I skip the ricotta entirely and go with a well-seasoned blend of shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Having made both ricotta and mozzarella from scratch, the (remaining) water content in the former is much higher, and that might be the source of the excess moisture that seems to be bugging you. I like the way mozzarella melts and glues my lasagna layers together. Personal taste is subjective, but this works for me.

Here's what I use in mine:

1 pound fresh spinach, not frozen
1/2 pound Mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound Provolone cheese
1/2 pound Asiago cheese
1/4 pound Parmesan cheese
2 cups ricotta cheese
1-2 eggs
1/2 pound Prosciutto
1/2 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp salt

The spinach gets microwaved for one minute, allowed to sit for 5 more minutes covered, and then drained in a colander and chopped. I saute the prosciutto for 2-3 minutes and then chop it.

Lars

I find a huge difference in whole milk and part skim ricotta. The whole milk type turns into a runny, gooey mess, albeit delicious and the part skim holds it's shape better, which I prefer.
I like the flavor of part skim just fine though.

I also use part skim ricotta....I mix a container....which I think is 12 oz, with 2 eggs, about half a cup of grated mozzerella and 1/4 cup of parm...maybe 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and fresh ground black pepper....how much? enough!! LOL!
It;s not runny....in fact I put it on the noodle layer in "globs"....
And if you cook it....it won't be runny....you also need to let the lasagna rest after baking before you cut it....let it rest at least 20 minutes....20 is better. Allows all to firm up and not be runny.
Linda C

I also use part skim ricotta in my lasagna. But I beat the egg into the ricotta before adding some grated Parmesan cheese.

My lasagna receives lots of compliments and my cheese layer is similar to lindac's -- I glob it on; it's not runny.

1 pound whole milk ricotta
1 cup (4 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
1 extra large egg
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons sea salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

My cheese filling has never been runny? That's odd! I think that lasagna is about the simplest dish that I make. I wonder what's going on and why it would be runny? I only use whole milk ricotta or cottage cheese. Maybe you aren't cooking the lasagna long enough. Cooking it cooks the eggs which causes it to set up. My lasagna takes at least 1 1/2 hours to cook.

To clarify: not too long ago I had to make 12 lasagnas for a church group. They were all the same except I ran out of ricotta and had to buy more. The store only had whole milk type, same brand I was already using, so I bought that. The whole milk lasagnas were made exactly the same as the others and all baked at the same time.

It was interesting to see how the two types set up; the whole milk ones after 20 minutes of "resting" still wouldn't produce nice squares, yet the part skim lasagnas cut nicely into squares and didn't ooze.

As I usually buy part skim I found it interesting to see a side by side comparison. Of course, brands differ and this was based on one brand.

I also have a tried and true recipe that is not runny, gets raves, and is fairly easy.....

I use part skim ricotta and I do not add any other cheeses to it; I sprinkle them on top of each layer.

Part skim ricotta
Egg
parsley
salt
Dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg (the secret ingredients)

Mix them together. Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan, a layer of uncooked lasagne noodles (NOT "no boil"), glob on the ricotta and spread evenly, sprinkle with parm and mozzarella, sauce, repeat, ending with sauce and mozz. Bake at 350 covered for the first hour, uncovered for the last 30 minutes. Let it rest at least 20 minutes before cutting, or it will certainly run.

And, yes, I've followed the discussions here about what kind of noodles to use. All I can say is in my family, going back to my Italian grandparents who arrived on these shores in the 1890s, we've ALWAYS used dry, boxed noodles...well, as soon as they became commercially available, anyway. I didn't know people actually boiled them (even though it says to on the box) until I started reading about it here. No Boil Noodles? Never tried 'em....Completely unnecessary, IMHO.

Thanks everyone for all your great tips. I think part-skim ricotta is the way to go. I also will cut down a bit on the mozzarella, since I don't think it adds much flavor, and perhaps it's adding too much moisture. I'll still leave some mozzarella in for texture. Perhaps I'll increase the Parmesan to add sharpness/saltiness. Very intrigued at Shermann's suggestion of the cinnamon/nutmeg; I have always added nutmeg to my Bolognese sauce, but I had thought the nutmeg would get lost in a lasagna so never bothered. As to the noodles, I know people love the no-boil noodles, but I've always found them too starchy, particularly when you need to reheat the lasagna for a second go-round. I use dry noodles, and do boil them, but only to about 1/2-way done before using them in the lasagna. I like the texture I get with that method. Thanks again everybody.

