This Gluten and Dairy Free Lasagna recipe is so simple to make. It has crazy good layers packed full of tender gluten free lasagna sheets of noodles, a hearty meat sauce, and an optional dairy free ricotta mixture, all topped with fresh basil.
Lasagna is a common go-to meal in our house and the whole family loves a heaping portion of this comfort food to enjoy.
When you make this recipe, you don’t even realize that it’s allergen friendly and safe for everyone to enjoy around the dinner table.
The Italian sausage and ground beef combo is like a knockout punch. We’ve experimented with the amount of Italian sausage used.
We find more than ¼ pound is too spicy for our kids.
But if spice is your thing… try adding more Italian sausage and less beef.
Jump to:
Why Make Lasagna For Dinner
- It's the perfect comfort dinner.
- This is a great make ahead recipe, helping you save time around dinner time.
- You can easily customize this.
- This is a kid friendly, family favorite recipe.
Ingredient Notes
Here is where you'll find notes on the ingredients and some swaps you can make. Sometimes you'll find brands that we recommend.
Get the quantities for these ingredients in the recipe card at the bottom. We can't fit all this info down there.
- ground beef- ground turkey or ground pork can also be used. You can even make a combination using any of those suggestions.
- Italian sausage- always check that your sausage is gluten free. Some butcher shops and manufacturers have wheat in their encasements or in the meat mixture.
- onion- we have made this using a yellow onion, a sweet onion and even a white onion. Pick whichever you have on hand and prefer
- green bell pepper- while this is optional, it really helps add flavor and another element of texture. You can also swap it out for other colored bell peppers if preferred.
- garlic- fresh minced garlic is our favorite. It really brings a nice added flavor.
- marinara sauce- 2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce. We like Rao’s Marinara
- brown sugar- this helps cut the acidity of the marinara sauce
- gluten free lasagna pasta noodles- we use Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta “Lasagne” gluten free noodles
- parsley- we like fresh for this recipe and use it chopped up as garnish
- optional: Violife cheese shreds, vegan ricotta cheese (you can use a homemade recipe, or our favorite is the creamy Kite Hill Ricotta found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. This is, in our opinion, the superior dairy-free ricotta cheese option), you can also add fresh spinach
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Colander - If you have a household where you have family members who eat gluten, having your own separate colander is CRUCIAL and very important to help avoid cross contamination.
Recipe Instructions
First, make the sauce, then the noodles and then you can assemble the lasagna.
- For the sauce, combine the ground beef and Italian sausage in a large saucepan. Cook until meat is brown and drain.
- Stir in onion, garlic, and green pepper. Add most of the marinara sauce. Leave enough sauce to lightly coat the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Add brown sugar to sauce and let the sauce simmer, covered. The longer the sauce sits the more flavor it will have.
- Meanwhile, cook gluten free noodles for 10-12 minutes. The noodles should be tender, but firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water.
- Place a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Then layer noodles and sauce. Top with marinara sauce. The lasagna noodles need to be cut down to fit the baking dish. Optional--add in Kite Hill Ricotta or Violife Cheese Shreds in-between layers.
- Bake at 375° degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Storage
Storing this easy allergen friendly lasagna is quite simple.
Put the leftover dairy-free lasagna in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should keep for 4-5 days in the fridge.
If you're just storing a small piece for a short period of time, you can store it in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap.
If storing for a long time, it should be stored in the container.
Can I freeze this for later?
Unfortunately, unlike traditional lasagna, we haven’t had much luck freezing gluten free lasagna noodles for later.
So, we don’t recommend freezing this recipe, even though we wish we could just toss leftovers in a freezer-safe container for later - they just won't thaw and reheat right the next day when you want to eat leftover lasagna again.
However, if you’re looking for a quick and easy lasagna one pot meal that you could whip up, try our Lasagna Skillet.
Recipe tips
- Allow time to let the meat to brown slowly.
- The longer the meat and pasta sauce sits the more flavorful it is. So when we can, we like to prepare the sauce a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate until it’s time to assemble with the lasagna noodles.
- The lasagna can also be prepared in the morning, refrigerated, and then baked right before dinner.
- Serve with a side salad and warm gluten and dairy free French baguettes from Udi’s or My Bread Bakery. Both of these brands are wonderful and highly recommended for the gluten and dairy free community.
- If you have a good dairy free parmesan cheese choice or other dairy-free option for cheese, feel free to garnish with that as well.
- Gluten free noodles can be testy, so always boil noodles in a large pot according to the package directions that you are using.
- If you want more cheese flavor and don't love dairy-free cheese or vegan cheese that you enjoy, you can try to add some nutritional yeast to the layer of sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make this dairy free lasagna recipe ahead of time.
In fact, it's something we like to do that way it gives the meat time to meld the flavors together forming the perfect gluten-free lasagna flavor!
We wait to boil lasagna noodles and to assemble until we are ready to cook though.
But making all of the sauce and meat ahead of time is a huge time saver.
A good substitute for cheese in lasagna is vegan cheese, dairy-free cheese, or nutritional yeast.
Vegan cheese (like vegan ricotta) provides a cheesy flavor and can even melt, making it great for creating layers between the noodles and sauce.
Dairy-free cheese also replicates the flavor and texture of traditional cheese without any dairy.
Lastly, adding nutritional yeast to the sauce layer gives it that extra cheesy flavor without having to use actual cheese.
