Fried lasagna appetizer – bite-sized pieces of lasagna, breaded and deep-fried. Crispy on the outside, with layers of cheesy lasagna inside.
Key Takeaways:
- Creative Use for Leftovers: Turn leftover lasagna into a delicious party appetizer with minimal waste.
- Perfect Bite-Size: Cutting chilled lasagna into small squares makes for ideal, crispy snack portions.
- Half-Thickness Lasagna Works Best: Use a single ricotta cheese layer to keep bites from being too bulky.
- Homemade Pasta & Sauce Elevate Flavor: Thin, fresh pasta and homemade marinara provide rich, authentic taste.
- Freezing is Key: Freeze the lasagna bites before breading to make handling and frying easier.
- Crispy, Cheesy, Crowd-Pleasing: Golden on the outside, cheesy on the inside—serve with marinara for dipping and watch them disappear.
Overview
Fried lasagna bites are a delicious and inventive twist on a classic comfort food, transforming leftover lasagna into crispy, cheesy, bite-sized appetizers that are perfect for entertaining. Made by layering pasta, marinara sauce, and cheese into a half-thickness lasagna, chilling it, then cutting it into small squares, these bites are breaded and deep-fried to golden perfection. Each crunchy exterior reveals a soft, savory center filled with the rich, familiar flavors of traditional lasagna. Whether you’re using homemade pasta and sauce or store-bought ingredients, these fried lasagna bites are a crowd-pleasing solution to leftovers and a guaranteed hit at any party. Serve them with marinara dipping sauce for an irresistible appetizer that’s crispy, cheesy, and totally crave-worthy.
What Is Fried Lasagna?
I love lasagna – layers of pasta, cheese, and tomato sauce all layered in a baking dish. Bake it until the layers melt into a delicious cheesy meal. When I make lasagna, I make a big 9 X 13-inch pan. Farmer Fred and I can eat about a third of it, which means we have a lot of leftovers. Oh, the dilemma of the leftover lasagna. Do I reheat it for another meal? Do I freeze it for a later date? As I pondered what to do, I thought, there has to be a creative way to use the leftovers!
I love appetizers. Lasagna and appetizers, there must be a way to turn my leftover lasagna into a fantastic appetizer. Suddenly it occurred to me, Fried Lasagna!
Make the Lasagna.
Fried lasagna bites are the perfect thickness when made from half-thickness lasagna. That’s right, make a lasagna with a single layer of ricotta cheese.
Use fresh homemade pasta, and make your own marinara sauce. Roll the pasta thin. The thin pasta will absorb all the flavors of your delicious homemade sauce. It is so much better than the thick commercial lasagna noodles. However, if you don’t have time to make your own, a jar of marinara sauce and a box of lasagna pasta is also good.
Make the lasagna using cooked pasta. Start by spooning marinara sauce into the bottom of the pan and add a layer of pasta. The next layer is marinara sauce topped with seasoned ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. The final layer is more pasta topped with sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Bake the lasagna and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
Make the Fried Lasagna Bites.
Cut the chilled lasagna into bite-size pieces. A 9 X 13 pan of lasagna makes a lot of appetizers. This pan made 7 dozen appetizer size pieces. Freeze the pieces for at least 2 hours. Be sure to separate the pieces, or they will freeze together.
Use a 3-stage breading to bread the frozen pieces before frying. For 3-stage breading, coat each piece with flour, then egg, and finally bread crumbs. Use seasoned Italian breadcrumbs. Once the pieces are breaded, don’t worry if they thaw completely.
Deep-fry the lasagna pieces until they are a golden brown. Serve with a marinara sauce for dipping. Your guests will love this unusual but super tasty fried lasagna appetizer.
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FAQ:
Q: Can I use store-bought lasagna for this recipe?
A: Yes, store-bought or leftover homemade lasagna both work. Just be sure it’s chilled and firm before cutting.
Q: Do I have to freeze the lasagna pieces before frying?
A: Yes, freezing helps the pieces stay intact during breading and frying, and makes them easier to handle.
Q: What kind of breadcrumbs should I use?
A: Use seasoned Italian breadcrumbs for the best flavor and crunch.
Q: Can I bake instead of deep-fry them?
A: While deep-frying gives the crispiest result, you can bake them at 400°F until golden brown, flipping halfway through.
Q: How do I keep them from falling apart in the fryer?
A: Freeze the lasagna bites solid and use a proper three-stage breading (flour, egg, breadcrumbs) to seal them.
Q: Can these be made ahead of time?
A: Absolutely! Bread and freeze them in advance, then fry or bake just before serving for maximum freshness.
Fried Lasagna - Appetizer
Equipment
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- deep fryer (optional)
Ingredients
Lasagna
- 6 cups marinara sauce (split) homemade or purchased, 4 cups for lasagna and 2 cups for dipping.
- ½ lb lasagna pasta homemade or purchased
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 stage breading
- 1 cup flour all-purpose
- 4 eggs beaten
- 2 cups bread crumbs Italian style
- oil for deep frying enough to cover the pieces
Instructions
- To adjust the portions, click on the number of serving, and a slider will pop up. Adjusting the slider up or down will automatically calculate the amount needed for each ingredient.
- Mix the ricotta cheese with the egg and fresh chopped parsley. Set aside
- Cook the lasagna noodles until al-dente. About 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cool water.
Make the Lasagna
- Add 1 cup of marinara to the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish
- Add a layer of lasagna pasta and top with 1 1/2 cups of the marinara.
- Add all of the ricotta cheese by dropping spoonfuls of the cheese onto the sauce and then spreading it over the sauce.
- Top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese.
- Add another layer of lasagna noodles
- Top with the remaining sauce and cheese.
- Lightly spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray, cover the lasagna, and bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. The cooking spray keeps the cheese from sticking to the foil.
- Once the lasagna is baked, chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day remove the lasagna from the pan and cut into bite-size pieces. About 80 pieces total.
- Freeze the pieces of lasagna for a minimum of 2 hours.
Breading and Frying the Lasagna
- Put the ingredients for the breading in 3 seperate shallow containers.
- Remove a dozen frozen pieces of lasagna at a time and dip each piece in the flour first, then the beaten eggs, and lastly coat with the bread crumbs. It is ok if the breaded pieces defrost completely while you finish breading the rest of the pieces.
- Heat up the oil in a deep-fryer, or add an inch of oil to a deep frying pan. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Monitor the oil temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
- Fry 4 - 5 pieces of lasagna at a time, until golden brown on all sides. About 1-2 minutes depending on how frozen the pieces are.
- Place the fried pieces on a rack to drain.
- Serve immediately with the 2 cups of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.
- Fried pieces of lasagna can be reheated at 400 degrees for 3 - 5 minutes, or microwave until hot in the center.
this food is very delicious thank you for making this delicious recipe
Thank you, for giving the recipe a try, glad you liked it.