Making lasagna for the freezer.

henmuffin

I'm going to make some lasagna for the freezer today. I have the bolognaise made but do I then cook it with the lasagna sheets and white sauce before freezing or just assemble without cooking and then freeze? Many thanks.

krlyr

I make bolognese, freeze and then assemble into lasagne (defrost mince in micro until separated, not necessarily hot, layer with pasta and freshly made sauce, then whack in oven for 20 mins) but only so that I have more options on what to use the bolognese for. You can freeze the assembled lasagne if you'd rather - making sure your top layer was white sauce rather than pasta sheets to stop it drying out would be best I think.

Pink.

I never cook lasagne before freezing.....just layer it up as usual, allow it to cool and pop it into the freezer.

I have found in the past that even part cooking it means that the top is over cooked before the middle is piping hot. Saying that, I cook mine in the oven. If you're reheating it in the microwave then that wouldn't be an issue. Once frozen and defrosted lasagne becomes more 'solid' so if you are making it to freeze then make the sauces slightly sloppier than you would if you were planning to serve it immediately.

There's an earlier thread with tips on freezing and defrosting lasagne that should help:

Lasagne - freezing and defrosting questions

I'll add this thread to that one later.

Pink

good_advice

I have made up lasagna many times.
I often batch cook.

Make up the lasagna as normal whole dish and when cold divide it into portions. Pop in freezer bags and in the freezer.

When requires, I get out of freezer the night before to defrost. Pop it in the oven in a glass dish for half an hour.

I find with reheating in the microwave you sometimes have cold spots of dinner.

Happy cooking

Meadows

You don't have to cook the pasta sheets when doing a Lasagne as the oven can sometimes dry them out when pre cooked whereas covered in the the meat & sauce the heat will cook the dry pasta (just make sure all is covered on top by the sauce).
Once put together (cooked or dry pasta) it does not have to be cooked again (as long as meat is cooked) before being frozen.

If you make up you will have a quick meal from the freezer by either defrosting and reheating or cooking longer from frozen (ensuring it is thoroughly heated through). Or you can freeze enough sauce to be able to defrost and make up a Lasagne next time.

WishICouldFindMySlippers

At work we cook the layered lasagne, then cool it before portioning it and freezing it. Make sure it's fully defrosted before reheating though, best to take it out breakfast-time. Quick blast in the micro, sprinkle of extra cheese, then into the oven for 10-15 mins until middle is piping hot

krlyr

WishICouldFindMySlippers wrote: »

At work we cook the layered lasagne, then cool it before portioning it and freezing it. Make sure it's fully defrosted before reheating though, best to take it out breakfast-time. Quick blast in the micro, sprinkle of extra cheese, then into the oven for 10-15 mins until middle is piping hot

Personally I never worry about a day's defrosting - my freezer meals are a godsend for grabbing out whatever we fancy when we get in from work without having to pre-plan. 5-10 mins in the microwave gets it mostly warmed through and then 20-25 in the oven (which we do with lasagne, cottage pie, etc. anyway to crisp the top up) and it's always piping hot all the way through. Making sure it's not too near the top of the oven prevents the top burning before the middle is warm, or if it really needs it, a bit of foil on top does the trick too.
If it's something like bolognese on its own, to serve with pasta or rice, I microwave for 5 mins then give it a good stir before microwaving for the remainder, so it heats through evenly.

maman

krlyr wrote: »

I make bolognese, freeze and then assemble into lasagne (defrost mince in micro until separated, not necessarily hot, layer with pasta and freshly made sauce, then whack in oven for 20 mins) but only so that I have more options on what to use the bolognese for. You can freeze the assembled lasagne if you'd rather - making sure your top layer was white sauce rather than pasta sheets to stop it drying out would be best I think.

This is my reasoning too and portions of sauce in the freezer take up a lot less space. I can see that ready cooked portions would be useful for perhaps taking to work for lunch or a quick ping when CBA.

For various reasons I've done all three (separate, cooked and assembled ready for cooking). All work so it depends on your circumstances which you choose.

sonastin

If I've cooked too much (i.e. assembled it in the larger dish by mistake - have 2 sizes which look the same!), it goes into the freezer in plastic tubs and reheated in micro later. If I've made an excessive amount of bolognaise but got the cheese sauce right (I'm good at that!) it gets frozen on its own, defrosted fully and assembled into lasagne with fresh cheese sauce (or excess frozen from cauli-cheese) and oven cooked as normal. If I've succeeded in properly batch cooking as I always plan to do, it gets assembled in a foil tray, frozen and then cooked in the oven either from frozen or defrosted depending on time available, whether I remember to defrost, etc.

fiscalfreckles

I pre cook the bolognese but then assemble it , cool & freeze without further cooking.
I think the pasta sheets go a bit too soggy if they are cooked & reheated.
As others have said though, ensure the pasta is completely submerged, or it will warp.