It's too late for my input, but I'm also a "low fat" ricotta user, when I use ricotta. It's not often found at my little grocery, so I usually use cottage cheese instead. I think cottage cheese actually has more flavor than ricotta and it melts up the same, no one ever notices a difference.

I've also never put eggs in the filling, and the first time I saw that happen, I was surprised. I was glad to see that my favorite lasagna recipe, posted here, didn't have eggs either.

Joey's Killer Lasagna

Makes eight big portions.
1 medium onion -- chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage -- casings removed and broken up
1/2 pound ground veal
2 cloves garlic -- minced
4 ounces mushrooms -- chopped
15 ounces tomato sauce
12 ounces tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano -- leaves
1 teaspoon basil -- crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces mozzarella cheese -- thinly sliced
1 pound Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
12 ounces lasagna noodles

Saute the chopped onion in the olive oil. Add and cook the ground meats, starting with the sausage, then the beef, then the veal. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook. Drain.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, water, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer covered for 1-1/2 hours.

Cook the lasagna noodles while sauce is simmering. Use 10 to 16 pieces depending on the width of the noodles. Drain, rinse, drain again.

Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of the sauce. Layer: 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the Ricotta cheese (in dollops), 1/3 of the Mozzarella. Repeat twice more. Cover with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-50 minutes, or until bubbly.

OK, now comes my question. How long do you all let your lasagna set before serving so that it can be nicely cut?

Annie

I use part skimmed, extra smooth, Ricotta mixed with some Parmesan, no egg.

I've never had a runny ricotta layer.

AK Chicago :

All the Recipes sound good.

I make mine similar to Joey-s but use Sausage and Beef.

And of course my, Spaghetti Sauce.

To eliminate the Water try putting a cheese cloth in a Pasta Strainer and
dump the Ricotta in and let it sit a while .
The water will drain out.

Or you could pull the ends of the cheese cloth up and wrap them .
While holding the top end closed , squeeze the Ricotta.

The water will drain out.

Hope this will help.

If not you can eat at my place on Easter.
Happy Easter !!!
LOU

Ok, you lost me at hello: "This is about a meat-sauce lasagna (I'm not a fan of the Bechamel lasagna)."

Love the white sauce. Nothing against ricotta of good quality, but when piles of not-so-great cheese stuff a lasagna (or a shell or other pasta) . . . .

What about using a bit less and folding it into your ragu before you assemble the lasagna?

AK Chicago:
PS:

I use this brand ( Sorrento-Velvety Smooth )for Lasagna,
Ravioli and my Italian Easter Cheesecake.

Do not know if is available in your area.

I've been using Provolone instead of Mozzerella,
since 1962 in everything , including Pizza.

Has a better flavor and does not get like rubber when it cools a little.

It can be mixed. Make your own blend.

It is very good.

LOU

The original poster already said that they tried draining the ricotta and it didn't help substantially, but adding it to the sauce is interesting and would save a step in layering, if it works.

Darn it, I made lasagna last night for today's potluck, I'd have tried that...

Annie

Annie:
I know what the poster said, just thought maybe she drained it another way.

Happy Easter ,
LOU

To friedajune - I hear ya on the cheese dilemna.I drain Part Skim Ricotta then add 1 or 2 ,beaten eggs. I use Egg Beaters. Mix thoroughly into the Ricotta. It works!! I also cut the lasagna into sections before baking. Makes for easier serving. Hope this helps. Good luck:)

To Annie...I let the lasagna set for a good 30 minutes. Cutting-,portioning is a breeze. Good luck. Hope this helps:)

Maybe the issue isn't the ricotta. Do you cook and then drain the lasagna noodles before putting them in?

