Pumpkin Ricotta Lasagna Roll-ups

After all the dollars that flowed out during our  renovations and the holidays, I found myself determined to use up as many of the leftovers in my fridge as possible to save money on groceries.  One item that challenged me was a partial can of pumpkin. Other than my Pumpkin Pecan Pie, it's not a food I love all that much. I ended up only using 1 cup to make the pie and it looked like about 2 cups were left in the can.  I was stumped.

My number way to deal with something like this is a Google recipe search. I wasn't disappointed. There were many sites with multiple recipes using pumpkin included a mac and cheese, a chili, a coconut soup and more.  Who knew.  I picked two that looked promising out of all that were offered and went to work. 

I started with a recipe for pumpkin and ricotta lasagna roll-ups.  The original recipe on How Sweet Eats included a home made white sauce and fried sage. It looked delicious. I will probably try this version in the future.  However, I needed something a little easier to throw together on this busy day, so I let go of the fried sage and homemade white sauce, and instead used a jar of store bought spaghetti sauce.

The recipe made 12 roll-ups. As it is only Glen and I, I split them into 2 smaller pans of 6 each - one to bake now, and one to freeze for later. I love doing this. Having several preassembled dishes in the freezer can be a life saver on busy days. The only prep change I made other than switching sauces was to the add the mozzarella right into the ricotta pumpkin mixture rather that sprinkle it on before rolling up. 

We both loved the roll-ups. Interestingly enough, you really couldn't taste the pumpkin. So why add? Pumpkin ups the nutritional value of the dish. It is full of fiber, rich in beta carotene, an antioxidant that your body turns into vitamin A, and a heart-healthy food that can also give you an immunity boost. NOTE - I did screw up by adding 1 cup pumpkin instead of the 15 oz stated, so they might have a stronger pumpkin flavor if the full amount is added.  

In a few weeks I will share the other recipe I tried - Cornmeal Pumpkin Muffins. Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Ricotta Lasagna Roll-ups
Makes 12 rolls (serve 2-3 per person)

Ingredients - 

12 to 15                 lasagna noodles boiled
12 oz                     Ricotta cheese
1 C                        Canned pumpkin puree (original recipe added 15 oz)
1 C                        Finely grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1                            Large egg
¼ teaspoon dried sage
kosher salt and pepper
2 cups freshly grated mozzarella or provolone cheese DIVIDED

1 jar                       Store bought spaghetti sauce (650-700 ml)

Instructions - 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles according to the directions, around 8 or 9 minutes. You will need 12 lasagna noodles for this recipe. I suggest make the entire box, in case some break or rip while cooking. With any leftover lasagna noodles, you can tear them apart and use like regular pasta with sauce later in the week. Once the lasagna noodles are cooked, immediately lay the best 12 out in a single layer on a kitchen towel or parchment sprayed with nonstick spray.

Prepare a 9 x 13 oven dish by spraying lightly with Pam, and spread 1/2 cut jarred spaghetti sauce across the bottom. An alternate suggest is a 12-inch round oven safe skillet. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, pumpkin, parmesan, egg,  1-½ cups of the grated mozzarella, a big pinch of salt and pepper (½ teaspoon or so, each), and the dried sage. Whisk until fully combined. Place1/4 cup of the mixture on each lasagna noodle and spread out leaving about 1/2 inch bare on each end. Split any leftover filling in the bowls between the 12 noodles. Roll up each lasagna noodle tightly from the end. 

Lay the roll-ups seam side down in the oven dish.  Pour remaining sauce over the top being sure to cover the top of each roll-up. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 C mozzarella on top. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Serve with extra parmesan cheese for sprinkling.