Simple Homemade Turkey Lasagna is my go-to for busy weeknights. Ground Turkey cooked with homemade marinara sauce and tomato sauce with few spices and herbs and then layered in a baking dish with lasagna sheets and ricotta mixture. Serve this with Grandma's Turkey Gravy with Sweet Potato Soup, and Traditional Hawaiian Macaroni Salad.
Also try: Instant Pot Turkey Breast or Turkey Tetrazzini or Turkey Enchiladas
Easy ground turkey lasagna recipe is one of the most loved Italian dinner recipe. You can replace ground turkey with ground beef and make it your favorite ❤️
Alternatively, you can also make Eggplant Lasagna or Peach Pie Lasagna.
Jump to:
- 📝Ingredients for Easy Healthy Turkey Lasagna Recipe
- 🧑🍳How to Make Best Ground Turkey Lasagna
- 🍗Do you cook meat before putting it in lasagna?
- 🌡What temperature do you put the oven on for lasagna?
- ⛑Is lasagna healthy or unhealthy?
- 🧊Can you freeze turkey lasagna?
- ❄️How long is lasagna good for in the fridge?
- 🤷♀️How many layers should lasagna have?
- 💁♂️What should the top layer of lasagna be?
- 🌛Is lasagna still good if left out overnight?
- 💁Cooking Variations
- 🧑🍳Can I Make this lasagna in the Instant Pot?
- 🍲Can I Make this Lasagna in the Crock Pot?
- ⏰How Can I Make this Lasagna in Advance?
- 🥗Serving Suggestions for Turkey Lasagna
- Top Tips
- 🥘More lasagna Recipes
- More Leftover Turkey Recipes
- 🔖Recipe
- Turkey lasagna
📝Ingredients for Easy Healthy Turkey Lasagna Recipe
- Onions
- Garlic
- Ground Turkey
- Marinara Sauce
- Tomato Sauce
- Oregano
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ricotta Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
- Egg
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
See recipe card for quantities.
🧑🍳How to Make Best Ground Turkey Lasagna
- Sauté onions and garlic
Sauté onions in a large dutch pot over medium heat. Add freshly minced cloves of garlic and sauté for another 1-minute.
- Cook Ground Turkey until no longer pink
Add ground turkey and cook until the turkey is no longer pink.
- Stir in Marinara Sauce and Tomato Sauce
Stir in Homemade or Store Bought Marinara Sauce and canned Tomato Sauce.
- Stir in Herbs
Stir in herbs such as italian seasoning and oregano. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. For a nutty taste and aroma I like to add in a pinch of ground cinnamon.
- Make Ricotta Mixture
In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, egg, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well until combined.
- Layer Lasagna
Layer lasagna as per your choice. There is nothing set in stone. But make sure that the first layer is of meat sauce and the last layer of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake @ 375°F for 45-minutes
Bake until the cheese melts and the lasagna is bubbly around the edges.
- Garnish and Serve
Garnish with fresh basil and serve.
🍗Do you cook meat before putting it in lasagna?
Yes. In this case we have to cook ground turkey in a large dutch pot until no longer pink. It takes around 10-minutes to cook meat completely.
This is also the case if you are using ground beef or ground chicken to make your lasagna.
🌡What temperature do you put the oven on for lasagna?
- Lasagna takes around 40-45 minutes (depending on your oven) at 375 degrees F to get cooked completely.
- So, after you've layered your lasagna all you have to do is use an aluminium foil to tent it. Make sure that it doesn't touch the meat sauce or the noodles.
- Then bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes.
- After 25-minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 20-minutes.
⛑Is lasagna healthy or unhealthy?
Lasagna is not necessarily healthy. If you are gluten-free then you can choose gluten-free lasagna noodles.
Make sure you check the contents of the package before you buy. Gluten is hidden in many things and we can easily miss it out.
🧊Can you freeze turkey lasagna?
Well, yes. The good news is that you actually CAN.
