freezing lasagna

[peaceful_mama]

Sorry to do this separate but I want to make sure it's seen and I find out because I want to do it soon!

When you make ahead and freeze a whole lasagna, do you bake it first or freeze it with the ingredients (like beef, noodles) cooked but not all baked together?

I have only ever frozen individual portions already baked--used to do this back when I was single and I'd want lasagna but of course would not finish an entire pan before it would go bad--the individual portions made good work lunches!

[BarefootGirl]

You can do it either way. Personally, I would cook the individual parts, assemble, and then freeze. When I wanted to eat it, I'd thaw it, then bake as usual.

Though if you want it to be quicker from freezer to ready-to-eat, you can bake the whole thing as usual and then divide individual portions, wrap and freeze. Those could be microwaved when you're ready for them.

[To-Fu]

Hi! Moving this over to Nutrition and Good Eating.

[splath]

I prefered to bake it and then freeze the whole thing. It won't last as long (taste-wise) in the freezer that way, but makes it so much easier to reheat.

[jazzharmony]

I bake it and then freeze individual portions in Pyrex containers.

[mamadelbosque]

I bake it and freeze the whole thing pre-cooked. Then I just pull it out and let it thaw slightly the day we plan to eat it and stick it back in the oven ~350 for ~30 minutes till its heated through. I like doing it this way cause' theres no worries about anything not being cooked (like the eggs in the ricotta mixture).

[hildare]

I always bake it first. I don't know how the pasta would take freezing otherwise, plus the ricotta doesn't freeze well in an uncooked state.
I do tend to not bake it for as long when I know it's going in the freezer.. the cheese on top needs to be deliciously brown, and if I underbake, it gets that effect when heating the 2nd time.

[annethcz]

I'm the odd man out here, I don't bake it first. I do cook the noodles and the sauce, assemble the ingredients and then freeze. I don't bake it until I'm ready to eat it.