Individual Lasagne Cups (Beef and Ricotta)

5 from 5 votes

Individual Lasagne Cups (Beef and Ricotta)

These delicious individual lasagne cups are perfect when you don’t have the time or energy to make a full-sized lasagne! With a rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta filling and the perfect amount of gooey mozzarella, they are the ultimate comfort food. Serve them for quick dinners, entertaining or a handy packed lunch. Make them in your muffin tray or pie maker in less than 25 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 361kcal

Author: Andrea Geddes

Ingredients

12 fresh lasagne sheets 1.5 x 375 gram packets

For the bolognese sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
500 grams ground beef (1.1 pounds) minced beef. Or use Italian sausage, or a mixture of pork and beef mince.
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon Italian herbs dried
salt and pepper
1-2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 ⅓ cups passata

For the ricotta filling

1 ½ cups soft ricotta
1 egg
½ cup parmesan cheese finely grated
salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

To top

2 cups mozzarella grated

Plus

fresh basil to top

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

For the ricotta filling

Stir all of the ricotta filling ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

For the bolognese sauce

Heat the oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
Add the beef to the pan, along with the salt, pepper and herbs and stir until browned. Add the tomato paste and passata and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and set aside.

Cut the pasta sheets

Using scissors or a pastry cutter, cut 16 x 12cm and 16 x 10cm circles in the lasagne/pasta sheets. Use your pie maker pastry cutter (large and small) as a guide, if you have one.

For oven baking

Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C. Coat muffin trays (enough to make 16) with light oil spray, to prevent sticking.
Layer each muffin hole with the 12cm pasta bottoms, followed by 2 tablespoons of bolognese. Then, add the second layer of pasta, followed by a heaped tablespoon of ricotta and the mozzarella.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the pasta are crisp and the cheese has bubbled and browned. Carefully remove the lasagnes from the tray.
Top with fresh basil and serve hot.

For pie maker

Set up your pie maker on a bench and turn on.
While warming, add the 12cm pasta bottoms to the pie holes. (You will need to cook in batches).
Add 2 tablespoons of bolognese to each pasta case. Then, add the second layer of pasta sheets, followed by a heaped tablespoon of ricotta and the mozzarella.
Close the pie maker and cook for around 5 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and the cheese has melted. The edges of the pasta will be crispy, just like a pie casing, but the pasta in the middle will be cooked through.
Continue to cook the pies in batches, until the mixture has run out (this recipe makes 16). Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve hot.

Video

Notes

Prep ahead - both the meat and the ricotta filling can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge. This makes assembly when you are ready to cook much easier.
I recommend using lean mince instead of regular mince. If you use regular, be sure to drain the excess liquid from the meat before adding the tomato paste and passata.
This recipe yields 16 mini lasagnes. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, or individually wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.
Add some finely diced vegetables or chopped spinach to the meat.
While fresh lasagne sheets are best, you can use pre-cut wonton wrappers to save time. Since they are already cut to size, you just need to layer and cook! Don't use dried lasagne sheets.
These lasagne can be eaten on their own as a complete meal, or served with a side salad, this super tasty roast pumpkin salad, or steamed vegetables. Some garlic bread is also a great addition!

Nutrition