6 Lasagna Recipes That Would Shock My Italian Grandma

Growing up in high school, I loved to cook for my family. I’d invite the whole family over make some food, eat some dessert someone brought over, and we’d all play our favorite card game. My grandma was the best part of those days because as an aspiring chef I wanted to hear feedback on the things I cooked and boy would she tell you EXACTLY how she felt about it. She was my food critic and I loved it. It made me better. She even went as far to buy me a one year subscription of Food Network magazine, so I can make more of that “weird stuff”. She’s used to the foods she’s used to, but she sure did love when I cooked for her. If I were to show here THESE lasagnas…she would totally make a face and say “DOMINICK! What are you giving me all this food for?”

We created SIX lasagna recipes that are totally untraditional, unique, and delicious. These recipes are range from lasagnas made on a sheet trays, to lasagnas made with ramen noodles when you forgot to pickup the noodles, and even a lasagna inspired by spinach and artichoke dip! I made a video for half of these lasagnas to showcase just how versatile lasagna can be! Find out below which lasagnas would truly shock my grandma for better or for worse.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

I had a great time conceptualizing this one because I wanted to combine the punch of buffalo chicken wings and cream it up in a lasagna. Think of like buffalo chicken dip meets lasagna fully equipped with crispy breaded chicken, buffalo ricotta cream, and a blue cheese cheddar sauce. This lasagna comes out like the best buffalo chicken dip you’ve ever tasted with real texture from the breaded chicken chunks and a toned down buffalo sauce flavor that allows to taste subtle notes in the creamy cheese sauce that simply pair so well with the noodles themselves. It’s definitely worth a try if you at all love buffalo chicken. This one blew my mind! Would Gram try it? Absolutely!

Check out this recipe here: Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna

Now for a lasagna my grandma would LOVE. I wanted this lasagna to not just have a cheesy filling of spinach and artichoke hearts, but to encapsulate the flavors of the delicious dip you order as an appetizer. All three components stand on their own to represent this combination. An artichoke puree that substitutes the traditional tomato sauce with a lemony garlic kick followed by a creamy spinach and ricotta filling. The filling is beefed up with cream cheese to tie it all together, and frankly you can stop there and your lasagna would turn out amazing. I went the extra mile to create a parmesan alfredo sauce to stick in-between and I regret nothing. No notes, just delicious!

Check out this recipe here: Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna

French Onion Lasagna

Let’s talk about a flavor I was so excited to workout in the cooking process. How do you make French onion soup into a three-layered lasagna? Take the components of the soup and make them sauces! A beefy caramelized onion gravy takes the star role in this untraditional pasta bake with big slices of onion to add to each bite. Of course we can’t forget the croutons! I whipped up some quick oven croutons with garlic that act as the protein element when eating the lasagna. It soaks up the onion gravy like a stuffing, but doesn’t dry out because the béchamel sauce does some glorious work. We all know that signature cheesy top to French onion, so you already know we had to make a Gruyere cheese sauce to layer between. It’s got such a warming winter feel to this lasagna and the creaminess from the cheese sauce ties it all together. I could see this going really great on a vegetarian dinner table or even as a side dish for roasted chicken. My grandma LOVED French onion soup and I know she would be delightfully surprised with this one. I think it would be her favorite!

Check out this recipe here: French Onion Lasagna

Pizza Lasagna

Who doesn’t want the flavors of pizza in their lasagna? Why isn’t this the norm? Lasagna is already slated with all the components for a great pizza. Tomato sauce, cheese, and ricotta make for a great start, all you need is the toppings. Frankly these toppings can be whatever you personally like on pizza, but Kristy has the right idea. Italian sausage, pepperoni, bell peppers, onions, and black olives. It’s a well balanced recipe for lasagna that won’t slide all over and should act as the standard perfect layers! A fully loaded pizza lasagna that will blow you away and take lasagna to the next level. My grandma absolutely loves a homemade pizza, she would complain about how many toppings were on it, but she would still try it!

Check out this recipe here: Pizza Lasagna

Ramen Noodle Lasagna

Did you forget to buy lasagna noodles? Do you have Top ramen packets? Lasagna is still on! It’s a four-ingredient recipe that checks all the boxes. Discard the flavor packets and break apart the ramen noodles to create slabs of noodles that will act as your pasta base. It may seem strange, but when it comes out of the oven nobody will be able to tell the difference. It’s a brilliant way to reinvent a pantry pasta dish! My grandma would absolutely be in shock seeing this lasagna assembled, but I have no doubt would love the taste. She would just be in agony watching the process.

Check out this recipe here: Ramen Lasagna

Sheet Pan Lasagna

Giada sure knows the way to make an easy lasagna that we want to make. We decided her crispy sheet pan lasagna was the way to go. It’s a smart take on making lasagna in half the time and with plenty of those crispy ends that we all crave in the traditional version. Cook the noodles, make the sauce, and toss it all together. Dump the pasta onto a sheet tray or two, then layer with your classic ricotta filling, and lot’s of mozzarella cheese. Baking the lasagna on the shallow tray helps the cheese to create a crust all over the lasagna resulting in crispy spots EVERYWHERE! It’s genius and a huge time saver to making lasagna. My grandma would be skeptical seeing this on a sheet pan, but start dancing when she tasted it. We both love the crispy edges!

Check out this recipe here: Giada’s Crispy Sheet Pan Lasagna