Recipes

Half & Half Lasagna — Beef & Mushroom (9x13)

Base serves 2 with leftovers — slide to scale the ingredients.

Fills a 9x13 pan with beef on one half and mushroom on the other. Serves 8–10.

Ingredients

Shared Base

  • 1 package lasagna noodles, regular or no-boil
  • 15 oz ricotta cheese
  • 16 oz shredded mozzarella, divided
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided
  • 1 jar Truff brand tomato sauce
  • 1 small onion, diced (split between halves)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (split between halves)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 10 oz fresh spinach (split between halves)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 egg (optional, to bind ricotta)

Beef Half

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mushroom Half

  • 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced

Instructions

Prep Fillings (Do Separately)

Beef filling:

  1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown ground beef, breaking it up. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drain fat. Set aside.
  2. In the same pan, cook half the onion until translucent, 3–4 min. Add half the garlic and cook 1 min. Add half the spinach in batches until wilted. Combine with beef. Set aside.

Mushroom filling:

  1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium. Cook remaining onion until soft. Add remaining garlic and mushrooms; cook until mushrooms release moisture and brown, 6–8 min.
  2. Add remaining spinach in batches until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Ricotta mixture:

  1. Combine ricotta, half the mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, oregano, basil, eggs (if using), salt and pepper. Mix well.

Noodles:

  • If using regular noodles, cook to al dente, drain, and lay flat. Skip if using no-boil.

Assemble the 9x13

Mentally divide the pan into left (mushroom) and right (beef) halves.

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Spread a thin layer of sauce across the entire bottom of the pan.
  3. Layer noodles across the full pan (they run the full length).
  4. Left half: Spread 1/3 mushroom filling, then 1/3 ricotta mixture, then a stripe of sauce. Right half: Same with beef filling.
  5. Repeat layers twice more (noodles → filling + ricotta + sauce).
  6. Top with a final layer of noodles, remaining sauce across the whole pan, remaining mozzarella, and remaining Parmesan.
  7. Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
  8. Remove foil and bake 15–20 more minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden.
  9. Rest 10–15 minutes before cutting.

Notes

  • Mark the halves with a toothpick before baking if needed
  • Can be fully assembled the night before and refrigerated
  • Freezes well — cut into portions and wrap individually
  • If it looks dry before baking, add a splash of water around the edges