A Nice Cheese Lasagna
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From cookbook author Julia Turshen, this cheese lasagna is light, simple, and elegant—a fresh take on a classic that’s as effortless as it is delicious!
This cheese lasagna recipe is adapted from Julia Turshen’s cookbook, Small Victories (2016), and it’s one of the simplest, lightest, and most elegant lasagna I’ve ever made. The recipe includes a few “small victories” that make it both easy and delicious: using no-boil noodles that are ready to use, replacing ricotta or béchamel with crème fraîche stirred directly into the tomato sauce for effortless creaminess (I love this cheat—the sauce is so good it’s hard to resist sneaking spoonfuls!), and a high sauce-to-pasta ratio that lets the noodles soak up the sauce’s flavor as they bake. It’s proof that lasagna doesn’t have to be complicated to be absolutely delicious.
“This is a lovely lasagna.”
What You’ll Need To Make Cheese Lasagna
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands (this is a messy but fun job—it’s a very good one for children) until they are in bite-size pieces.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the garlic until it begins to sizzle.
Add the tomatoes and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer, stirring every so often, until it is slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.
Whisk the crème fraîche into the sauce and season to taste with salt. Set the sauce aside to cool to room temperature while you conquer the pasta.
Preheat your oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Ladle a thin layer of room-temperature sauce onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-in baking dish. Spread the sauce with a spoon to cover the surface of the dish. Add 3 sheets of pasta in a single layer over the sauce.
Spoon over just enough tomato sauce to cover the pasta and then scatter over some of the Parmesan, mozzarella, and basil.
Repeat the layering process until you’ve used up all of your components, ending with sauce and cheese (not naked pasta or basil, both of which would burn if exposed).
Bake the lasagna, uncovered, until it’s gorgeously browned and the edges are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This lets the pasta fully absorb all of the bubbling sauce, so you don’t end up with soupy slices.
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A Nice Cheese Lasagna
From cookbook author Julia Turshen, this cheese lasagna is light, simple, and elegant—a fresh take on a classic that’s as effortless as it is delicious!
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- Two 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup crème fraîche
For Assembling
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I like Barilla)
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1½ cups coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese
- 2 large handfuls fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces if large
Instructions
For the Sauce
- In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands (this is a messy but fun job—it’s a very good one for children) until they are in bite-size pieces.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until it begins to sizzle, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer, stirring every so often, until it is slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.
- Whisk the crème fraîche into the sauce and season to taste with salt. Set the sauce aside to cool to room temperature while you conquer the pasta.
For the Lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Ladle a thin layer of room-temperature sauce onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-in baking dish. Spread the sauce with a spoon to cover the surface of the dish. Add 3 sheets of pasta in a single layer over the sauce. Spoon over just enough tomato sauce to cover the pasta and then scatter over some of the Parmesan, mozzarella, and basil. Repeat the layering process until you’ve used up all of your components, ending with sauce and cheese (not naked pasta or basil, both of which would burn if exposed).
- Bake the lasagna, uncovered, until it’s gorgeously browned and the edges are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This lets the pasta fully absorb all of the bubbling sauce, so you don’t end up with soupy slices.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 390
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Sugar: 7g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 17g
- Sodium: 711mg
- Cholesterol: 41mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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An average lasagna, followed instructions precisely, but added mushrooms and grated carrots as another reviewer had suggested. This is a bland lasagna and my family was adding chili flakes and said, “Please don’t make this again”…but it was easy to make!
QUESTION – I want to make this and freeze it (assembled, but not baked). Then thaw and bake later. Would this work?
Sure, Sarah, that will work. Enjoy!
Hi Jen – I just made this (with a layer of sautéed spinach and mushrooms) and popped it in the freezer. Does it need to thaw before cooking? And if not is it still the same baking instructions? Thanks! I love your recipes!
Hi Donna, I would thaw it overnight before cooking. Enjoy!
Hi Jen, do you think this will work with meat sauce?
Hi Julie, If you’re open to sausage, I’d recommend this lasagna instead.
My husband doesn’t generally eat lasagna since he doesn’t like ricotta (weirdo). I made this recipe with meat in the sauce and he LOVED it! I’ve never made a recipe from this site or either cookbook that hasn’t been delicious and easy to pull off. Thanks for another winner!
❤️ An easy and delicious lasagna to throw together. Couldn’t find no-boil noodles and didn’t feel up to making my own, so used regular lasagna noodles and it still turned out great.
Hi Jenn!
Are there any substitutions for the Crème Fraiche? I’ve been to Whole Foods and Giant but they didn’t have any? I could try Balduccis but wondered if there were any other options?! I’ve made this dish before and love it as I do all your recipes !
Thank you,
Marny
Hi Marny, Sour cream would be a great substitute. Enjoy!
I made the Crème Fraiche using this recipe–super easy and so good!:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/creme-fraiche-106036
Love this recipe–it was a hit at our Sunday dinner! Thanks so much for posting.
Trader Joe’s always has Creme fraiche if you have one in your area
Hi Jen,
Love your recipes and new cookbook! This is one of my favorite recipes on your site. I wanted to make it tonight, but with just my husband and myself, this would be a lot of lasagna. Can the leftovers be frozen? If not, I can 1/2 the recipe and use a smaller baking dish.
Thanks!!!!
Hi Katy, So glad you like the recipes! 🙂
I prefer to freeze lasagna unbaked as it holds up a little better, but it’s fine to freeze leftovers. Also, you can halve the recipe and make it in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
Question for those who have made this the night before and then cooked the day of serving: is it okay to use the store-bought no-boil lasagna noodles in this instance as well? Thanks for any thoughts and another great recipe, Jenn!
Yes, Diane, that’s fine. Enjoy!
My first time using readybake lasagna. Love the tomato sauce and the results. This was beautiful and now a family favorite. Sour cream works same as creme frache. The fresh basil is a must. thank you so much. this is a nice lasagna.
This lasagna is awesome! For such simple ingredients, it tastes absolutely beautiful. I only get 2 layers of noodles with 12 of the no-boil squares, and I usually at least double the amount of mozzarella called for. One of my favorites!
First time I made this, I made the mistake of not reading the whole recipe and ran out of sauce after only 3 layers of pasta. I paced myself better the second time and was able to get 4 layers in and it was perfect! I did add meat but only added it to the sauce after I got a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. I love the addition of creme fraiche. And only modification was that I ended up using a little more mozarella and parmesan than was called for. Family had seconds (including the pickier members!). I checked our Julia’s book after you introduced us to her and her book is great! Thank you!