I want to thank Sue for sending this recipe idea along. I don’t have much time to spend surfing around the internet looking for fun new ways to get creative with ingredients and leftovers, so I’m super grateful that she sent this to me. It was instantly one of those “I must make this soon” recipes…and definitely a new family favorite!
I love getting creative with spaghetti sauce type meals…these “individual beef pies” are always a favorite…and now we can add these Lasagna Buns to the list too! With this particular meal, I made about 1 1/2 pounds of meats worth of spaghetti sauce, and only used a small portion of it for these lasagna buns. And the rest of the spaghetti sauce went into the freezer. (To be used on a weekend evening when I just don’t feel like cooking, but also don’t want to shell out $40 for dinner! Saves weekend cooking sanity, time and $$$ all in one!)
Also, I used sour cream instead of ricotta because it was cheaper. And what I had on hand. It’s a perfect substitute in this recipe!
What I did for the boys to make these dairy free…I just spooned the spaghetti sauce of the bread and then topped with a dairy-free, soy-free cheese. The nice part about these is that they didn’t use too much of the uber-expensive cheese in one dish. I just used a few pinchfuls and stashed the rest back in the freezer.
The lowdown…
Take some sub rolls or bolillo rolls…slice off the top and then scoop out the some of the “inner” bread.
Scoop in some meaty spaghetti sauce.
Make up the “ricotta” cheese.
And I say “ricotta” because I used sour cream, an egg white and some seasonings. Then mixed in some shredded mozzarella.
Spoon the “ricotta” cheese over the spaghetti sauce.
Add some Parm.
And then some more shredded mozzarella.
Add the top you sliced off.
Wrap in foil and bake.
Then serve with a simple side salad.
Lasagna Buns
Adapted from Lasagna in a Bun at Taste of Home
Ingredients
- 6 sub rolls or bolillo rolls ($1.49)
- About 2 cups spaghetti sauce with meat ($1)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (use 1/2 cup ricotta if you prefer) ($.10)
- 1 egg white ($.10)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning ($.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese, divided ($1.25)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese ($.25)
- Lettuce, vinaigrette ($1)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Slice off the tops of the sub rolls. Then scoop out the bread from the inside. Spoon some spaghetti sauce into the rolls.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, egg white, spices, salt and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon over the spaghetti sauce.
- Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese over top. Add the bread top back on. Place into a foil pouch and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Prepare small, simple side salad.
- Serve Lasagna Buns with side salad.
Cost $5.24
Interesting. My husband would definitely devour this 🙂
I make this vegan tofu ricotta from Go Dairy Free all the time to do lasagna for my family. http://www.godairyfree.org/Recipes/Cheese-Subs/Tofu-Ricotta-Vegan-Gluten-Free-Nut-Free.html It makes enough to do 2 meals so I normally do lasagna and stuffed shells. I split the lasagna into 2 pans and do one with real cheese for my husband, he always comments on how good the “ricotta” is and can’t believe it isn’t real! There have been some great Nasoya tofu coupons lately, and I’ve combined them with super doubles at Harris Teeter to get tofu for next to nothing, like $.19 a package! I have half a batch left right now in fact, so I think I have to try it with this recipe.
I am not a fan of tofu that much but I may try that!Also, I wonder if you could use Greek plain yogurt instead of Sour Cream. I usually use Greek Plain Yogurt instead of Sour Cream but some items don’t turn out the same.
Yep, I agree…must try this soon!
Great recipe. These will be hot, portable and yummy now that the hubby is in the field 16 hours a day or more. Easy for me to get to him and keep hot.
Yummmm. The only thing I love more than pasta? Bread, of course! Carbs are my friend. Thanks for the mouth-watering recipe.
Wow – these look yummy (for me! I love meatball subs and sloppy joes, but my hubby hates them lol) I’d like to know where you shop, though! Holy moley, I’m not getting those price points here! 1/2 cup sour cream would be close to $0.50 -$0.70 and cheese! A small block of Parmesan is around $7 (and I’m talking 1 1/2- 2 c MAYBE which would be like $0.80. Not that it’s a lot more, but every penny counts, right?! 🙂 lol
What kind of sauce is that? you had to add in the meat, right??? $1 for sauce like that? No, really.. where do you live, lol
OMG! Amazing tips. I’ll try asap 😀
Wow – these look yummy (for me! I love meatball subs and sloppy joes, but my hubby hates them lol) I’d like to know where you shop, though! Holy moley, I’m not getting those price points here! 1/2 cup sour cream would be close to $0.50 -$0.70 and cheese! A small block of Parmesan is around $7 (and I’m talking 1 1/2- 2 c MAYBE which would be like $0.80. Not that it’s a lot more, but every penny counts, right?! 🙂 lol
What kind of sauce is that? you had to add in the meat, right??? $1 for sauce like that? I’m so confused!
Oh – or are you breaking prices down to “per serving”?? That would make a lot more sense for the pricing… but I can’t see using 2 c sauce and 2 c cheese per person…
I tried these tonight and the flavor was very good. The only thing I didn’t so much care for is that my spaghetti sauce made the bread very soggy on the bottom. Any suggestions?
I could definitely see that happening Sheri…you definitely want the sauce to be in the thicker side…sorry for not mentioning that! You could let the sauce simmer longer to allow some of the moisture to cook off. You could also use a pizza sauce mixed with the meat, as pizza sauce is thicker than spaghetti sauce. Hope that helps!
You could toast the bread first, then put the sauce that would cut down on the sogginess.
Donna
Great idea Donna!
If you think sour cream is too tangy for this recipe, just use cottage cheese, if you have that on hand. That is what I make lasagna with every time ~ as I don’t care much for ricotta ~ and my whole family LOVES my lasagna!
Question about the sour cream vs. ricotta: If I just want to use ricotta, do I still need to add the egg?
Thats exactly what I was wondering…can someone tell me please. If I use ricotta. do I still add the egg and seasoning etc that the recipe asks for.
When I make regular lasagna with regular ricotta cheese, I add eggs. I think it’s so the cheese will “firm up” and not be so melty. So, I’d put the egg in with regular ricotta too on this recipe.
I make something very similar but it makes about 18. After baking them and cooling them, they are wrapped in foil and stored in freezer container and frozen. When I know it’s going to be crazy, I thaw overnight in freezer and then warm them in the oven for 20 or so minutes. They come out crispy, hot and delicious. No more extra work but a couple of extra meals for my small family.
THIS is amazing! I’ve never thought of lasagna in a bun before! Pure genius! Thank You for this recipe, I will definitely have to try this one, I know my 4 kids will devour it up!
To make this an even sweeter deal….. My Stop and Shop has the “Excess Bakery” rack. Everything is usually half or more off original price. I always see rolls that would be perfect for this, usually .99 for a 6 pack.
Yummi!!! I love this.
I loved your suggestion on using sour cream. My husband loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
So you just toss away the bread you scooped out? Instead, how about tearing them into chunks, maybe spray with some olive oil and seasonings, bake in the oven and use in your salad as croutons?
I made this tonight and everyone really liked it. My toddler is unable to eat dairy so I filled his with the spaghetti sauce and some dairy-free cheese and spices. He loved it! Also, he was more than willing to snack on the bread innards that were scooped out while we waited for dinner in the oven. 😀
Very interesting I really like to try to do this, looks delicious .kkk