Lasagna Cups are filled to the max with delicious sauce and ooey, gooey cheese! They taste just like lasagna and they’re fun to eat!
I have to tell you guys, I had a lot of fun with this recipe! I had a blast making these with my niece and turning this idea into dinner the other day. Who doesn’t love a pasta cup filled with delicious sauce and ooey gooey cheese? I think I could say that EVERYONE falls under this category. Oh mama are these good.
If you like lasagna, then you will love these. Basically, this is just the super cute version of plain ol’ lasagna. All the same stuff you would typically see in the making of a regular lasagna, just with a little more prep work. More or less, this is a method you can adopt while still using the lasagna recipe that everyone is used to. OR try my version out! Feel free to add in or omit anything you’d like. Make this your own. That’s the beauty of cooking! 🙂
Quick note: I used a new product called cooking cream {a Philadelphia product}. If you can’t find it in your store, just add in more ricotta!
Hope you like this one, guys! We all certainly did! Happy hump day! 
Don’t these scream “Eat me! Eat me!”?
Lasagna Cups
Ingredients
- for the sauce-
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 large onion
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef cooked and drained
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1-6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1-8 oz. can tomato sauce {+1/2 can water to wash out can}
- 1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
- for the cheese filling-
- 1-10 oz. tub Philadelphia Italian Herb & Cheese Cooking Cream
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese grated & divided
- 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 21 lasagne pasta sheets
Instructions
-
For the sauce- heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onions, pepper, zucchini and garlic until tender, 5 minutes. Stir in cooked ground beef and tomato paste until well incorporated. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook 30 minutes or so. {The longer it cooks, the better it will taste!} This will be very thick.
-
For the cheese filling- stir all ingredients together excluding half of the grated mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
-
For the pasta- Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta sheets 2 minutes less than package directions and drain. Place pasta on greased baking sheet until you are ready for assembly.
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For assembly- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 jumbo muffin tins with squares of parchment paper. If they don't stay in on their own, that's ok--the pasta will help with that. Line the edges of the muffin tins with 1 pasta sheet per cup. {Pasta sheet will overlap about 2 inches.} Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon of sauce into the bottom of each cup {#1}. Next cut 9 pasta sheets into quarters and press one of these pieces of pasta into the bottom on top of the sauce {#2}. Top pasta sheet with a generous tablespoon of sauce {#3} and then a generous tablespoon of cheese filling {#4}. Repeat this pasta-sauce-cheese layering one more time being sure to press out any air bubbles. Top these lasagna cups off with a 3rd piece of pasta, more sauce and the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until everything is hot and bubbly. Serve hot.
nicole tate says
January 15, 2012 at 1:27 ami used italian sausage instead of hamburger
Selene says
January 16, 2012 at 7:24 pmLooks yummy. I so love lasagna.
Allyson McCoy says
January 17, 2012 at 5:38 amHow many calories is one cup
Nicole Wilson says
January 19, 2012 at 7:54 pmI was wondering if the tops of the “cups” harden to much and are inedible after being baked? Every know and then when you make a lasagna you get that wayward noodle that pokes out the top on the side of the pan and is pretty darn crispy when you pull the dish outta the oven.
Kris says
March 15, 2012 at 8:28 pmI was wondering the same thing, but if you look closely in Pic #2, it looks like she’s cutting up noodles and layering these with the cheese/sauce. I’m assuming she’s starting with a cut noodle on the bottom?
Tonia Rurup says
January 27, 2012 at 3:22 amMade these tonight for the first time! The only problems I ran into was the tops of the cups were hard and also the paper stuck to the bottom of the sauce. Do you have to use the paper? I was wondering if laying the noodles straight across the pan over the circles and filling then folding would be ok? The sauce/cheese was awesome though!!! we’ll def try again just may see about doing the cup different
tiffany says
January 31, 2012 at 9:13 pmI made these last night for a party and they were a hit. Thanks! I am wonder though, the outside noodles seemed a bit tough and I have been thinking of ways to remedy.. maybe I didn’t put enough olive oil on the outside noodle? Have you run into this? Such a great idea. Thanks for the inspiration.
