Taste of pre-frozen lasagna
I want to assemble a lasagna with cooked noodles and freeze to be thawed out and cooked for Christmas. I am concerned that taste will be compromised because of not being completely freshly made. I am stressing about this because it's for such a special occasion but I'd love to free up time for that day, if possible. Anyone have any thoughts about your experience with final taste results?
Best Answer
I have done this, and it seems to come out fine.
Note, though, usually I will cook a lasagna almost all the way without a layer of cheese on top, and just put the top cheese layer on to melt in the last little bit of oven time. For this reason I freeze the unbaked lasagna without the top layer of cheese. I just mention this in case the freezer might do some harm to a top cheese layer (don't know if it will, just that I didn't try that experiment).
Pictures about "Taste of pre-frozen lasagna"
Is frozen lasagne good?
For the best results, freeze lasagna after it has been assembled but before it's been baked. Freezing food this way will help maintain the lasagna's cheese and noodle texture and prevent it from getting soggy. If you've already baked your lasagna, don't worry; it can still be frozen!How do you make frozen lasagna taste better?
After thawing the lasagna according to the package instructions, cook it about 25 degrees higher than directed. Then, add some fresh saut\xe9ed vegetables about three-quarters of the way through. Mushrooms, asparagus, and bell peppers are all tasty ideas.Is it better to cook frozen lasagna from frozen or thawed?
Freshly prepared lasagna that is then frozen to be eaten later will need to be thawed first before baking. Although store-bought frozen lasagna is made to be taken straight from the freezer to the oven, fresh lasagna needs to be thawed before being cooked.Why does my lasagna taste sour?
Some common traits of bad lasagna are a drying out of the noodles and then either the tomato sauce or the cheese will begin to have a sour smell. There are, of course, certain health risks associated with spoiled foods so always remember to practice food safety and enjoy your foods before their shelf life has expired!More answers regarding taste of pre-frozen lasagna
Answer 2
I make lasagna ahead of time quite often. I have actually made them two weeks early and frozen. I have frozen both "cooked" lasagna and "uncooked" lasagna and they both turn out great for reheating.
I placed quotes around cooked and uncooked for this reason. Everything in my lasagna at the assembly stage is basically cooked already. The meat was cooked and added to the sauce, the noodles are cooked. So what we are doing after assembling and putting in the oven is more like heating( aka melting the cheeses). This said, my favorite technique with the best results for us are to assemble the lasagna as you normally would, and instead of putting in the oven you will put it directly into your freezer. Make sure there is no heat left in the ingredients you are assembling with. If there is just place in fridge until residual heat is gone. Wrap tightly to prevent any flavor transfers from other items. I always have sauce and cheese layer on top. 24 hours before you want to bake it you will need to take it out and place in fridge. You dont want the inside frozen and the outside to burn. Before you cook it, spray the foil you are going to cover it with in the oven with cooking spray or oil it lightly to prevent any cheese on the top layer from sticking, so you can easily remove it to brown during the last 20 min of cooking.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Dziana Hasanbekava, SHVETS production, Kamaji Ogino, Rachel Claire