Mason Jar Lasagna

Some friends of mine had a baby a few weeks ago and lasagna seemed like the obvious no-brainer to drop off for them to nosh on during 4am feedings and exhausted afternoons.

I decided that instead of the standard casserole dish though, I’d put individual portions in small jars.
To make it easier to heat up single servings of course. Oh! And because I love novelty.

With the recent food in a jar frenzy, I figured there would be loads of inspiration out there on the interwebs, but nope, the only mason jar lasagna (ish) recipe I found was this Lazy Lasagna from Big Red Kitchen. I got lucky and it was a fabulous jumping off point.

I (very) roughly stuck with her proportions, but added spinach, fresh whole mozzarella (ciliegine) and sautéed mushrooms to the mix.

There was a point where it really did look like a sloppy mess, but luckily it baked up just delicious.
Pretty, even. Just so long as your idea of pretty involves ooey-gooey cheesy goodness.

Mason Jar Lasagna
serves 6

Ingredients:
12 ounce package egg noodles
15 ounce (one tub) ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
6 ciliegine
1 egg
1 handful shredded parmesan
1 bunch spinach
1 handful mushrooms chopped
3 cups marinara sauce (or take care of the ricotta/sauce in one delicious shot!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 wide mouth mason jars

Directions:
1. Boil pasta according to package directions/very al dente. Drain and return to pot.
2. Saute chopped mushrooms in a little butter/oil with salt/pepper until tender.
3. Steam/wilt spinach for a few minutes and set aside.
4. Mix 2 cups marinara, ricotta, egg, mushrooms, and salt into the pasta and stir gently.
5. Fill greased jars 1/2 full of pasta mixture, then add a little spinach and one ciliegine, top with more pasta mixture, an extra spoonful of sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan.
6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes (or until bubbly) at 350 degrees.

And because new parents are a little paranoid about visitors (I love you guys anyway) this turned out to be a test run. I got to eat all six jars by myself!

I promise I’m not complaining.

This weekend I plan to test out more food in jars, and am thinking about a shepherd’s pie/pot pie situation involving swiss chard, butternut squash, and potatoes! What do you guys think?

Any mason jar recipes you’d care to share?