Microwave Lasagna is easy, quick to make, and completely delicious!
Total Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Week four without a kitchen. There is no end in sight. I am seeing sweets everywhere, but I cannot have them. The torture will continue until morale improves. And what better way to improve morale than with a microwave?
Yea, I know the beginning was a little much but not having a kitchen is starting to drain my soul! I was tired of using the Insta-Pot so I switched over to the microwave to make even faster meals! This week, I decided to make a microwave lasagna with a twist! Zucchini instead of noodles! This seemed like a great idea and who can say no to meal that only take 5 minutes to cook??
Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Microwave lasagna has a simpler recipe list that normal lasagna. The classics for the dish are still needed: ricotta, mozzarella, and marinara. But instead of noodles, I am going to use zucchini! This cooks a lot faster and can handle the speed and intensity of the microwave.
Process
01
Prepping the Ingredients
The first step for prepping the ingredients is cutting the zucchini. This should be cut into thin slices. Then, I wanted to make a cheese mixture and the cheese mixture is where I allowed myself to have a little fun. The cheese mixture I used was a mix of ricotta, mozzarella, an herb blend of basil, parsley, and oregano.
02
Layers and Layers
There are three main layers needed to make microwave lasagna. I started with a layer of zucchini, then a layer of my ricotta mixture, and finally a layer of marinara. And then repeat. And repeat (until the dish is to the desired fullness). I left a little room on top to do a final layer of marinara and finish the whole dish off with mozzarella cheese.
03
Cooking
The last step for making this dish is cooking it in the microwave! I would recommend only cooking it for 3 to 5 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave. Also, it’s a very good idea to cover the dish with a paper towel because the lasagna will likely explode and you don’t want to have to clean up the mess!
Reflections
I think I overcooked it. Or maybe added too much marinara sauce because the dish came out looking like a soup. That being said it tasted like lasagna and I ate all of it. Both portions. I was really hungry. Next time, I would cook it in bursts to avoid having the sauce go too crazy. But, on the bright side, it was fully cooked!
Lessons
Microwave Splatter
Why do some foods splatter in the microwave? The microwave cooks food faster than other methods and this can cause heat to get trapped in whatever you’re cooking. As the internal temperature rises, steam will begin to build inside with no way to escape. There aren’t enough vents. The trapped steam will rapidly build internal pressure until the food explodes because the steam is forcing its way out.
Microwave Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Zuchinni sliced
- 2/3 Cup Ricotta
- 1 Cup Mozeralla Divided
- 1 Cup Marinara
- 2 Tbsp Herb Blend Basil, Parsley, Oregano
Instructions
- Mix together the ricotta, 2/3 cup mozzarella, and herbs in a separate container.
- Place a layer of zucchini in the bottom of the bowl desired for serving.
- Spoon a layer of the ricotta mixture on top of the zucchini.
- Add a layer of marinara spread on top of the ricotta
- Repeat adding a layer of zucchini, ricotta mixture, and marinara until desired height is reached. (Leave room at the top)
- Add one last layer of marinara sauce and sprinkle the top with mozzarella as desired.
- Cover with a paper towel and cook for 3-5 minutes on high.
- Let cool and then enjoy!!