Shawn Kanady says
June 16, 2014 at 3:17 pmI have made these before and I covered them with oil-sprayed foil while they cooked…for more of a steamed texture instead of hard and crunchy noodle on top. Worked great!
Keren says
February 13, 2012 at 10:01 pmWow, what a creative idea!! love it!
Thanks for sharing.
Sinddy says
February 15, 2012 at 10:34 pmWOW! Will be trying this….thanks for sharing!
Jack Smith says
February 26, 2012 at 9:26 pmI’ve been requested to make Mini Lasagna Cups for an Academy Award Winning Film Brothers Company in Wilmington, DE-and I’m at a loss right now on what to do. Mini is what is throwing me a loop. Any suggestions anyone??? PLEASE. The event is on March 2nd for the Wilmington Art Loop and there will be approx. 100 to be made. OMG what did I promise.
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
February 28, 2012 at 11:37 amThese look so good! I am really liking the idea of lasagna cups!
s. a. says
March 2, 2012 at 1:07 amhi!
-what kind of parchment paper? does anything stick?
how do you ..serve this/extract it from the muffin tin?
cbs says
March 9, 2012 at 3:45 amI have just a little question, the pasta dosen’t feel hard after is cook???
Caroline Clark says
March 13, 2012 at 11:37 amI like this…. A great way to “portion control”
Priscilla says
March 13, 2012 at 4:49 pmThis will work for my family will love this. My son in law likes a lot less cheese than the rest of us. I can make his with less and mark them with a toothpick!
amelia from z tasty life says
March 16, 2012 at 12:23 pmgenius!
Theresa says
March 16, 2012 at 4:47 pmYes, the exposed pasta will be a bit hard and crispy after cooking, you can avoid this by covering with a tented sheet of foil and only removing the foil for the last 5-10 minutes of cook time.
Also for the person who wanted to freeze them for hungry teens later, the best reheating method is to instruct them to reheat on high for a couple minutes and then a few minutes on 50% power… It helps to get it heated all the way through without hot/cold spots.
vale says
March 18, 2012 at 10:28 amyou’re blog is really niceee!!! 🙂
vale
Dcblack says
March 22, 2012 at 2:42 amMaybe making a tin foil tent would help from getting too brown on top. Will defiantly try these!
Peggyinno says
March 22, 2012 at 3:38 pmI just pinned this and I can’t wait to make them. What a great idea! Since DH doesn’t do lasagna, I plan on making these and freezing them so I can enjoy them whenever!!! Who knows, DH might even be tempted to try them if them come out looking as good as yours!!!
Lily says
March 23, 2012 at 2:11 pmIn the Italian Lasagne there is NO PHILADELPHIA and NO CHEESE but Bechameil that is a base sauce that came from France and was readapted for this kind of pasta.
The only cheese that find place in the Lasagne is the Parmesan ( the real one) that is put on the top !!!
Everyone can make lasagne but if you want to change the receipt don’t call it lasagne !
Kyle says
March 26, 2012 at 4:41 pmMade this last night. Very good and easy to make.
Liana says
March 31, 2012 at 2:35 pmHas anyone tried breading the outSide of the lasagna cup?
tina - @undomesticbride says
March 31, 2012 at 11:03 pmI love this recipe! I am going to try it out for my bridal shower in a few weeks.
Miriam Irwin says
April 7, 2012 at 2:19 amI am going to try this and freeze them to use for lunch when friends drop by.
Lynsey @MoscatoMom says
April 10, 2012 at 11:56 pmHey Lauren! I discovered these on Pinterest a while ago and tried my hand at making them with my own lasagna recipe – they were FANTASTIC!! I blogged it with a couple links back to you! Thank you SO MUCH for the inspiration!!
http://moscatomom.com/portion-control-lasagna-lasagna-muffins/
marcia says
April 22, 2012 at 2:00 amI can’t no cheese at all can I add more beef or tom. instead or just leave the out cheese. Thanks Marcia
AJ says
April 25, 2012 at 8:25 pmLove the Lasagna Cups! As a single mom with one kid a whole lasagna isn’t an appealing dinner to make but this way I can easily freeze small portions for easy reheating on lazy nights. Thanks!
