I’m just as happy as the next shopper that grocery inflation finally seems to be steadying — prices have only raised about 1% over the last 12 months, according to the latest inflation report from the US Department of Labor.
But until prices actually start dropping in a meaningful way, I’ll happily include a few premade comfort meals in my dinner rotation. And frozen lasagna is near the top of that list for me.
As a single adult, I’m always looking for kitchen hacks for making smaller servings, so I decided to test out making the same frozen lasagna in my oven, air fryer, microwave, and toaster oven to see if another appliance topped the traditional method.
Here’s how it went.
I used my favorite frozen lasagna in all the appliances.
To get the fairest results, I used my favorite brand of frozen lasagna: Stouffer’s.
I was excited to see that Sam’s Club sells a 96-ounce Stouffer’s classic meat and sauce lasagna for about $15. The bulk size was perfect for cutting into smaller squares for each appliance.
I was most excited about the air fryer.
Since the air fryer has been a great hack for so many interesting recipes I’ve tried, I was most excited to see how it performed.
The consensus online was to cook the lasagna from frozen for about 20 minutes.
The most involved recipe I found told me to cook it upside-down for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. I was curious, so I decided to go with that method.
I flipped the lasagna halfway through the cooking time.
I’ve flipped burgers and pancakes, but flipping a lasagna? After 18 minutes, I took the basket out and flipped the lasagna over so it was right side up. I was pretty shocked by how well it went, too.
Once it was flipped, I cooked it at 350 for another five minutes.
I was surprised by how well the lasagna held its shape.
The air fryer cooked the lasagna all the way through quite well, and the piece maintained its rectangle shape better than the other appliances I tried.
I think this is because the shortened time didn’t allow everything to bake into each other. The noodles weren’t overly saturated with flavor — each ingredient was separate but tasted great.
There were a couple of crispy noodle areas on top, which is to be expected when cooking something so quickly. To prevent this, I’d suggest adding some red sauce to any noodles you see sticking out before air-frying.
I didn’t trust the microwave method as much.
Everything I found online heavily discouraged me from microwaving frozen lasagna, and I can see why.
When I finally found a recipe that made sense for the size of my lasagna, it seemed pretty straightforward. I set the frozen rectangle on a plate and microwaved it on high for nine minutes.
When the timer went off, it definitely still needed time, so I put it back in for another four minutes.
The recipe I found said it could take closer to 30 minutes in the microwave, but it was almost overdone done before the four minutes were up. It was melting into itself and off the plate.
The texture was predictably mushy and very unpleasant.
Biting into this was like eating a solid meal that had been liquified. It was melt-in-your-mouth, but not in an endearing way.
The microwaved lasagna was also difficult to plate — it almost resembled pizza by the time I was able to cut a slice.
I will say that the noodles and cheese at least had a similar mushy consistency, which might be some people’s cup of tea.
Next, I tried baking it the conventional way.
I found baking instructions for a 2-pound Stouffer’s lasagna since my helping was much smaller than the box’s instructions.
I settled on 375 degrees for 65 minutes.
I covered the lasagna to stop the cheese from burning.
After 20 minutes, I took the lasagna out and loosely covered the top with foil to protect the cheese from burning. Then I put it back in the oven for the remaining 45 minutes.
Oven-baked lasagna has that classic taste and texture.
The layers of lasagna baked well into each other without melting completely together — it stole the show for best consistency.
The longer baking time also allowed the flavors to really seep into the noodles.
The toaster-oven approach was slightly different from the standard oven.
Many toaster-oven lasagna recipes I found called for 400 degrees, but the vintage toaster oven I’m working with suggested 425.
Once it was properly heated, I stuck the frozen lasagna in and set a 45-minute timer.
There was certainly room for improvement.
Overall, the toaster oven cooked the lasagna well.
It had a consistency closer to the air-fryer lasagna than the oven, with stiffer noodles. But everything was still fully cooked and really good.
If I’d put foil over it at some point in the cooking process, I think this method would’ve turned out much better. As it is, if you cook a lasagna in a toaster oven, remember that the cheese is (usually) much closer to the heat mechanisms than in a conventional oven.
The results kind of surprised me, but I’m glad I know how to make the best frozen lasagna.
I was looking for a hack, but sometimes, ol’ faithful has its reputation for a reason. The oven gave the sauce enough time to seep into the noodles beautifully, making it nearly incomparable to the other appliances.
I wanted the air fryer to be my favorite, largely because it’s the quickest method. Although the texture and flavor left a little to be desired, I’ll certainly do it again if I’m in a pinch or looking to impress friends with a parlor trick when I’m hosting — no one expects a frozen lasagna to be done in less than 30 minutes.
The toaster oven was also a fine cooking method, but I don’t see why I’d use it instead of my standard oven.
Overall, the biggest lesson I learned is that there are no circumstances where you should ever microwave a frozen lasagna.
Click to check out the other appliances we’ve put head-to-head so far.
The post I made frozen lasagna with 4 appliances. I’m shocked one method got the meal on the table in less than 30 minutes. appeared first on Business Insider.
