Turkey Bolognese Lasagna

5 from 2 votes

This comfort-of-home Turkey Bolognese Lasagna combines all the great flavors of a traditional bolognese with a tad less guilt using ground turkey and turkey sausage. No worries, there's no shortage of cheese!

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 2

Servings servings

Calories 462kcal

Author Kim Peterson

Equipment

Ingredients

Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion , chopped (about 2 cups)
1 cup carrots , diced
2 tablespoons garlic , minced
2 teaspoons fennel seeds , crushed in mortar and pestle
1 pound sweet turkey sausage , casings removed (use spicy if desired)
1 pound ground turkey
½ cup dry white wine
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Salt and pepper

Lasagna & Cheese Mixture

1 pound lasagna noodles (do not use no-boil!)
16 ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
16 ounces mozzarella cheese , freshly shredded
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese , divided
1 egg , slightly beaten
½ cup fresh basil , chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Sauce

Heat oil in a 5-quart, high-rimmed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to caramelize, 7-8 minutes.
Add garlic and fennel seeds. Cook 1 minute.
Add sausage and ground turkey. Sauté until meats are browned, about 8-10 minutes, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon. Deglaze pan with wine; boil 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead of assembling lasagna. Cover and refrigerate. Or, freeze up to 6 months.)

Lasagna & Cheese Mixture

Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously butter a 15x11x2 baking dish.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water generously. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (this will help keep the noodles from sticking together).
Cook noodles for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. With a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer lasagna noodles to a large bowl of cool water, then lay each noodle flat on a baking sheet or two to prevent sticking.
In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1 ½ cups mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan, egg, fresh basil, and pepper. Set aside.

Assembly

Spread 2 cups sauce over bottom of prepared dish. Arrange ⅓ of noodles over sauce, either crosswise or lengthwise depending on noodle shape, overlapping to fit.
Spread ⅓ of cheese mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with ⅓ of remaining mozzarella cheese.
Top with 2 cups sauce, then ½ of remaining noodles, ½ of remaining cheese mixture, and ½ of remaining mozzarella cheese.
Repeat one more time with 2 cups sauce, the rest of the noodles and cheese mixture. Spread 2 more cups of sauce over top. Rewarm remaining sauce to pass around when ready to serve.
Sprinkle lasagna with remaining mozzarella and ¼ cup Parmesan. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour before baking. Lasagna may also be frozen at this point up to 3 months. Thaw completely before baking.)
Bake uncovered until heated through and puffed, 40-45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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