Turkey Lasagna can be freezed for up to 3 months.
So, if you are going on a long holiday with friends and you don't want your husband or kids to order takeout then make at least 2-3 batches of turkey lasagna and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thank me later.
But, before freezing, make sure you allow your lasagna to come down to room temperature.
Wrap it with a plastic wrap and an aluminium foil.
Transfer it to the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
❄️How long is lasagna good for in the fridge?
- You can easily store your turkey lasagna for up to 3-5 days in the refrigerator. But, before you do that. Make sure your lasagna has come down to room temperature.
- You must not transfer your lasagna in the fridge the moment you take it out of the oven. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 2 hours or until its back to normal temperature.
- Then cover it with a plastic wrap and a foil.
- Transfer it to the fridge and refrigerate for 3-5 days.
🤷♀️How many layers should lasagna have?
Traditionally, a Lasagna should have at least 3 layers. Many argue between 2 and 3 layer. But, 3 layer is like the most legit and most acceptable one.
But, it also depends on you.
If you are making your lasagna to serve a large group of people then I would suggest you make at least 4 layers.
💁♂️What should the top layer of lasagna be?
To make the Best Turkey Lasagna you should be able to layer your lasagna appropriately. But, don't fret it. There is nothing set in stone. You don't have to follow everything verbatim to make the best Turkey Lasagna out there.
- Spread meat sauce in an ovenproof baking dish.
- Then add a single layer of cooked lasagna sheets.
- Then add dollops of ricotta mixture.
- Pour Meat sauce and spread it evenly.
- Repeat the steps until you make at least 3 layers.
- Remember: The Top layer of Lasagna should be Mozzarella Cheese.
🌛Is lasagna still good if left out overnight?
No. Lasaga should be transferred to the fridge or freezer depending on how long you are trying to store.
Lasagna should be left out overnight. At least not until it's steamy hot. But, even if it's hot, make sure you place it in the fridge or freezer within 2 hours.
💁Cooking Variations
- Ground Meat - You can replace ground turkey with ground pork or ground beef or ground chicken to make this lasagna.
- Vegetarian Lasagna - You can replace meat with sauteed mushrooms or white beans.
- Low Sodium - Canned goods like Can of Tomato Sauce or Store Bought Marinara Sauce will have added salt in them. So be very careful while adding extra salt.
- Spinach - Spinach will make a good addition to this turkey lasagna recipe.
- Kale - If you are not a fan of spinach, you can use kale. Kale is another super-healthy option for you.
- Cheddar Cheese - If you are not a fan of Mozzarella Cheese then you can add Shredded Cheddar Cheese before baking.
- Cottage Cheese - You can replace ricotta cheese with cottage cheese.
- Pesto - Got homemade basil pesto? You can add that in one of the layers for some added surprise.
🧑🍳Can I Make this lasagna in the Instant Pot?
Yes. Instant Pot Turkey Lasagna is so easy and one of the most sought after recipe. Follow these steps to make Instant Pot Lasagna.
- Sauté ground turkey in an Instant Pot until no longer pink.
- Add spices, onions, and garlic. Cook until soft.
- Remove half of the ground turkey mixture and keep aside.
- Add uncooked lasagna sheets into the instant pot.
- Add ground turkey, tomato sauce, and marinara sauce into the instant pot.
- Break noodles and place them on the top.
- Pressure cook on manual/high pressure for 6-7 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally for 10-minutes.
- Once done, open the lid, sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese. Put the lid back on for 10-minutes or until cheese melts.
- Garnish with freshly chopped basil and enjoy.
🍲Can I Make this Lasagna in the Crock Pot?
Yes. Slow Cooker Lasagna recipe is pretty easy and you will love making it. Follow these steps to make this lasagna in the crock pot.
- Sauté onions, garlic, and ground turkey in a skillet until the meat is cooked and no longer pink.
- Pour tomato sauce, marinara sauce, spices, and herbs in the bottom of the crock pot.
- Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.
