Sausage Egg Noodle Lasagna

I was so excited last year when my friend told me about her Egg Noodle Lasagna and since then I have experimented with making it with Chicken and now with Sausage. I love it, I can't get enough of it, I can cook it so much faster than regular lasagna and it makes lasagna a weeknight meal.



Sausage Egg Noodle Lasagna: Serves 8

4 Hot Italian Turkey Sausage - Chopped into bite size pieces (I like Shadybrook brand)
12oz Egg Noodles
1-1-1/2C Zucchini – Chopped
1tsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves – Minced
1/2C Onion – Diced
1 Bell Pepper – Chopped
1C Ricotta (I use Part Skim)
4oz Mozzarella (Park Skim Shredded)
1/2C Parmesan Cheese – Shredded

Tomato Sauce:
(2)15oz Cans Tomato Sauce
15oz Canned Diced Tomatoes - Drained
3oz Canned Tomato Paste
1/4tsp Garlic Powder
1/4tsp Onion Powder
2tsp Dried Basil
1TB Dried Oregano
1 Bay Leaf

First I like to make my tomato sauce, if you want to do this faster you can just buy pre-made sauce but I promise this can be done and simmering on the back burner while you make everything else with little to no fuss. Just put all of the sauce ingredients in a sauce pot, stir to incorporate and bring up to a low simmer. Stir once every few minutes and before using in the lasagna remove the bay leaf and discard.

While your sauce is warming up bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the egg noodles, cook until al dente, you do not want the noodles super soft as they are going to continue cooking in the oven. Once cooked drain and return to the pot.

Mix the ricotta and Parmesan together and put to the side - I like to add a dash of basil and oregano to the mix to make it just a little more tasty.

Okay...sauce is doing its thing, pasta is cooking, cheese is mixed, now you can make the rest! Place a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic and after a minute or so the garlic should be nice and fragrant, add the sausage, bell pepper, onion and zucchini with some salt and pepper and saute until the vegetables and sausage are cooked through - approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Okay now that everything is cooked we can assemble! Preheat your oven to 375 & grease a large casserole dish. Mix the noodles and sauce together, then in a large casserole dish place 1/3 of the noodles then half of the cheese mix and half of the sausage mix - spread it around evenly (I like to drop spoonfuls of the cheese then smush it around with a large spoon or spatula). Repeat noodles, cheese and sausage and then top with the remaining noodles. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, remove and add the mozzarella cheese to the top and return to the oven for another 10 minutes until the cheese is completely melted.

Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, slice and scoop then enjoy!

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WW: 9 Points Plus / serving