Our family loves pasta — specifically lasagna — and I love that when I make lasagna, we have enough for another full meal of leftovers later in the week.
The one and only thing I do NOT like about lasagna is boiling the noodles. For starters, we really don’t have a pan large enough to fit the noodles, and they sometimes break as I try to gently ease them into the boiling water.
Also, if I don’t stir the noodles, they stick together and get clumpy, but if I do stir them, they rip or tear. And even if I don’t rip or tear them during the boiling process, I’m almost guaranteed to rip or tear them when I’m trying to pull them out of the pot.
Boiling the noodles is definitely my least favorite part of making lasagna.
I used to buy the no-boil noodles… until I realized I was paying more for a smaller package, AND that the instructions were exactly the same except the no-boil noodles required double the sauce.
This got my frugal brain churning, and a couple years ago I decided to see if making lasagna with regular noodles and doubling the sauce would give me the same results as using the more expensive no-boil noodles and doubling the sauce.
To my surprise, it seemed to work pretty well!
Then I did a little bit of research, and I realized that the only difference between regular lasagna noodles and no-boil lasagna noodles is that no-boil lasagna noodles are pre-boiled for a bit before drying — otherwise, they are exactly the same.
After tweaking my favorite lasagna recipes a few different times, I landed on a method that seems to work extremely well for me… it easily cuts 15 minutes (and lots of frustration) off my lasagna prep time!
The “secret” to not boiling your lasagna noodles:
Simply double the sauce and add one cup of water (either mixed in with your sauce or just dumped over the lasagna before you put the final layer of cheese on top).
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel that not boiling the noodles first leaves more of a “starchy” taste to the meal — but no one in our household seems to mind.
That said, if I was making this for company or to bring to someone else, I would probably boil the noodles first.
A Few of My Favorite Lasagna Recipes:
- Creamy Cheesy Chicken Lasagna (this is SO delicious!)
- Three-Cheese Lasagna Roll-ups (yes, you have to boil the noodles for these)
- 10-Minute Homemade Lasagna (using my no-boil noodle method)
- Lasagna Pasta Bake (tastes just like lasagna but doesn’t use lasagna noodles)
Have you ever tried this method for DIY no-boil noodles?
Karen says
I just made Lasagna with no boil noodles. Cooked it 75 minutes. They weren’t still soft enough. Plenty of sauce and I did add 1/4 c water. It was runnier than I am use to. So.. next time I’m boiling. I appreciate finding your method. Might try with just normal noodles. Thanks.
Andrea says
hmmmm… that’s strange. Sorry you didn’t have success your first time. Does your oven traditionally take longer to cook things? definitely try it again sometime… maybe the noodles were off 🙂
Gayle Bury says
I have put noodles in sink with very hot or boiling water and let them soak for a little while check to make sure they are pliable and that works. I did it with large shells also before filling and it worked great.
Andrew Taylor says
I just soak mine in hot tap water for about 30 minutes. Gets rid of the starchy taste and bakes to perfect al dente. After assembling, I let sit in fridge overnight and bake the next day. Explosive.
Edyth says
My mom is 85, she’s always used both and my favorite noodles is the rotoni, rigatoni. That’s how my grandma and great grandma, did it too and of course me. I love it that way, more girth to it and so much better. I also use mozzarella and monterrey jack cheese, try it and the flavor is amazing.
Andrea says
sounds delicious!
Chris Donofrio says
When I boil lasagna noodles, I use a 2-qt pot. Once the water is boiling I add a few noodles, and as they start to soften, I slide them down into the water, but I have them standing on edge. I continue adding noodles, and keep them up on edge. Eventually I have all the noodles in, and they form sort of a “swirly maze” within the pot. This way, they don’t stick together, don’t require much stirring, and the water can freely move about and between all the noodles.
Andrea says
thanks for the tip!
Chris says
Actually started this myself years ago. Found handling a huge pot of boiling water inconvenient and intimidating. Resulting casserole actually seemed to be easier to slice into reasonable squares to serve, instead of a mushy pile. Also, friends and I bake a lasagne a day early, then cool it. Microwave before serving; again, it is easier to slice neat servings.
Liz says
You’ve posted about this before, but I must say – this is the one time australia’s food wins over america: we only have “instant” lasagna sheets at the local supermarkets – at least I’ve never seen lasagna sheets that need pre-boiling. I just plop the sheets uncooked into the lasagna and chuck it in the oven for 30mins and it comes out perfect everytime 🙂
I recently saw that you can get canned breadcrumbs? Wouldn’t they be soggy?
I find it really interesting to hear about differences in the daily stuff between different countries – I hope you find this interesting rather than me rubbing in the fact our lasagna sheets are easier re cooking 🙂
Julie says
I also live in Australia and that is what I use too when making lasagne. I have never had to pre boil them first.
Andrea says
haha — well, I’m sure there are other Australian foods that are MUCh better than American foods, but the lasagna sheets do sound nice!!