LA says
May 11, 2012 at 10:25 pmI am having trouble getting my noodle to get there and stay in that cute circle shape to stuff. The noodle feels huge for my little cup cake tin, and the parchment paper just makes it even harder for me. Please help. How did you do it?
Lauren says
May 12, 2012 at 3:55 amI used a jumbo tin and the noodles were in that weird not wet but not crispy and dry phase….kind of tacky so the ends would stick together. It was a little tricky, but do-able!
Sheree says
May 14, 2012 at 11:37 pmThis is very creative and looks delicious. I’ll have to try these for my family.
Carrie says
May 22, 2012 at 4:17 pmCan’t wait to try this. Do you think it could be prepared ahead of time (freeze or refridgerate) then pop it in the oven?
Lauren says
May 23, 2012 at 5:00 amNever tried it but I don’t see why not!
Heidi Lyn Burke says
May 23, 2012 at 1:33 amclicked on this random link of good looking food on pinterest, started to read the recipe, glanced absent mindedly at the blog name and pictures. . .my goodness, I knew your husband in high school. Got to love social networking.
Sara says
May 28, 2012 at 3:30 pmWonder how this would work as a rolled-up version? Would you still layer some of the meat sauce and cheese sauce on one noodle & roll, or would you leave the meat sauce for under and on top of the rolls?
Jamie says
May 31, 2012 at 7:27 amTried this recipe today and it was absolutely amazing! Or well the inside was super delicious. I too had the issue with the tough pasta and if I plan on making it again, I will try making a foil tent like someone suggested earlier. I also wrapped my parchment sheets around the bottom of a cup (or you could use the flip side of the muffin pan to shape) to make it a bit easier to press down. This recipe is definitely a keeper.. I adore your blog and have so far made 4 other recipes from your site… All winners! Looking forward to trying some more 🙂
swati says
June 12, 2012 at 8:16 pmhii Lauren..
how can i veg this dish??
thanks
Diana says
July 18, 2013 at 10:10 amSwati …. Don’t know if you got any reply on how to veg this dish. Are you trying for a total “Vegan/Vegetarian” dish? Not sure how you would modify cheese use, other than using tofu or hummus.
As for adding vegetables as part of the dish, I would mince, chop, dice, slice, or julianne to size the veggies you want to use (Mushrooms, spinach, carrots, broccoli, etc.) and add them as a separate layer or put them into the sauce.
Marisa says
June 13, 2012 at 8:18 pmLasaña
Kate says
June 14, 2012 at 12:30 amHeya Lauren, these look divine and want to give them a go but I’m thinking what is on the bottom of these lasagne sheets? Have you cut out a small circle of sheet to line the very bottom? Does that make sense? I don’t want to put sauce on the bottom, on top of the baking paper. xxx
Lauren says
June 14, 2012 at 8:15 amYou cut one of the lasagna sheets into 3rds and place one of those at the very bottom. No need to sauce the very bottom!
Caro says
June 15, 2012 at 6:30 amI tried it a few weeks ago, but wih normal sized muffin cups, Looked a bit more like roles than cups but they were very delicious. It’s a really good and new idea, like it a lot 🙂
Chelsea says
June 15, 2012 at 9:28 amThese are so adorable! I’m so glad I found your blog via Pinterest! What kind of photo editing program do you use? Your photos are beautiful!
melissa smith says
June 22, 2012 at 4:34 pmI made these with my 11yr old son. They were easy enought, and didnt take to long so he didnt get bord. the best part, the were really good. He was very prod of himself, and a little surprised too.
I think that they’d freeze well also, just freeze them individually.
suzette says
June 24, 2012 at 4:21 pmLooks delicious!!!!
Jennifer says
June 28, 2012 at 4:54 pmGood recipe to try