I am hosting a dinner party soon, and I’m making Lasagna. I’d like to make it the day before, which I’ve never done.
Any important things to keep in mind?
My main question is should I bake it, refrigerate it, and reheat the next evening, or should I assemble it and refrigerate it unbaked?
My lasagna always tastes good, but sometimes has liquid in the bottom, which disappoints me greatly. How to avoid this?
I read somewhere that when you make it ahead of time, only boil the noodles for half the recommended time. Is this good advice?
One recipe I read said to take it out of the refrigerator a few hours before to let it come more to room temp before heating. Is this safe? Unneccessary?
Any recommendations for side dishes that don’t require hours to prepare?
I would assemble it and refrigerated it. Another tip is to use half ground beef and half sausage for a slightly spicy version or ground turkey breast for a healthy version.
Make sure your sauce is cooked down enough to start. Should be pretty thick.
Suggested to boil less than full amount because they will continue to cook in the sauce while baking–can absorb some of the liquid. I boil noodles for a couple minutes less than recommended time and works fine.
I bring it out for about 30 min just to make sure my glass pan isn’t too cold to go in the oven. It’ll take a bit longer to bake if it’s too cold but no big deal. It’ll cook more evenly if at room temperature but again no big deal. I wouldn’t leave it out for hours for safety reasons.
Sides:
We just have caesar salad and garlic bread. That’s enough for us.
I do this all the time.– always make lasagna the day before. I cook the lasagna for a half hour, let it cool off, and then refrigerate. The next day I put additional sauce on top of the lasagna and reheat for about 45 minutes.
My best trick (from my grandmother) is that I cut the lasagna when it is cold (before reheating it) which makes it easier to serve nice pieces.
I often make meatballs (also can make a day ahead), a big salad, and garlic bread as sides. Sometimes add in a caprese salad depending on the number of guests.
You can use the no-cook lasagna noodles – they work just fine and make things MUCH easier. I usually use Barilla.
I typically use normal lasagna noodles, don’t boil/cook then (but add water to the sauce and make a small bit of sauce the first layer). But I do get a bit nervous that for company it could be a bust (though it has always been fine)…. so I could ahead, then microwave it.
For folks looking for alternative to lasagna bake-ahead, I’ve done “ziti bake” in a crockpot. For that do boil the pasta. I think I did with just mozz, not ricotta. Just remember it was a handy way to have friends over after happy hour at a brewpub.
I know, lol. DH asked me why I’m overthinking this so much when it’s always gone over well at home. But there IS a little extra pressure when cooking for guests. For me, anyway.
I do feel lasagna is a a dish on its own, not to be compared with other pasta dishes.
I know, I know, it’s all pasta, sauce and cheese - but the layers of lasagna, done right are just a step or two above or DIFFERENT than other pasta dishes.
I agree, around here there is usually baked ziti at every function, lasagna is a nice change (and manicotti made with crepes - my favorite). I used to make lasagna with gluten free noodles, tried to make it with zucchini instead (even more steps), and my kids loved it so much more than with pasta, so I just make it less often.
Barilla make really good no-boil lasagna noodles. I recommend those. Refrigerate uncooked (yes, fine even with an egg mixed into the cheese), but bring to room temp in advance before baking. I don’t have a problem with liquid pooling on the bottom, probably because the noodles soak up excess liquid while baking. I layer sauce lightly on the noodles but more heavily on top. I also use spinach, which has the potential to release extra liquid, but I squeeze it out pretty well after wilting it (or thawing it) and mix it into the cheese, so it’s not a problem.
I cheated - I was supposed to make lasagna for a high school band event but my work ran late and I had not prepped early enough. I ended up cheating buying cheese stuff ravioli and mushroom stuffed ravioli, boling them before, layering them in between ricotta and mozarella and jarred sauce and baking - it was a hit and easy to serve. TBH I haven’t made lasagna since.
