Lasagna Bites

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Pin Rating: 4

I've seen a lot of different bites recipes on Pintrest and have pinned a couple of them.  I've finally had a chance to make the lasagna bites so I was very excited for this one.  I actually read up on a few different lasagna bites recipes and in the end got pinspiration from 2 of them (Here and here).  One thing you have to know about me is that I am a huge lover of lasagna.  Every italian restaurant I dine at I must try their lasagna.  (So far I think the lasagna at Macaroni Grill is the best because they use a thin pasta for the lasagna noodles.  If you guys know somewhere even better I must know!)  But because I'm such a huge lasagna fan, when I actually bit into the bites I was disappointed.  The extra crispiness from the wonton wrapper was nice, but I felt like it lost it's lasagna identity.  I debated between a 3.5 or 4 but in the end gave it a 4 because it did taste good, it just didn't live up to my high lasagna expectations.   

Ingredients:

• Mini muffin tins (silicone ones work best)
• Wonton Wrapper Sheets  (I was lucky enough to live close to an asian supermarket, but in case you don't, you can find them on Amazon.)
• 1 1/2 cup Ricota cheese
• Cooking spray (optional)
• Meat sauce
• I used 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 24oz jar of sauce
• 1/2 small onion chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups of Mozzerella (I was generous with the cheese :))

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Regular sized muffins: 18-20 minutes

Mini muffins: 10-12 minutes

I made my own adjustments to the recipe in terms of the size I used for the bites but other than that I followed the recicpe and layering instructions.  I also tested out the original size in the full muffin tin as well as made the mini muffin sized lasagna bites.  I ended up liking the smaller bites better.  

Since these were included as a the game day food table and I had other items to make as well, making the meat sauce was a part of the night before prep.  I chopped up 1/2 a small onion and  cooked those in the pot first with a little olive oil.  I tossed in the pound of ground turkey and cooked it until it was browned.

Once the meat was browned I lowered it to medium heat and poured in the sauce.

Mix it up, turn up the heat to boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer.  After this I stored it in the fridge over night, but if you're making the bites fresh go ahead and let it cool while you you work on the wonton wrappers and preheat the oven to 375.

For the original pin, they used a full muffin tin and just stuffed/overlapped the original sheet of wonton wrapper into the muffin tin.  I cut my wrappers in half and criss-crossed them to overlap and prevent and sauce from going in.  (Note, I did use the cooking spray before putting them in, but I found that it made the bottoms of the bites too moist so I recommend leaving it out and using silicon mini muffin tins if you have them.)

Criss cross the wrappers and gently push them down into the muffin hole.

(My tin changed because these are photos from the regular sized muffin tins.  The following steps are the same though so you can just ignore the change of muffin carrier.)  Next step is to scoop out some sauce and place it into each bite.  Keep in mind these are bite sized so a little sauce goes a long way.  After you have the sauce in, place some ricotta cheese on top and then some mozzerella.

Next, place another layer of wonton wrappers (I only placed one half piece instead of the 2 used on the bottom layer).  Then add some more sauce to top it off.

Last step is to cover them in some shredded mozzarella and then pop them into the oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on top (you might need to broil it to get a golden brown).

Let them cool for 1-2 minutes and pop them out and serve.  It helps to grab onto the wonton wrappers to help pull them out. The mini bites are perfect for a party (like the superbowl - Go Niners!) or special occasion when you have time to make multiple bites.  For dinner at home it might be better to make the regular sized muffins since it will be less trays in and out of the oven.  Enjoy!