We shared some of our favorite brands to use for different kinds of cheese and other ingredients.
We've tried various kinds and love sharing our thoughts on each brand and discussing our favorites.
All About Lasagna
Lasagna has been around for centuries! The earliest known recipe dates all the way back to the 14th century and was called "lasagne."
It was popularized in Naples, Italy in the 18th century and is widely beloved today.
The original lasagna probably didn't include cheese like it does today.
Some say that it only had a sauce made from tomatoes and herbs but others believe that meat was also part of the mix.
Today, lasagna can be made with a variety of ingredients including different types of cheese, vegetables, meats, sauces, and more.
No matter what kind of lasagna you make, it's sure to be delicious!
This dish has been enjoyed for hundreds of years and will remain popular for centuries to come.
More lasagna recipes
- lasagna soup— a one-pot soup with the flavors of homemade lasagna without all the work. You'l find your favorite Italian ingredients perfectly simmered and ready to serve with fresh basil and topped with a dollop of dairy free ricotta to add creaminess to this soup. If you love lasagna, you'll love this recipe!
- lasagna skillet— another one dish meal with tender lasagna noodles in a delicious meaty sauce topped with your favorite dairy free cheese or a dollop of ricotta- all made in a large skillet.
Grab our Cookbook
Want all the best gluten and dairy free recipes all in one convenient and easy place?!?!?
Well, we have just the cookbook for you! The Classics, is the perfect ebook cookbook delivered straight to your inbox.
If you want a printed version, we have an updated one now available on Amazon!
The ebook is easy to print and you could even bind it at your local print shop for a quick and easy flip thru to keep in your kitchen.
The Classics is packed with 16 of your favorite household recipes that are Gluten and Dairy Free!
No more endless scrolling on Google or Pinterest looking for an allergy safe recipe. Grab your copy today. Instantly sent to your email.
Or grab the printed book copy on Amazon to have at a moments notice.
We hope you enjoy this classic gluten and dairy free lasagna recipe.
With tender sheets of lasagna noodles, and a delicious meaty tomato sauce make this the perfect dish.
Easy Gluten and Dairy Free Lasagna
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef
- ¼ pound Italian sausage
- ¼ onion diced
- ½ green bell pepper diced, optional
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 48 ounces marinara sauce 1-2 24 ounce jars
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 9 noodles gluten free lasagna pasta noodles suggestion in post
- 2 snips fresh parsley chopped, to garnish
- optional-- Violife cheese shreds, Kite Hill Ricotta
Instructions
- For the sauce, combine the ground beef and Italian sausage in a large sauce pan. Cook until meat is brown and drain.
- Stir in onion, garlic, and green pepper. Add most of marinara sauce. Leave enough sauce to lightly coat the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Add brown sugar to sauce and let the sauce simmer, covered. The longer the sauce sits the more flavor it will have.
- Meanwhile, cook gluten free noodles for 10-12 minutes. The noodles should be tender, but firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water.
- Place a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Then layer noodles and sauce. Top with marinara sauce. The lasagna noodles need to be cut down to fit the baking dish. Optional--add in Kite Hill Ricotta or Violife Cheese Shreds in-between layers.
- Bake at 375° degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
- Allow time to let the meat to brown slowly.
- The longer the meat and pasta sauce sits the more flavorful it is. So when we can, we like to prepare the sauce a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate until it’s time to assemble with the lasagna noodles.
- The lasagna can also be prepared in the morning, refrigerated, and then baked right before dinner.
- Serve with a side salad and warm gluten and dairy free French baguettes from Udi’s or My Bread Bakery. Both of these brands are wonderful and highly recommended for the gluten and dairy free community.
- If you have a good dairy free parmesan cheese choice or other dairy-free option for cheese, feel free to garnish with that as well.
- Gluten free noodles can be testy, so always boil noodles in a large pot according to the package directions that you are using.
- If you want more cheese flavor and don't love dairy-free cheese or vegan cheese that you enjoy, you can try to add some nutritional yeast to the layer of sauce.
Nutritional Disclaimer
These Nutritional Facts are ESTIMATED. Your actual nutritional info with this recipe may vary depending on the brands you choose. “Eating Gluten and Dairy Free” is not a registered dietician or nutritionist. The provided nutritional info above is based on a generic calculator, if you want more accurate info, use your nutritional calculator of choice where you can choose brands and get more info that way.
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Ashley
Wednesday 5th of August 2020
First, where did you find the almond ricotta and secondly can I make and freeze this to eat later?
Jill
Friday 7th of August 2020
Hi! I am so glad you asked. I uses Kite Hill Almond Ricotta found in the cold grocer section with cheeses and meats. It is wonderful. There are also several similar recipes on Pinterest if you can't find this item locally. Unfortunately, I haven't had good luck freezing gluten free lasagna noodles. The taste and texture changes-- at least for me. If you're looking for a quick lasagna meal consider my one-pan lasagna skillet recipe. No boiling noodles in a separate pan and it's ready in less than 45 minutes! I've gotten great reviews for it. Please reach out with any other questions. Jill
Crystal Hopper
Friday 21st of December 2018
I know it breaks the rules of this site, but my family loves to add cottage cheese to lasagna for that extra creamy, cheesiness.
Jill
Saturday 29th of December 2018
Thanks for the comment Crystal! I just found an almond ricotta that is out of this world! I'm excited to update this recipe with it. Maybe your family would like that as a dairy free suggestion. Happy eating!