? Thank you all for your recommendations.

Re: Freezing lasagne

KYToby — Wed, 21 May 2014 02:54:12 GMT

My personal preference is to freeze it after baking. Once it cools to room temperature, you can either freeze it in the pan (well wrapped), or cut it into portions, wrap each one well, and freeze. If doing the latter, I have found it best to refrigerate overnight before portioning out.

While a number of people do freeze before baking, I have found that the pasta becomes mushy and the overall texture suffers.

Re: Freezing lasagne

Pickwickpapers — Wed, 21 May 2014 03:13:00 GMT

I am not a great cook but I am not bad either. I am told that my lasagna recipes are very good but personally I am never very really pleased when I have my frozen lasagna either before cooking or after. If I had to choose freezing first is a bit better using pasta that is slightly underdone. Cover the pan with foil while cooking but remove for the last five minutes.....

Re: Freezing lasagne

deb5555 — Wed, 21 May 2014 13:25:20 GMT

If you bake it and freeze it, it will marry the flavors. I do this all the time, it just tastes better.

Re: Freezing lasagne

deb5555 — Thu, 22 May 2014 13:56:13 GMT

Have fun at your beach house, your so lucky!

Re: Freezing lasagne

dfyre — Thu, 22 May 2014 16:28:31 GMT

I guess I'm a little different - whenever I make lasagna, I always make two pans since it's not much more time consuming than only making one and freeze one for another time. I use the Barilla no-cook noodles and freeze BEFORE baking. I consider it "money in the bank" having that extra pan there for whenever I might need it. Never had a problem going from freezer to oven. Start out (covered) in a low (300) oven for about an hour and then turn it up to 350 and bake another half hour or so. Then it needs to sit for about 20 minutes before serving. This is coming from a 100% Italian from North Jersey who has made a LOT of lasagna - lol.

Re: Freezing lasagne

poshmini — Thu, 22 May 2014 17:00:09 GMT

I bake mine first then cut in squares (sizes you would like), then freeze it in containers. It's great to reheat and not have to wait so long to let the whole thing bake, if you did freeze it before baking it. I never use any short cuts, I buy good noodles and ingredients, if not it won't be as good. Stick to the traditional way you'll be happier you did.

Re: Freezing lasagne

chrystaltree — Thu, 22 May 2014 17:23:23 GMT

I bake it and freeze it. Everyone I know bakes it and then freezes it. That's what makes the freezing a time saver. If you freeze it uncooked, you have to thaw it and then bake it and you really haven't saved yourself much time.

Re: Freezing lasagne

shoptilyadropagain — Thu, 22 May 2014 20:15:54 GMT

I also bake mine first and then freeze it in individual servings.

Re: Freezing lasagne

PurpleBunny — Thu, 22 May 2014 20:18:59 GMT

I freeze it ALL the time after it's been baked. Works out great!!

Re: Freezing lasagne

stevieb — Fri, 23 May 2014 00:51:49 GMT

It works either way...

Re: Freezing lasagne

Baby Alice — Sun, 25 May 2014 03:51:21 GMT

I always bake first then freeze. The no boil GF pasta noodles are a must! It's really tricky to boil rice or corn noodles as they can turn to mush if you're not careful. First time I used the no boil noodles I was convenience... So, if you are gluten free, give it a try... Then, freeze the left overs! Have fun and enjoy!