Spinach Basil Lasagna

We were trying to clear out our fridge before heading to the beach and I had a big thing of ricotta to use up so of course I thought of lasagna.

But I also had a bunch of basil growing that I wanted to use.

So I hopped online and found a recipe that I had never tried. I modified it a bit to make it vegetarian and came up with this.

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup fresh basil (packed)
• 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 4 oz fresh parmesan (grated)
• 1 large egg
• 16 oz whole milk mozzarella (divided, grated)
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 48 oz pasta sauce- we love Raos
• 12 lasagna noodles (about 8 ounces)

Instructions

To assemble the lasagna:

• Use a food processor to mix the garlic, basil, ricotta, parmesan, egg, and half of the mozzarella, .
• To assemble the lasagna, add about a cup of the pasta sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Add 3 of the lasagna noodles.
• Add about 1/3 of the cheese mixture to the top of the noodles.
• Add about 1/3 of the fresh spinach leaves and top them with about a cup of the sauce.
• Continue to layer: pasta, cheese mixture, spinach, sauce.
• top layer will be remaining pasta, remaining sauce, and remaining mozzarella.
• Cover with aluminum foil. For best results, refrigerate overnight. If needed, you may bake right away.

To bake the lasagna:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If previously refrigerated, be sure to allow lasagna to come to room temperature before cooking, otherwise your cook time will be extended. Cook, covered, until heated through, 40-60 minutes. You may remove the foil for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time to help melt the cheese and release some of the moisture. Allow lasagna to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving to absorb any remaining liquid.