Fried Lasagna Rolls

This is a fantastic recipe to utilize any leftovers bits and pieces after you’ve made a Lasagna. There’s always a little bit of leftover meat sauce, and definitely leftover Pasta Sheets every time we make Lasagna. Instead of re-heating the meat in the microwave for lunch (boring!) you can transform those leftovers into these tasty Fried Lasagna Rolls! It’s a fun treat that’s easy to make and turns boring Lasagna leftover into something unique and delicious!

Our Fried Lasagna Rolls are a great treat for adults and kids alike

Look, anything bite-sized and deep fried is going to be a hit with kids. They crunchy Panko breadcrumb coating and ridiculously tasty filling is the perfect combination of flavors and textures for kids to enjoy. So, they’re going to love this dish. It’s a filling enough dish that you’ll be full after 1 – 2, especially for a lunch or afternoon treat

I would caution however, this is probably not the kind of dish you want to cook with your kids. You can have them help you prepare the Rolls, which is always fun. However, when it comes to cooking, we’re deep frying them in hot oil, so best to keep those kids away from the kitchen at this point! Deep frying is perfectly safe, but I always air on the side of caution when cooking with hot Oil, as it must be respected at all times to cook completely safely!

This recipe is based on having leftover Lasagna ingredients, however..

We understand you may have come across this recipe and want to make it from scratch, without having already made a delicious Lasagna. Well, that’s totally fine with us! In fact, we expect that from a lot of visitors to this recipe! Therefore, in the full recipe outlined below we’ll show you how to make everything from scratch. That includes the delicious Red Wine Braised Meat Sauce and the Cheesy Bechamel Sauce. The two cornerstone elements of a Lasagna! So, no need to venture elsewhere as we’ve got the full recipe for you below!

This dish does take some time to make from scratch

If you are making it from scratch I will caution you that it does take a lot of time. A few days, for that matter! The reason for the long time is we want to allow the flavors in the Meat Sauce to develop, which is best done when slow cooked, and then cooled and refrigerated overnight

My recommendation is to make this Classic Lasagna, which will have ample leftovers for you to easily prepare these Fried Lasagna Rolls the next day. That way you’ve got an amazing, hearty dinner to feed the family, and a fun treat to make the next day!

How to make Fried Lasagna Rolls

There are several elements in making this dish. Prepare these elements separately and allow them to cool (refrigerate overnight preferably) before assembly. This will make the whole cooking process as simple as possible. Here’s a quick overview of each of the elements required to make our amazing Fried Lasagna Rolls

Meat Sauce with Red Wine

Our classic Meat Sauce is prepared in a typically classic way. Vegetables are cooked down along with some Bacon until tender, then a mix of Ground Beef and Pork are slow cooked with Tomatoes (Paste, Puree, and Canned) for a few hours, partially covered

What really brings the flavor to this Meat Sauce recipe, however, is the inclusion of Red Wine. Adding Red Wine to the sauce and cooking it down right before you add the Meat brings a richness, sweetness, and complexity to the dish. The flavors are rich and indulgent, which is what you want with a Lasagna

I like to use a full bodied Red Wine, as the flavors are richer which will translate well to the sauce. No need to go too overboard with the quality of the Red Wine but use one that you would like to drink yourself. The dish needs 1 cup of Wine, which will leave more than enough left to drink during / afterwards!

This dish is totally fine to serve to kids too. All the alcohol will burn off after a few minutes of cooking in the pot. What is left is a rich, sugary reduced Wine Sauce which wonderfully flavors the Sauce

A Cheesy Parmesan Bechamel Sauce

The second primary component in our Fried Lasagna Wraps is, of course, Cheese! You can’t have Lasagna without cheese! We’re not mucking around with Ricotta or anything silly like that. We’re going completely classic with a luscious, creamy Cheesy Bechamel Sauce!

To make the sauce, combine equal parts Butter and Flour into a large pot and cook it down for about 5 minutes until smooth. Then, add enough warm Milk for a slightly thickened sauce to form. Once you’ve got the right consistency in the sauce it’s time to add the Cheese

We use a combination of Parmesan Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, and Mozzarella. The primary flavor in the cheese sauce will be Parmesan. As Parmesan has such a strong flavor, using equal parts Cheddar and Parmesan will still see the prominent flavor in the sauce being Parmesan

Add a little bit of Mozzarella in there as well. The Mozzarella isn’t used as much for flavor as it is for texture. Mozzarella will bring those wonderful, gooey, stretchy quality to the sauce. Like the Meat Sauce, place the completed Cheese Sauce into the refrigerator to cool. This will help make the assembly of the Fried Lasagna Rolls a lot easier

Building your Fried Lasagna Rolls

Remove the Meat and Cheese Sauces from the refrigerator and allow them to warm up a little bit at room temperature. Place the Lasagna Sheets in boiling water for about 5 minutes so they are cooked almost completely. This will also make them pliable so they’re easy to roll