I start the process using ricotta cheese twenty four hrs before oven ready. I put the ricotta cheese in a teflon pan, simmering for eight to twelve hrs; mite want to use a splash screen...stir accasionally. After the desired time limit of evaporation,, pour into strainer lined with poor biodgegradable hand towels. Put into fridge uncovered until you can safely handle the cheese. I then stir in two eggs; the cooler the cheese,the firmer the ricotta will set. Ahead of time I have prepared parmesan, spinage, onion chives, or what ever you might like to use in a microwave oven;; on the defrost cycle until desired evaporation; Onion chives not so dry! Mix all together. (DO NOT OVER WHIP THE EGGS) Line the pan or baking dish with canola, or olive oil. Fill half cooked manicotti or shells,placing them on the oiled surface ...When making lasagna I use oven ready pasta. cover; let set over night....preheat oven to 350 apx 20 mts. Cover tightly with tin foil,,Place in middle of oven. Cook for 25 mts, then reduce oven to 150-160 for about three to four hrs.....uncover and place preheated sauce over your creation. Sprinkle parmesan,and mozzarella. Place back in oven uncovered, setting it at 450 for 15 to twenty mts. place on top of stove,or in the stove with the oven door open. cover tightly with two or three very small holes. let set for 30 - 40 mts.... it will be perfect....This may take a long time; but the wait is worth it.... # Pratice your patience.

Here's what I put in for the cheese layer:

1 large carton cottage cheese or part skim ricotta, 1 T olive oil, 1/2 C real grated Parmesan cheese (not the dry stuff in a plastic jar), 10 oz pkg fzn defrosted and squeezed dry chopped spinach, 1 thoroughly beaten
egg, dash of freshly ground black pepper, pinch of red pepper flakes

I got my Italian recipe from a German woman in Iowa. Funny how recipes flit around countries.

For really great tasting ricotta make your own. It is simplistic and much more flavorful than from the grocery store's plastic tubs. And to be really blown away make your own from local milk that has not been ultra-pasteurized (just pasteurized) the difference is overwhelmingly richly flavored.

That sounds good. I will try to make my own some day soon. A thoroughly beaten egg, when cooked will not hold together as one easily mixed and slowly cooked on a low heat. # plastic dos suck.

I have never mixed the cheeses with the ricotta - just layered them - and it is always wonderfully gooey and delicious.

I like to mix a good sized chunk of softened chevre into the ricotta. It improves the creaminess and flavor.

Our local Italian restaurant has the most delicious ricotta I have ever tasted. I suppose it is not available in our grocery stores, because I have never been impressed with what I can buy.

We belonged to an Italian club in PA they made Lasagna with only ricotta cheese 2 layers of it probably 3/4 inch each just sauce on top when served. Anyone know how it is made?

How ricotta is made? There are two kinds--made from milk or made from whey. You just heat, acidulate, cut, drain. Add salt in there somewhere. There should be all kinds of info about it on the 'net.

Love that this post was revived.

The last time I made lasagna, I substituted Farmer's Cheese, and that was not a good idea - it made it come out a bit dry. However, when I reheated it, I sprayed it with water first, and then it came out very good. I usually prefer lasagna on the day it is made, but in this case, it was better the next day. I used fresh pasta and did not boil it first, and that may also have made it try, but I do spritz the pasta as I layer it in.

I like to use fresh pasta because I can roll it out to the exact size of the pan and then just have one sheet of pasta for each layer. I've decided that it is a bit more work to roll out by hand than I thought. I do not have a pasta machine in Cathedral City, and so that is the only way I can make fresh pasta there, but here in L.A. I have a pasta roller attachment for my KA machine, and that makes rolling it out extremely fast and easy. I might go back to that and then just overlap the pasta sheets again as I layer them.

“Love that this post was revived.”

I always get nervous!

What I do with the ricotta cheese is to slowly simmer for about 12 to 16 hrs, evaporating the moisture. Put in fridge till cold. Then mix a healthy tbs of cornstarch and egg with a touch of cold milk; add to the cheese with chives and preferred spices, bake for 45 minutes 350 to 400; let cool; place in the fridge for 24 hrs. Then place in oven 225 approx 1 hr; Cheese has a firmness that stands up for a perfect Lasagna.

