I freeze uncooked. I don't see much benefit to cooking before freezing because it needs that amount of time to heat through, anyway.

I do know that a lot of people use the regular noodles, do not boil them before assembly and it turns out just fine. Maybe use a sauce that has more liquid than usual to account for the absorption.

There are some very dry, high quality, Italian dried lasagna noodles that I've tried that really require boiling. Or, I should say, you can put the pasta in dry, but it'll soak up all the moisture, giving you a dry lasagna unless you use a lot of very thin sauce. The best way I've found is to use fresh pasta, if possible, or the regular dry boxed like DeCecco, Barilla or Ronzoni. My experience with no bake pasta is that it's like those flat sponges that pop up when wet. It's no easier than regular boxed pasta and has a weird flavor and texture.

THE TRICK: Before you lay out all your ingredients (but after they're prepared), fill a baking dish with hot tap water and soak the pasta until pliable. Don't pack them in so they don't stick together. It'll take about 10 minutes. You can do it in your lasagna pan, then lay the pasta out on a towel. You can use your fingers to kind of squeegee the pasta if the water clings.

This sounds a lot more complicated than it is. It's just softening the noodles so you can wrap the sides, and so it won't wick away all the water, without all the mess and aggravation of boiling. Unless you leave them in the water way too long, they don't get waterlogged and make the lasagna wet, like boiled noodles can.

I always bake immediately. Eggs in the ricotta (one per pound) are the secret to lightness and stability. They help keep the whole thing from going soupy and slide-y. It's probably overcaution, especially as my eggs are less likely to have salmonella as the ones from the big factory farms, but still...

If I'm planning to reheat the whole lasagna, I'll only cook it until it's set, and at a lower temperature to keep down the browning. For reheating, I set it out to take the chill off (or thaw) and bake at the same time and temperature it's meant to cook at originally. You can test the middle with a small knife or fat skewer. Pull it out and feel if the metal got hot and if the residue is at a good temperature.

I've never had the pasta go mushy in the freezer, but in a casserole style lasagna, it isn't al dente either. It can still be firm, but will be completely yielding. That happens during the first bake. The kind of lasagna that you make by stacking a single portion on a plate can be al dente. :)

BUT, I don't make soupy lasagna. It doesn't leak all over the place when cut. Perhaps the pasta would get mushy if there were a ton of loose liquid in it. If that's case, unless you want to wrap the pan, don't bother wetting the pasta. You can use regular pasta dry out of the package, and let it soak up the excess liquid.

Good luck! Lasagna generally freezes beautifully.

Hi,
I always bake my lasagna twice; once right after I make it and then just before serving. Like pllog, I take out the lasagna to sit on the counter prior to the seconding baking to take the chill off.

I always have enough for one large lasagna and a smaller one. I bake both right after making them, and freeze the smaller one for a later date.
MJ

Pillog, I like your idea of soaking the noodles just a little before assembly, sort of a compromise. I always bake my lasagnas and serve the same day, but this was a last minute change. The tree company won't be back until Wednesday, so I'll take the lasagna out late Tuesday night to defrost before baking Wednesday morning.

Just curious, why do you bake yours till its just set if you are planning on reheating after chilling or freezing?

I thought about thinning my sauce a little to account for the dry noodles, but I'm afraid that with the extra moisture during freezing I'll have a watery lasagna.

Gardengrl,

If you're soaking your noodles you don't need to touch your sauce. My concentrated sauce that I use for lasagna will stand up on its own, but it has zucchini, peppers, etc., which will let go of water when they're heated. Marinara from a jar is as sloshy as thick water. If your sauce is somewhere between, it will be fine!

As in all things, there are so many variables, including how wet your ricotta and mozzarella are, how much meltable fat there is, etc., that these are general guidelines. The best thing to do is try it. Since you're in the habit of making successful lasagnas, this one will be too. The tree crew will be grateful for the hot, hearty meal, while you'll have a chance to determine for next time whether it was too runny, the pasta soaked up too much, or whatever.

I get hypercritical about my own cooking, looking for that sweet spot of just right. When I used rice lasagna which specifically said not to precook it, when making gluten free lasagna for a friend, I was not happy with how the pasta behaved. Everyone else scarfed it up. :)

What I meant about baking until just set is that on the spectrum of lasagna baking, I underbake it a bit if I'm not serving it right away. Same as when making chicken for the freezer, one cooks it to just under. Done enough to be cooked through, but needing another 50-10 minutes to be awesome. That way, when it's reheated, it doesn't get over down.

As an alternative, leave the top layer of cheese off, or go sparse. Freeze the lasagna. Then when you rewarm it, add a little sauce and cheese to give a little extra moisture and a nice top layer to brown.

If you cook it 100% on the first day, freeze and reheat it without doing anything to it, it'll still be good. You just have to watch it a little more because you don't want it to go over into the dry zone.

I freeze before baking and I make sure I have a little extra sauce because the pasta will soak up some. However, I like it to be a bit more firm anyway, so it's easier to cut into neat squares.

Annie

Thanks everyone! I'm assembling right now and I'm going to soften the noodles just a little. I'll wrap it up well and freeze.

I'm with you Annie, I like my lasagna just a little firm too.

Lasagna, tossed salad, green peas, garlic bread and brownies for dessert. I fix lunch for the crew to say "Thank You," plus they always do just a little bit more for me! :-)

Oh, and I always "tip" them with a case of Annie's Salsa too!