- Spread ricotta mixture and Mozzarella cheese/Cheddar Cheese on the noodles.
- Pour Marinara sauce all over again and spread evenly.
- Repeat until desired.
- Top the last layer with shredded Mozzarella Cheese.
- Cook on Low for 4 hours or on High for 2 hours.
⏰How Can I Make this Lasagna in Advance?
Yes. This recipe for Homemade Turkey Lasagna can be easily made ahead of time.
You can make the lasagna at least 3 days ahead of time. 🎉
Then you can bake it whenever you want to.
Wrap unbaked lasagna in a plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 2 months.
Before you bake, make sure you thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then bake as per the directions.
Freezed Lasagna can take 25 minutes of covered baking and an additional 23 minutes of uncovered baking time.
🥗Serving Suggestions for Turkey Lasagna
You can serve your Lasagna with Crusty bread like Sourdough bread or Italian loaf.
You can serve it with greens like Green Beans Almondine or Cheesy Green Beans or Maple Mustard Glazed Green Beans
You can serve this main course with a salad like Mexican Corn Salad or Deli-style Creamy Classic Macaroni Salad or Onion Cucumber Tomato Salad
If you want to eat a dessert after this then you can try Strawberry Shortcake or The Best Sweet Cherry Pie.
Top Tips
- DO NOT USE "oven ready" or "No Boil" Lasagna noodles as they will break apart when cooked. Use real uncooked lasagna noodles.
- Make sure you cook your ground turkey until no longer pink. This process takes at least 8-10 minutes.
- Make sure you follow the instructions for cooking lasagna noodles as per package directions.
- Make sure you stir often while cooking lasagna noodles to prevent them from sticking to each other.
- Once done, drain the water and rinse cooked lasagna noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process immediately.
- Lay out your cooked lasagna noodles in a rimmed baking sheet greased with parchment paper. This will prevent them from sticking.
🥘More lasagna Recipes
- Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna (Crockpot)
- White Chicken Skillet Lasagna
- Spinach Lasagna
- Broccoli Lasagna Roll Ups
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
- Leftover Turkey Mushroom and Wild rice soup (Deliciously Creamy!!)
- Garlic Sesame Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Italian Turkey Meatballs in marinara sauce
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast
- Turkey Tetrazzini
- Turkey Enchiladas Recipe
- Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
- Turkey Chili in a Crockpot
🔖Recipe
Turkey lasagna
INGREDIENTS
- 1 16 oz (12 sheets) Lasagna sheets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic freshly minced
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 15.5 oz marinara sauce homemade or store bought
- 1 14 oz can tomato sauce
- Salt as per taste
- Freshly ground black pepper or as per taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 oz Mozzarella Cheese shredded
- fresh basil optional for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook Lasagna noodles until al dente
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. (1 tablespoon for every 2 quarts of water) Cook lasagna noodles until al dente as per package directions. Stir often to prevent sticking. Drain water in a colander and run the noodles under cool water to stop the cooking process. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Lay out the noodles on the sheet. This will prevent them from sticking.
Making Meat Sauce
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C
- In a large Dutch Pot heat some olive oil. Add finely chopped onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add lean ground turkey. Cook on medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. This takes at least 10-minutes.
- Stir in Marinara sauce and a can of tomato sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add dried oregano, italian seasoning, and ground cinnamon. Mix well until combined.
Ricotta Mixture
- In a small mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, egg, and parmesan cheese. Whisk well until combined.
Layer Lasagna
- Spread meat sauce in an oven safe 9x13 inch baking dish. Add a layer of cooked lasagna noodles. Spread ricotta mixture. Pour meat sauce and spread it in an even layer. Repeat the steps (at least 3 times or as many times as you want). Add shredded Mozzarella cheese on top.
Bake
- Cover the lasagna with an aluminium foil. Bake lasagna casserole in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 25-minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20-minutes or until the sides are bubbly.
- Garnish with freshly chopped basil and serve right away.
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