It's funny. I've never eaten one with a cheese layer inside here or in Italy. - Northern Italy is the only part I've been to. Ones I know have the tomato/meat sauce between the layers, and bechamel on top, sprinkled with cheese.

try using fresh noodles or dry noodles before baking

I don't think I've had lasagna in Italy, but when I was very young I was on my own for a day in London and had an early dinner at a very Italian (including the waiter who barely spoke English) restaurant. Their lasagna was a stack of pasta squares with a very tasty schmear of meat sauce in the center of every square. I've never seen the like again, and couldn't even find the restaurant the next time I was in London. What we usually see as lasagna in the USA is the same kind of thing that a friend of the family from Italy made: Long strips or sheets of pasta, built up in a large pan, with layers of meat sauce, ricotta, and other cheeses between. Some are topped with béchamel. Most are topped with cheese. i can't remember where our friend was from in Italy—not the South, but my geography as a youngster was pretty vague. FWIW, her children were blond (I only remember her with gray hair). She was a very good cook. I wonder if both versions might be adaptations to war privations? Our friend was a war bride, I think, Perhaps her kind of lasagna, and what came elsewise here, had thick layers of ricotta because they had milk but little meat? And the cheeseless stack decades later might have hailed from where they had little meat (perhaps pork) and less milk? Both versions are very tasty. It's the sauce that's the star.

A friend told me that once when in Italy, he complained about the lasagne not having enough sauce in it and was told that it was normal. I don't think Italians eat such rich food as you Americans. I've just been reading the thread about macaroni cheese and was thinking the same thing. Your version is incredibly rich and calorific. Nowhere in Europe makes such rich dishes out of what is, for us, supposed to be economical, everyday foods. We would make a bechamel with one cheese added with the pasta and maybe some breadcrumbs and or a layer of sliced tomatoes on top before baking it.

I don't think it's traditional to be quite as mean with the sauce as your London restaurant LOL

The London lasagna was delicious however. :)

I haven't eaten much pasta in Italy. There's so much else there to try1 Some Americans ladle sauce on like soup. I've been known to eat a small dish of my homemade ragout straight, because it's a nice stew, really, but I'm finicky about the sauce to pasta ratio and don't like swimming. :) But as I said, I learned to make lasagna from an Italian who called herself "right off the boat", though she came by airplane. :)

Mac and cheese here is a specific thing and most people will say that it must be elbows, or sometimes they'll allow shells. There's usually a cheddar based compound cheese as the main one for the sodium citrate. Often some onion powder. Sometimes a sharper cheese, or clean the fridge ends. I used to make a fantastic dish with clean the fridge ends, grated pecorino romano and marsala wine (and bechamel as a carrier, of course), lots of pepper and garlic, and radiatore pasta. Pasta and cheese and good for what ails you, but decidedly not mac and cheese.

I think it's important to separate bad fast food from real food, because we have a lot of the former. We have pizzas that are similar to what you find in Naples, as well as pizzas that kept the name but went way far away from that, including the fast food version which uses this weird cheese-like substance they call mozzarella but is kind of airy and sponge like. I'm sure this is to keep the cost down. It doesn't taste like mozz. Mostly tastes of salt. It doesn't brown well. They put a rope of it in a ring around the edge and turn the dough over it to make "stuffed crust" like anybody needs that much extra cheese, but there's something about fast food pizza that isn't satisfying. People can pound down a whole lot of something that should be really filling. But that's nothing like homemade pizza.

I think the same kind of thing probably goes on with other perceptions of American food. There are over 200,000,000 adults here, with many regions and cultures. The cruddy fast food is about speed, uniformity, convenience and price, but for a similar price you can buy good, made on site, falafel, pizza, gyros, tacos, burgers, etc.

Sometimes, in a restaurant, a fairly ordinary serving of lasagna will be served in a gratin dish, with an extra dollop of sauce and cheese over the top to keep it from drying out while being reheated in a pizza oven over 650° F. Perhaps that also colors your perception of American lasagna. But, like my Italian family friend, Americans do put both ricotta and mozzarella, and usually parmesan as well, in the lasagna, which is a casserole. We do vegetarian lasagna too, with the cheeses and minced vegetables. Beyond the one friend, I don't know how similar or not this is to what one might find in Italy, but it's pretty standard in a country that has at least half a dozen ways to make fried chicken.

