This isn’t your classic beautifully layered lasagna—but it is a little more weeknight-friendly. Instead of boiling the noodles in one pot and making the sauce in another, you cook lasagna noodles directly in a mixture of milk, crème fraîche, water, and a little lemon zest, which thickens arounds the pasta as it bubbles away. (You can use sour cream in place of crème fraîche; to keep it from breaking, temper it with a little of the hot milk, then whisk in thoroughly.) The key to success is using a big enough pan—a large sauté pan or skillet with high sides or a Dutch oven that holds at least four quarts. We pop the lasagna in the broiler for a crispy top, but you can add the mozzarella in the last few minutes on the stove if you don’t want to turn the oven on.
Recipe information
Yield
4-6 servings
Ingredients
5
12
1½
2
1
3
2
2¾
1
⅓
8
4
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large high-sided ovenproof skillet or small Dutch oven over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; mix in thyme.
Step 2
Reduce heat to medium-low. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until starting to soften, about 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over and cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Add milk, pepper, 1½ tsp. salt, and 1¾ cups water, then finely grate zest of ¼ lemon into pan. Stir to dissolve flour, increase heat to medium, and cook until gently bubbling. Reduce heat to low, whisk in crème fraîche, and stir to combine. Add about one third of noodles, pushing down into sauce to submerge, followed by a third of mushrooms. Repeat with half of remaining noodles and mushrooms. Top with another layer of noodles. Set remaining mushrooms aside. Cover with a lid or foil and cook 15 minutes. (If lasagna threatens to boil over, use very lowest heat and/or prop open the cover.) Uncover; cook, gently lifting and separating noodles occasionally with tongs or a spatula to let sauce flow around, until sauce is thickened and noodles are cooked through, 6–8 minutes. Mixture should be bubbling gently; adjust heat as necessary. Remove from heat.
Step 4
Heat broiler. Top lasagna with mozzarella and reserved mushrooms. Broil until cheese is bubbling and browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Finely grate more lemon zest over. Sprinkle with Parmesan; season with pepper. Let sit 5–10 minutes. Cut lemon into wedges and serve with lasagna.
Leave a Review
Reviews (152)
Back to TopI'd agree with others that I didn't need to add as much water (maybe reduce by half). It was soupier than expected. Otherwise the flavors were AMAZING and it was fairly simple to make for someone who enjoys cooking.
Katie
Minneapolis, MN
3/26/2024
I used no boil noodles, and only one cup of water, and otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I used one tablespoon of dried time, but in the future I think I will use fresh thyme instead. The dried time was very strong. But my whole family loved the recipe. Much easier and less than a 13 x 9 pan of lasagna.
Anonymous
Washington, DC
3/18/2024
Well, had to do this recipe a couple of times bcs I love the idea of simple quick skillet recipes. 2nd try I added more Lemon zest, white pepper, much more garlic due to my taste. Made more sauce for the side, same roux based - this time with Ricotta and I love it now! Will do this recipe as part of a menu for my February V party, hosting 16 couples. Thank you Bon Appetite for giving us these easy yums!
Me in the Rockies
Rocky MTNs
2/5/2024
Amazing Dish! This was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe with one addition, the only change I made was to add a wee bit of fresh crushed red pepper to the sauce as I like heat. There was nothing difficult about this recipe. It was much quicker than a normal lasagne. To address some of the negative feedback, there was nothing involved that would make this time consuming or challenging. My guess is there are those that complain, maybe they don’t actually like to cook, but if you like mushrooms and lasagne, you’ll live this recipe. One pan, easy ingredients, simple and absolutely delicious.
Miriam Sacco
Summerville, SC
12/27/2023
Maybe I did something wrong but this had zero flavor…
Anonymous
Overland Park, KS
9/19/2023
I really like how this recipe turned out. The lemon zest and cream was subtle but made the dish so enjoyable. I added some spinach to the layers which I couldn’t really taste but felt it added a few more nutrients. I had a really hard rime with the Bon Appetit app. I’m a new subscriber and was very frustrated. It kept telling me to subscribe when I am a subscriber. I’ve used the New York Times cooking app for about 6 months and really think it is slick. I like Bon Appetit’s recipes, so I will keep using the app and providing feedback!!!
Ann M.
Sacramento, CA
5/6/2023
This lasagna is very tasty. The lemon in the recipe and squeezed on the serving was a nice surprise. Not a difficult recipe but surprisingly time consuming. From prep to serving was 2 hours. Lots of standing over the stove stirring. I’ll do this mushroom sauce again but cook the noodles as usual and layer in a baking dish to finish everything up in the oven. Also maybe warm the milk and water to get the sauce bubbling faster. I used a deep sided 11” skillet and all ingredients fit fine. I used just 1 cup of water.
Anonymous
Los Osos, CA
8/11/2022