Pepperoni Lasagna
This pepperoni lasagna makes an exciting change from your regular dinnertime meals and it's sure to become a brand new family favorite.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Pound lasagna noodles cooked to almost al dente
- 1 Pound Italian sausage sweet
- 6 Ounces pepperoni chopped
- 6 Ounces tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon basil dried
- 1 Teaspoon parsley dried
- ½ Tablespoon oregano dried
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- ½ Teaspoon black pepper
- ½ Teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ Teaspoon onion powder
- ½ Teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 28 Ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 Cup water
- 2 Teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ Cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 16 Ounces mozzarella freshly shredded
- 8 Ounces ricotta cheese whole milk
- olive oil as needed
- fresh basil optional, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a 9 x 13-inch or similar size baking dish by lightly spraying with oil.
- In a large sauté pan, brown the Italian sausage in a splash of olive oil.
- Add the chopped pepperoni, tomato paste, brown sugar, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes to the browned sausage.
- Mix well and cook on medium high for a couple of minutes before deglazing the pan with the crushed tomatoes, water, and apple cider vinegar. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, stir in the parmesan cheese and cook until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together a little more than half of the mozzarella with all of the ricotta cheese.
- Layer the bottom of your greased 9 x 13-inch pan with a single layer of the par-cooked noodles.
- Spoon just a little less than half of the meat sauce over the top of the noodles, and spread out evenly to fully cover the layer of noodles.
- Cover the sauce with another layer of noodles.
- Add all the cheese mixture evenly across the noodles, add then another layer of noodles on top of the cheese mixture.
- Spoon most of the remaining sauce over the layer of noodles, and cover the sauce with one last layer of noodles.
- Cover the top of the lasagna with a thin layer of the sauce, then generously cover with the remaining mozzarella.
- Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
- Let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes. Cut into servings and garnish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
Notes
Perfect pepperoni: Although the thin slices of pepperoni you use on pizzas will work if that's all you can find, chunks of pepperoni work better. You can either buy a whole pepperoni link or ask the deli counter to cut you some 1/4-inch thick slices and then you can roughly chop those.
Oven-ready noodles: You can use these if you prefer, but add a splash of water to the sauce so it doesn't dry out too much. I prefer to use regular noodles because they have a nicer chew to them.
Let it cool: Leaving the pepperoni pizza lasagna on the countertop for 10 or 15 minutes before serving serves two purposes. First, it cools down a little so you won't burn your mouth on piping hot lasagna, and second, the lasagna settles a bit so you can cut it into cleaner portions.
Oven-ready noodles: You can use these if you prefer, but add a splash of water to the sauce so it doesn't dry out too much. I prefer to use regular noodles because they have a nicer chew to them.
Let it cool: Leaving the pepperoni pizza lasagna on the countertop for 10 or 15 minutes before serving serves two purposes. First, it cools down a little so you won't burn your mouth on piping hot lasagna, and second, the lasagna settles a bit so you can cut it into cleaner portions.
Nutrition
Calories: 1087kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 170mg | Sodium: 2243mg | Potassium: 1238mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 1538IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 661mg | Iron: 6mg
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