Pillog's mention of a lasagne made of flat noodles and a scant amount of sauce reminded me of this recreation of a medieval lasagne by Tasting History:

The only time I recall having a bechamel version was when my German cousin made it. It was good but I’ve not tried to make it myself. I stumbled across this morning and now am wanting to try Marcella Hazan’s recipe.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-02/16/001r-021600-idx.html

I'm certainly not Italian, but my Mom's lasagna, and now mine has always been loved by all except my DIL (but what the heck, her mom never cooked at all, let alone lasagna! Still doesn't!) I've always done a layer of low fat cottage cheese mixed with 5 chopped up boiled eggs.

I make my sauce, use home grown herbs and use williebird ground turkey,sausage rather than ground beef.

Works for me and my family!

What is DIL?

Usually, DIL=daughter-in-law.

That was hilarious FOAS. Julia got a taste of cancel culture....but she did not care.

I totaly get the chef wanting to serve his homeland lasagna to a point. I lived in Italy and had many classic lunch lasagnas being on a student budget. Most often considered a first course after a shared platter of grilled veg antipasto. I never saw a mile high square of carb. In a restaurant. But at homes it is often a holiday big high sided sheet pan of excess.

The big difference is the pasta. Very thin and fresh. Never the big thick crinkle edged we see here. Even dried it was very thin. Also ravioli... always thin and filled with fresh and minimal inside like the fat/thick filler filled ravioli we get here.

The pasta first course is rather light, for a pasta dish. Second course a protein, and various artichokes prepared like no other, when in season. Followed by a rolling tray of dessert choices and a large fresh fruit bowl near the head of the table...charged only by what you consume. Peeled and cut by the 'head of the table' and small plated, then passed around the table. That would be a higher end dining experience over a few hours. Usually a chef comp platter for the table between courses...

My first desire/purchase when i moved to NYC from Italy was a classic hand crank pasta roller. Wanting a thin pasta. My first cookbooks were Marchella's mini soft copies. ( i made a favorite last night...her wild mushroom risotto)...arancini tonight....

This is what i remember, HERE

Served in many restaurants...

I should add in the link i posted above, one has eggplant. In smaller villages you might find some veg in your lasagna. They use what is in season. If you don't speak or read Italian you would not notice it is 'local veg in season' lasagna. Often no meat like Americans expect. Priced as a lighter first course. Not usually a meal on its own.

I had an odd excange with another food forum member about Italian foods like pizza. I had a favorite pizza i ordered in Trestevere, Rome. He said no Italian pizza included artichoke....three trips he said...but living all four seasons for two years, a good restaurant uses what is in season.

No different than a good restaurant here.

Food is so variable that I can't understand absolutes. I think it was on Top Chef recently that they featured the heretic who first did parmesan cheese five ways, incuding frico and foam, and he's now considered a king and his efforts seminal. There are somethings that are innovative and good, but called by ”wrong” names. I remember reading that Wolfgang Puck, when he first got into the frozen foods biz, ran afoul of government regulations which defined pizza as having tomato sauce. IIRC, they compromised for that particular pizza by adding sliced tomato, but eventually decided that Michelin star chefs should define their food, not regulators, so they rewrote the definition. or something like that. I think the controversy also helped by publicising that pizzas might not have tomatoes, thereby changing public expectations.

The Italian woman who taught us lasagna also taught us the ragout. There's a very basic recipe with canned tomatoes (fresh can be used—they just cost more and take a lot more work— and dried herbs that is the framework. The unwritten part is dependent on season and what you can afford, plus cleaning the fridge. Maybe not peas (shudder), but pretty much any alium, brassica or umbellifer could find it's way in, as well as nightshades and squash. Sausage for the flavor, or other meat and more seasonings/herbs/spices etc., to make up for it. Over time I've learned that a green bell pepper is necessary for it to taste "right" (and oregano, of course), and that marjoram makes things taste like pizza. Otherwise, pretty mich anything goes and it ends up pretty much the same as a whole.

And using the framework of what we call lasagna, the dish, I also make lasagne, the pasta, with a barbecue chicken profile, and a pumpkin one. Definitely American. Really good.

What and why? I guess someone just likes lasagna.