Also, yes the bread crumbs come in a “can” but it’s more like a bit “canister”. There is no liquid — just dry bread crumbs in a large cardboard cylinder. Our oats come in the same type of canister 🙂
Liz says
Right – I was imagining like canned peaches in syrup 🙂
I think we have food that comes in canisters, but not breadcrumbs.
Karlyn Nance says
After trying your Lasagna Pasta Bake recipe, I will probably never again use Lasagna noodles. It is wonderful! I use the spiral noodles, and they are SO much easier to work with, and the dish is just as tasty as with Lasagna noodles!
Andrea says
good to know you like that recipe as much as we do!
Allison says
Have you ever tried using egg roll wrappers instead of lasagna noodles? Delicious and cooks in half the time. The leftovers are even better to me because they are softer and seem like a big pile of meat, sauce and cheese. Sometimes I use the wonton wrappers and make mini lasagna in ramekins, they make a great side dish for chicken parmesan.
Andrea says
never… but that sounds amazing. I will definitely need to give this a try (assuming I can easily find egg roll wrappers!)
Rachel says
Do you ever have leftovers? When I tried this method of not boiling the noodles – it tasted ok the day I baked it -but the next day it was practically inedible to me. The noodles were all pasty and did not taste good. I don’t know if I did something wrong? If it depends on the brand of noodle you use? But I decided I would try boiling them the next time. Someone mentioned that it may have been the result of the starch. Just curious if anyone else had the same issue?
Andrea says
Yes, we always have lasagna leftovers and they seem to be fine for me.
I will say that I am very “not picky” about leftovers and pretty much eat anything 🙂 Also, sometimes I do add a little extra sauce to the leftovers.
And it very well could depend on the brand of noodles. I usually use Meijer brand or the Muelers brand
Fern says
I put a layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish, then assemble lasagna per recipe. Have done this for years with no problem. It is my most requested dish for any occasion.
Andrea says
yes, I always put sauce on the bottom too!
Fern says
Don’t think I was clear with this–I don’t cook the noodles, just put them uncooked on the sauce and go from there. No other adaptations to the recipe.
Andrea says
good to know — thanks for clarifying 🙂
Evie says
Wonderful photo of Simon concentrating on eating!
Angela says
My mom taught me to just put the lasagna together the night before, put in fridge overnight until ready to bake, turns out perfect every time. No need to boil. Add some side dishes and dinner is ready with very little clean up!
Andrea says
I’ve done this too with great results! And it’s so nice to know that dinner is already made and I don’t need to worry about it during the day!
Barb T says
Simon. A two-fisted eater! I like that in a boy.
Andrea says
yes, that is an OLD picture, but it was so cute I just had to include it in this post as he’s actually eating lasagna!
Linda says
I’ve always thought the secret to boiling lasagna noodles is to do it in my biggest frying pan so they stay relatively flat while boiling. It’s not as much water as the package calls for, but it seems to work for me.
Andrea says
haha — well, now you know the “secret” to NOT boiling your noodles 🙂
Rose says
I’m 100% Italian—put a tablespoon of oil (olive, for canola, or vegetable) in the boiling water and slide the long noodles in and they will soften up and not stick because of the oil. Make sure to stir slowly and often.
Andrea says
good to know — thanks Rose!
Stacey Meyer says
I don’t think I’ve boiled the noodles in probably 20 years (and just use regular noodles). Instead, I just rinse the sauce jars and use that “saucy” water (a cup or two?) and pour it along the edges of the pan, so as to not wash any of the top layer off the top noodles, then cover tightly with foil for all but the last 10 minutes of baking time.
Andrea says
yes, I often do the “rinse the sauce jar out with water” trick too!
Kim says
Do u fill up the pan with the saucy water? How much along the sides? And if I let it sit overnight before cooking, will the no boil noodles get too soggy? This will be my very first time ever cooking this dish and I’m in a bit of a panic
Andrea says
Hi Kim,
I’m not sure about letting it sit overnight. I think the point of the no-boil noodles is you can assemble it so quickly that you don’t need to make it in advance. I guess I’d be concerned about soggy noodles as well — but you could always give it a try with a small pan of lasagna??
Anne H says
One trick I’ve been using is to make the lasagna the day before & put it in the frig until and hour or 2 before baking. It tastes like regular lasagna with no starchy taste.
Eileen says
I found a recipe for Crock Pot Lasagna and it uses regular noodles. You just brown your meat, add the sauce and a cup of water, then mix together whatever you use for your cheese layer (plus an egg) and then layer it in your crock pot.
I never made lasagna before I started using this method. Good to know that an over version works the same way!
Eileen says
*oven version
Andrea says
yes, I’ve done this successfully in a slow cooker as well!!
Jenny Z says
His is how I have done mine for years! I use the regular lasagna noodles, but make the sauce a little watery and it turns out perfect every time! So lasagna is an easy meal instead of a painstakingly long one!
Andrea says
“An easy meal instead of painstakingly long” — exactly my thoughts!