How To Cook Frozen Lasagna Faster

Lasagna is a staple household meal in so many places. It can take a lot of time to prepare so we often will prepare two at a time and freeze one for later.

It’s really nice because when we need a quick solution, we can just pull the frozen lasagna out and cook it and we have a delicious dish without the extended preparation time. 

Lasagna can take quite a bit of time to cook when it’s thawed out so cooking it frozen really takes some time. You have to plan for the cooking time or find alternative ways to cook it and speed up the cooking process without ruining the dish. 

How can you cook frozen lasagna faster? The best way to cook a frozen lasagna faster is to start cooking it with a foil covering. Although it is best to thaw lasagna first, you can still bake it frozen using this method. It will still take quite a bit of time, however.

In this guide, we will walk you through step-by-step the best way to cook frozen lasagna and share some tips for speeding up the process as well. We hope that this quick guide will help you with a solution for cooking frozen lasagna. 

Stick with us to learn how to cook frozen lasagna faster

Cooking Frozen Lasagna

Cooking frozen lasagna is absolutely doable and it really is pretty simple. If you want to cook it without thawing it, no problem. You will need to plan probably about 90 minutes of baking time if you are going to bake it from a frozen state. 

Even if you were cooking your lasagna fresh or thawed, it would probably take close to 60 minutes, so you have to wait a considerable time either way.

It does save you the hassle of having to remember to thaw it out, however.

If your lasagna is extra-large, you still might need an additional 20 minutes from the time frame here.

You can also cook it a bit more quickly if you have a convection oven. We recommend a high temperature to really get the juices cooking as well. 

How to Cook Frozen Lasagna Quickly

Here are your steps to cook frozen lasagna as quickly as possible:

1. Remove lasagna from the freezer and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cover the lasagna dish with foil snugly. This will allow it to cook and heat through the frozen parts without burning your cheese on top. 
3. Bake the lasagna in a covered state for about 60-75 minutes. 
4. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown. This should be approximately 30 minutes. 
5. Allow to cool slightly and serve and enjoy! 

Take note that if your lasagna is in a glass dish, you need to defrost it first before placing the glass dish in the oven. You can do so in the microwave if absolutely necessary. 

Should You Defrost Frozen Lasagna First?

As you can see from our process above, it is absolutely possible to cook your frozen lasagna without defrosting it first. 

However, we do recommend that you defrost the lasagna if you really want the cooking process to move quickly, but it is not required. 

To defrost, you have a couple of different options.

You can pull the lasagna out and stick it in the fridge overnight. This is probably the easiest option to get your lasagna defrosted and ready to heat up for dinner. You don’t have to do anything else. 

Remember that if your lasagna is in a glass pan, you definitely need to defrost it and this process of an overnight defrosting process is really probably the best way to do so. 

However, you can also use the microwave for defrosting, as long as you don’t have any foil or metal in your pan.

If you decide to use the defrost feature on your microwave, just be mindful to check the lasagna often as you don’t want the microwave to start cooking the lasagna for you. That job belongs to the oven!

Related Questions:

Now that we’ve talked about how you can cook lasagna faster, let’s cover a few of the next questions you might have.

Can you cook a frozen lasagna without thawing it?

I know that when I’m craving lasagna, the last thing I want to have to do is wait hours for it to thaw before even starting to cook it.

Luckily there is actually a way to cook a frozen lasagna without thawing it, and here are the steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F
2. Get a 9×13 inch baking dish and lightly grease it on the bottom and all sides.
3. Place the frozen lasagna in the middle of the baking dish and cover it with your desired sauce (I like a classic marinara)
4. Add a little bit of liquid like water, chicken broth, or even wine, over the top of the sauce.
5. Cover the lasagna with foil.
6. Bake for approximately 90 minutes, or until the lasagna is fully cooked.
7. After the lasagna is fully cooked, take the foil off and broil the dish for 2-3 minutes.
8. Take the lasagna out and enjoy!

How Do You Defrost Lasagna Quickly?

Want to cook your lasagna but want to defrost it first?

Here are a few simple ways you can defrost your lasagna more quickly:

Use a microwave

This is probably my go-to option most of the time, and it’s certainly the quickest.

Just take your lasagna and remove it from any packaging and place it on a microwave-safe plate.

Next, just microwave the lasagna on the defrost setting for about 5 minutes, or until it’s fully thawed. For more even thawing, try to stir the lasagna up a bit every few minutes.

Cold Water Bath

For this method, you’ll want to put your frozen lasagna in a Ziploc bag.

Next, just place it in a large bowl of cold water for around 30-60 minutes or until it’s fully thawed.

No matter what method you choose, just be sure to use clean hands and be sanitary with each step to prevent any kind of food poisoning.

Can You Slow Cook Lasagna In The Oven?

Not in a hurry and want an extra tender extremely flavorful lasagna?

Then you’re in luck because you absolutely can slow-cook your lasagna in the oven.

I personally love doing this because I think it makes the sauce thicker and more flavorful. It also helps all the ingredients meld together and develop a cohesive flavor.

To do this, simply place your lasagna in an oven-safe dish, cover it well with aluminum foil, and bake it at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-4 hours.

The one thing to be careful of when slow-cooking your lasagna is not letting it dry out. This most often occurs when the dish isn’t properly covered.

Conclusion

While there isn’t necessarily a super-fast way to cook frozen lasagna, there are some things you can do to help keep your process smooth.

You should plan on a cooking time of about 90 minutes total for a frozen lasagna. A thawed lasagna will take about 60 minutes to cook.

The fastest way to cook frozen lasagna is to defrost it first but you must remember to pull it out the night before or take the time to use the defrost on your microwave. You can also cook it slightly faster in a convection oven as well. 

Good luck with your lasagna! 

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