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Smoked Sausage Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food, made with layers of smoked sausage and smoked tomato marinara sauce.
Table of Contents
Smoked Lasagna is a great comfort food. It’s not only a great use for smoked marinara sauce, it also a meal that feeds a crowd, and makes an amazing house warming or meal train idea for new parents.
Looking for more comfort foods for the grill or smoker? You can check out our round up of great comfort food recipes.
Think about it. The love we all have for lasagna just got 100 times more incredible by adding some delicious smoked sausage and rich smoked tomato sauce.
Modifications
I make different variations on homemade lasagna every time I make it. This is a very versatile and customizable recipe. Ideas include, adding:
- Sautéed Mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Spinach (4 cups goes a long way with this dish)
- Spicy Pickled Peppers
If making gluten free, use the same technique with your favorite gluten free lasagna noodles.
The Day Before – Smoke Sausage and Tomatoes
If you’re making the Smoked Tomato Marinara Sauce: Go ahead and smoke the tomatoes and the sausage at the same time. And ideally just make both the day before you make the lasagna. Or time it so you can make the marinara sauce prior to constructing the lasagna.
- Prep your Italian sausage by breaking it up and placing it on a sheet pan. Or consider buying it in bulk versus in a sausage casing.
- Smoke sausage at 250 degrees F for 60 minutes, until the sausage reads 155 degrees at its thickest point. It will continue cooking in the lasagna too.
- Make your Smoked Tomato Marinara Sauce. You might want to make extra sauce, because it’s incredibly easy to just sneak spoonfuls of it and eat it alone like it’s soup. I’m speaking from experience here!
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Once that’s done, you can build your lasagna. If you are short on time you can make this in batches. The sausage and smoked tomato sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. Even the smoked sausage lasagna itself can be assembled up to a day in advance and placed in the oven when it’s time to eat.
How to Make Lasagna
It’s all about the layering.
- Heat Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat up smoked sausage and smoked tomato sauce together.
- In a Medium Bowl: Combine the ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, prep cheeses.
- Layer Ingredients: Spread some of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread some of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Add 1/3 of the mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the smoked tomato sauce.
- Repeat: With noodles, ricotta mix, cheeses, and sauce 2 more times. Cover with 3 noodles. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and sauce. Cover with foil.
- Bake Lasagna: About 40 minutes, then remove the foil and let it bake an additional 15 minutes to crisp up the exterior crust. Remove, and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
Wine Pairing for Smoked Sausage Lasagna
I love a good Italian red for this smoked sausage lasagna. Montefalco Rosso from Umbria is always a great choice. Montefalco Rosso DOC is made with primarily Sangiovese grapes (which are widespread in the area) blended with Sagrantino (the most important grape of the region), to give it structure and character, and often a small amount of Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. They are like mini versions of Sagrantino di Montefalco, but great for everyday drinking as well as more affordable.
If you can’t find this wine, reach for your favorite Sangiovese, Barbera, or Zinfandel.
Want another great lasagna recipe? Check out our cookbook!
Other Smoked Tomato Recipe Ideas
- Smoked Tomato Marinara Sauce
- Smoked Tomato Bloody Mary
- Meatball Sandwich
- Smoked Tomato Bisque
- Smoked Beef Lasagna — As seen in Fire + Wine Cookbook
*This recipe was originally published in February of 2017 and republished in October 2020 with updated photos and recipe details.
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Smoked Lasagna Recipe With Sausage
Ingredients
For the smoked sausage:
- 1 lb ground bulk hot Italian sausage
For the Lasagna:
- 4 cups smoked marinara sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 12 no-boil or oven ready lasagna noodles
- 1 16-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups packed tight)
Instructions
For the Sausage:
- Preheat smoker to 225 degrees, using oak wood.
- Place sausage spread out on a large foil-lined cookie sheet in small clumps.
- Smoke for 60 minutes and remove. Look for a darker color on the exterior while still moist. It will continue cooking in the lasagna.
For the Lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1-tablespoon olive oil and the smoked sausage. Add 4 cups of the smoked tomato marinara sauce and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Mix together and let cook 5 minutes to combine.
- In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Spread ½ cup of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Add 1/3 of the mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the smoked tomato sauce.
- Repeat with noodles, ricotta mix, cheeses, and sauce 2 more times. Cover with 3 noodles. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and sauce. Cover with foil.
- Bake lasagna, covered with foil, for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 more minutes, until heated through and liquid is bubbly. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my! That looks incredible. I haven’t made lasagna in years…
this is the smokiest lasagna that was ever made, i feel pretty comfortable stating that! looks delicious, mary. 🙂
Ha 😉 Thanks so much!!
Yum! I love the process of making lasagna, and am very intrigued by the roasted tomatoes!
The tomatoes rock. You can use them for so many things (smoked tomato soup, bloody mary mix, pasta, pizza sauce, etc!). Super versatile.
A guaranteed way to make me drool when talking about food is to tell me that the flavouring is smoked… this looks so gorgeous and you’re right – the best way to congratulate new parents!
Lottie xx
https://lottielamour.co.uk
Ha 😉 Smoked food = best food!
Lucky neighbors! This looks A-MA-ZING! I’ve never tried that Arnaldo-Caprai wine but, based on your description, it seems like my kind of wine! I will need to keep an eye out for it!
It’s consistently a good wine, that’s for sure!! I hope you find it!
This looks so yummy! And, I love that you offer a wine pairing. That’s an area I want to know about, but tend to always fail.
Well you’ve come to the right place if you want wine recommendations 😉
This lasagna looks and sounds absolutely incredible! Holy yum. I’m totally impressed that you made your own smoked tomato sauce, too. Pinning for later! 🙂
Thanks! The sauce is so easy! And if you’re smoking the sausage anyways, it takes no extra time to throw on some tomatoes too!!
This looks absolutely delicious!!! I am definitely going to try this out!! Those tomatoes look AMAZING!!! Thanks!!
They are so good! I hope you get to try them out 🙂
Smoked sausage and sauce sounds delicious.
That looks so delicious! Can’t wait to try it!!!
Thanks!!