Place a Lasagna sheet on a flat surface and then add a coat of Cheese Sauce. Cover the entire sheet but leave about ½ inch at one end. This will help to ‘seal’ the Roll when it’s wrapped. Add a thin layer of Meat Sauce over the top of the Cheese Sauce. Try to keep it thin, so cut up any larger chunks of ground meat so it’s smooth

Then, simply roll the sheet up to form a cylindrical shape. Depending on your Lasagna sheets, you may want to cut them in half to create your perfectly sized rolls, ready for coating and frying. I would also suggest cutting off a little bit from each end of the Rolls. This will create more of a ‘flush’ end, which will allow for more even and consistent coating of the Breadcrumbs

To coat them. Simply prepare three bowls. The first filled with Flour, second with whisked Eggs, and the third with Breadcrumbs. Dip the rolls into the Flour, Egg, and Breadcrumbs, ensuring you get a good, even coating throughout each step

Then we simply fry them up in some hot Oil at around 320F for 2 – 3 minutes. As everything in the wrap is already cooked, you only need to fry them until the coating has turned into a beautiful golden-brown color. Once at this point, remove the Fried Lasagna Rolls from the Oil carefully with a strainer and set aside on a wire rack. Season with Salt and they’re done!

Serve with some Marinara Sauce for dipping

You can enjoy these Fried Lasagna Rolls as they are, and they’re great. However, for the best result I recommend making a quick and easy Marinara Sauce. This adds even more wonderful Tomato flavors to the dish and gives you an optional dipping sauce to enjoy with the Rolls. Check out our Marinara Recipe here for a delicious and easy to prepare Sauce

Fried Lasagna Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 Large Dried Lasagna Sheets
• ½ lb. Ground Pork
• ½ lb. Ground Beef (10% Fat)
• 3 Rashers of Bacon, diced
• ½ Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 1 Carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 Celery Stalks, finely diced
• 1 cup of Cremini or Button Mushrooms, diced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
• 1 cup Full-bodied Red Wine
• 200g / 8 oz. Canned Tomatoes
• 400g / 14 oz. Tomato Puree
• 1 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
• 2 Sprigs of Thyme
• ½ tbsp. Salt
  
  

Cheesy Bechamel Sauce Ingredients

• 50g Unsalted Butter
• 50g AP Flour
• 1 ½ cups of Warm Whole Milk
• ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• ½ cup of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Assembly and Frying

• 8 Lasagna Sheets
• ½ cup AP Flour
• 2 Eggs, whisked
• 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• 10 cups of Frying Oil (Vegetable / Canola Oil)
  
  

Instructions

1. Cook the Bacon for 5 minutes in a large pot over medium heat to render the fat, then add the Mushrooms, Onion, Celery, and Carrot. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add Garlic and cook for 1 minute
2. Add the Ground Beef and Pork and brown, then add the Wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the Canned Tomatoes, Tomato Puree and Paste and bring to a simmer
3. Reduce the heat to low, add Rosemary and Thyme. Season well, then partially cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool then refrigerate overnight
   
   

Cheesy Bechamel Sauce

4. Melt Butter in a pot over medium heat then add the Flour. Mix for 5 minutes until smooth then slowly add the Milk while stirring until a smooth, slightly thick consistency forms
5. Add the Cheeses and mix well to incorporate. Remove from heat and then refrigerate to form a paste
   
   

Assembly and Frying

6. Place the Lasagna sheets in Salted Boiling Water for 5 minutes until pliable. Remove and allow to cool on a flat surface
7. Add a layer of Cheese Sauce to the Lasagna Sheets, leaving about ½ inch at one end. Place a layer of meat sauce on top and smooth out to cover the Cheese Sauce (break up any lumps)
8. Roll the sheets up to form a cylinder shape. Cut the tips off each end to form an even shape, then cut the cylinders in half
9. Fill three bowls, the first with Flour, second with whisked Eggs, and the third with Panko Breadcrumbs. Coat the Rolls in Flour, then Egg, then Breadcrumbs, ensuring a thorough and even coating
10. Heat Oil in a saucepan until the temperature reaches 320F. Carefully place the breaded Rolls into the Oil and fry until golden-brown (about 3 minutes). Remove using a strainer and set aside on a wire rack
11. Season with Salt then serve
    
    

Recipe Notes

• You can serve the Fried Lasagna Rolls with a delicious homemade Marinara Sauce (LINK) for dipping
• You can cut the Rolls to whatever shape you prefer. We opted for rectangular shapes for ease of eating and dipping
  
  

This is a fun and delicious way to enjoy leftover Lasagna ingredients. It’s a tasty treat, but well worth the time and effort!

For more fun ways to reimagine leftovers, check out our Lunching on Leftovers page. There are loads of amazing dishes there which completely transform leftovers! Here are a few of our favorites:

• Peking Pork Belly Pancakes
• Fried Pulled Pork Balls with Cheese
• Pepperoni Fried Rice
• Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla
  
  

Happy Cooking!