Lasagna is incredibly delicious - and terribly time-consuming to prepare. Made too much lasagna or fancy making two instead of one, so you can enjoy one right away and save the other for later? In both cases, freezing is the best solution to extend the shelf life of the delicious dish by a few months. Our guide will walk you through each step.

Lasagna can be stored frozen for several months

General tips for freezing lasagna

Do you know from the start to create more lasagna than you will (immediately) eat? Then use a freezer-friendly lasagna recipe. In concrete terms, this means that you should only use fresh ingredients, not frozen ones. Otherwise, by defrosting, refreezing, and defrosting again, you risk contaminating the lasagna with bacteria. Also, for taste and texture, it is better to freeze lasagna made from fresh ingredients.

Layer your lasagna straight into a suitable container that is suitable for both baking and freezing. A large number of molds made of glass or ceramics meet this requirement. Under no circumstances should you use aluminum bowls. The lasagne might take on a metallic flavor in such a vessel - not very appetizing. If you don't have an item that's suitable for baking and freezing, you'll need to reposition the lasagne (from your baking pan to the freezer-safe container and back) before and after freezing.

Whether you freeze the lasagne before or after baking does not play a decisive role in terms of taste - but it does play a decisive role in terms of preparation. Baked lasagna should be brought to room temperature before freezing. This means that you have to let the delicacy cool down completely first. Otherwise your lasagne will lose quality both in terms of consistency and taste. If the food is to be baked after freezing, you do not need to do anything.

How to properly freeze your lasagna

  1. Cover the lasagne with freezer-safe plastic wrap, making it as airtight as possible. Wrap it in several layers to keep it nice and fresh (it's best to wrap the foil all the way around to avoid punctures and freezer burn). Don't use aluminum foil - it could seriously spoil the flavor of the lasagne.
  2. If you have a very large amount of lasagne, it makes sense to portion it out. Each portion then gets its own container. This has the advantage that you can eat a piece of lasagne as a snack if you are feeling a bit hungry. However, only cut your creation into portions after it has cooled. This way the individual pieces fall apart less.
  3. Label the container or containers with the date to keep track (for shelf life).
  4. Place the lasagna in the freezer.

Note: Lasagna can be kept in the freezer for up to three months - with or without meat.

How to properly defrost your lasagna

  1. Take the lasagna out of the freezer the night before you plan to eat it to let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
  2. If you cook partially frozen lasagna, it will heat up unevenly, affecting both flavor and texture.
  3. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (ideal regardless of the recipe!).
  4. Remove the plastic wrap from the lasagne container.
  5. If necessary, transfer the lasagne to a baking dish.
  6. Cover the top of the baking pan with aluminum foil. This will prevent the top layer from becoming excessively dark.
  7. Place the lasagna in the oven and bake for about 40 to 60 minutes.
  8. Remove the aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes of baking to achieve a deliciously crispy crust.
  9. Sprinkle the lasagna with fresh basil or oregano and serve.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Care tips