8 surprising ingredients to upgrade your lasagna

Okay, ready-made supermarket lasagna is genuinely the ultimate comfort food on some days (this one is the best, by the way). But making a lasagna yourself, step by step, from scratch? That still gives us a little more comfort than the supermarket version. Making the layers, letting the sauce simmer, the smell coming from the oven: heavenly. Feel like upgrading your favorite lasagna dish? You often only need one ingredient for that. A surprising ingredient, though.

How about the following 8 secret ingredients for the most delicious lasagna, for example?

1. Coffee

Uhm, coffee? Yes, really. People often experiment with coffee in playful ways. Just think of the scallion latte aka the scallion coffee from China and—also from China—pork-flavored coffee. Coffee also works incredibly well in lasagna. It gives your dish a deeper flavor profile. It does so subtly: you won’t feel like you’re eating a bite of coffee with tomato and cheese. Just a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso stirred into your tomato sauce is enough for the right effect.

2. Lemon

Lemon is an outright hero in many dishes. In the kitchen in general, it’s a lifesaver. If your lasagna sauce tastes a little flat—which can especially happen with white sauces—the acidity of a lemon is the sparkle it needs. Try experimenting. Just lemon juice, just lemon zest, or both? Anything goes. Tip: lasagna sauce with leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, can often use a lemon upgrade too. It brings the bitter aspect of the vegetable more into balance. When life gives you lemons, you make lasagne.

3. Cinnamon

FavorFlav’s Wieke already wrote about it: with cinnamon, you can turn your lasagna into a global dish. Mix it with pepper and salt, then add it to the tomato sauce. The idea comes from the late singer Tony Bennett—or rather, his mother. Tony called it a “true explosion of flavor,” and we can only agree with the icon. We always use cinnamon in our tomato sauce, including our Bolognese.

4. Truffle

Truffle pasta is delicious, so why not in lasagna too? Truffle instantly turns your lasagna into a luxurious version. It gives your lasagna that delicious, nutty, rich flavor we know so well from truffle. I understand that you can’t just dig up truffles in your garden—I wish you could. Truffle oil is a good alternative in this case. You can easily buy it at a specialty store. Since you have truffle oil at home anyway: this recipe for pasta with truffle oil is the most delicious ever.

5. Goat cheese

Which cheese do you usually put in or on your lasagna? I’d bet it’s mozzarella or grated (mature) cheese. Why not experiment a little more with that? For example, try goat cheese mixed with ricotta. Goat cheese has a distinctive flavor. If you add this cheese, your lasagna doesn’t need many other major flavor boosters. Do pay attention at the supermarket, though. The price differences between goat cheeses can be enormous.

6. Nutmeg

Could your lasagna use a sweet touch? Besides cinnamon, you can also try adding nutmeg to your dish. You only need a pinch to create a lot of flavor. What will you taste? That sweetness you were looking for! Plus a nutty note that is very welcome in a spicy, savory lasagna.

7. Pesto

Okay, pesto may not sound as exciting as coffee in your lasagna. We see this flavorful ingredient in pasta dishes more often, such as the classic pasta pesto. But honestly: do you ever spread a layer of pesto on your lasagna sheets? This gave me a real “oh, of course” moment. It pairs incredibly well with tomatoes, cheese, and pasta sheets—which are, after all, the standard ingredients in lasagna—and adds an enormous amount of flavor. Green pesto, red pesto: anything goes. As long as you make it yourself, because that’s simply a million times more delicious than pesto from a jar.

8. Cold cuts

No, I’m not talking about ground beef. I mean salami, ham, and prosciutto: the cold cuts you also put on bread or eat straight from the hand. Cut one of your favorite cold cuts into thin strips and fry them along with your sauce. The meat adds a savory, salty flavor and provides extra texture in your lasagna. Give it a try—if you’re a meat eater, of course.

Also read:

• You have to try this way of reheating your lasagna
• TikTok hit: lasagna soup
• This ingredient will take every pasta dish to the next level

Source: Tasting Table