Why Is My Lasagna Watery or Sloppy? – Causes & How to Prevent

Why Is My Lasagna Watery?

If your lasagna is watery, you probably haven’t cooked the noodles long enough before you cover it with sauce and cheese. It will be best to cook lasagna noodles until they’re soft but firm enough to hold their shape. Usually, it needs about 10 mins to boil water.

If your lasagna is assembled and you find the noodles are undercooked, you can try baking them a little more, covering them tightly with foil until they are done. But if the sauce and cheese are starting to dry out and crust over, it’s best to start over.

History of Lasagna, Where Did Such Beauty Come From?

It is believed that classic lasagna is a traditional Italian food. Some claim that it appeared in Emilia-Romania; others call Naples its birthplace. Everything is so simple, with classic and traditional lasagna.

 ⚡ Don’t miss out before cooking lasagna. We reviewed top 10 Best Lasagna Pans in the market. 

You will be surprised, but modern historians believe that lasagna does not come from Italy. The inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula only polished the recipe, building the layers in order and bringing the dish to the classical ideal, but it all started in Ancient Greece.

The Italian word lasagne comes from the Greek “lagan” or “laganon.” The first word is still used in Greek to refer to the flat and thin unleavened bread that was prepared for the feast of Ash Monday (the first day of Lent). The latter means a flat sheet of dough cut into strips.

Of course, no one in ancient Greece cooked classic lasagna in our current understanding. It was Lagana – thin square or rectangular layers of dough baked in an oven or cooked on a fire and possibly smeared with vegetable sauce. Such a dish was later prepared in ancient Rome without considering the layers’ variety and order.

The practice of boiling dough dates back to the Middle Ages, and the cheese in the dish probably appeared in the 13th century. The statement of the Italian chronicler and Franciscan monk Salimbene of Parma is known, who in 1284 described a fat monk who ate lasagna in this way: “I have never seen anyone so appetizingly chewed lasagna with cheese as he did.”

Interestingly, British researchers in one of the oldest cookbooks, The Forme of Cury, compiled at the behest of King Richard II in the 1390s, found a recipe for Loseyn. It resembles modern classic lasagna. And now the British claim that it was the inhabitants of Britain who invented the first lasagna, but let’s leave it to the conscience of the islanders.

Tomatoes were first mentioned in writing in a 1692 recipe published in Naples. Spinach, used in classic lasagne, originated in Bologna in the early 20th century. Around the same time, meat stew sauce and bechamel began to be used, and grated parmesan finally took root in classic lasagna.

For Naples, the classic lasagne is the festive lasagne( Lasagne Di Carnevale ), served during carnival on the eve of Fat Tuesday, before the start of Lent. This lasagne has a place for local savory sausage ( salami and caciocavallo ), small meatballs of beef, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and Neapolitan stew meat. Unlike classic lasagna from Bologna, Naples uses dry sheets of durum wheat pasta, which can better withstand the weight of a rich filling. The dish is so satisfying that you are full after a few bites.

What Causes Watery Lasagna? – Why is My Lasagna Sloppy?

There are several potential causes of watery lasagna. One possibility is that the sauce was too thin or lacked flavor. Another possibility is that the noodles were undercooked, resulting in that it has absorbed too much moisture from the sauce. If you think this is the case, you can try adding more stock or tomato sauce to make it thicker.

Alternatively, you can also try different noodles or make sure they are cooked before serving. Finally, moisture can still seep into it during storage and reheating if the lasagna has not been appropriately prepared beforehand (such as not letting it cool completely). In these cases, it is best eaten cold.

How to Prevent Watery Lasagna? – Why is My Lasagna Soupy?

There are a few things you can do to prevent watery lasagna. First, Make sure the sauce is fully cooked before adding the noodles. Second, try using a different type of noodle that will hold better after cooking. Third, use less cheese on top of the lasagna, so it doesn’t melt and create too much moisture. Finally, let the lasagna cool completely before serving, so it doesn’t get watery.

Here are some tips to help prevent watery lasagna:

My Lasagna is Floating in the Sauce! What Should I Do?

If your lasagna is floating in the sauce, it probably means the sauce was too thick or too heavy. Try thinning the sauce with a bit of water or broth or adding more pasta to the dish. You can also try cooking the lasagna at a lower oven temperature if the sauce is too thick. 

Finally, you can also try boiling the noodles until they are soft and then tossing them into the lasagne before baking. It will help absorb moisture from the sauce and make the dish firmer.

How to Fix Runny or Too-wet Lasagna?

There are a few things you can do to fix watery lasagna after cooking. First, make sure the lasagna is thoroughly cooked. If it isn’t, cook longer or add more time to the oven. Second, try adding more sauce or cheese if it’s too watery.

However, if your lasagna is too wet, you can try to fix it by adding more noodles. You can also heat the lasagna for a few minutes in an oven that is already on.

How Can I Avoid Making Soup Lasagna Next Time?

You can do a few things to keep your lasagna from getting runny. Make sure the sauce is fully cooked before adding the noodles. Second, try using thicker noodles like penne instead of spaghetti. Finally, don’t forget to stir the noodles from time to time while cooking, so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot and form a soup.

Can I Save My Dish if It Turns Out to Be Watery?

Yes, you can save your dish if it ends up watery. Just add more sauce or pasta to thicken it up. You can also try adding a layer of breadcrumbs on top before baking to absorb some of the moisture and firm up the lasagna.

Is There a Way to Thicken Watery Lasagna?

There is no fixed answer to this question, as the best way to thicken watery lasagna can vary depending on the recipe and how wet or dry the sauce is. However, some tips that may help include:

The 14 Most Common Mistakes When Cooking Classic Lasagna

We again turned to Signor Marcello Stozzi, a hereditary chef from Rome who traveled all over Italy searching for classic regional dishes. And he did work on the bugs.

1. Don’t overcook the lasagna leaves

If you’re making classic lasagna at home, boil the pasta sheets in plenty of water with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil so that the sheets don’t stick to each other. If the pan is small, place only a couple of sheets in it, so they do not touch. It is best to rinse the pasta with cold water after cooking.

If you’re using fresh egg paste, you have two options: boil the sheets or don’t boil them. Some cooks cook fresh lasagna sheets for a short time for a classic taste of the dish – literally 15-20 seconds in salted water until al dente. The sheets will come in the oven. However, if they are thin, you can skip cooking altogether. The ultra-thin pasta will cook while the lasagna bakes. Remember that lasagna sheets are pasta and should not be overcooked.

After the pasta is boiled, it must be rid of excess water, that is, dried on a textile towel or thoroughly blotted with paper towels. In Italy, at home, the table is usually covered with kitchen towels, and prepared sheets for lasagna are laid out on them and forgotten about for a while.

2. Don’t Forget Salt When Cooking Pasta

Just as everyone cooks classic spaghetti and tagliatelle in salted water, you must salt the water when preparing pasta for lasagna. It doesn’t matter if the prepared dough is surrounded by a fragrant mixture of meat and sauce or if the cheese is salty.

I will now say something probably seditious for an Italian: the standard pasta from the store is rather dull in terms of taste. But if you salt the water before adding the pasta to it, it will absorb the aroma and salty taste of the water during cooking and become fully seasoned.

I recommend that those not born in Italy use 2 tbsp sea ​​salt for every 4 liters of drinking water. It seems like a lot, but the paste doesn’t absorb all the salt from the water.

3. Choose the suitable baking cookware

Heat-resistant stainless steel or ceramic metal mold, at least 7 cm deep, is good. High sides are needed, so the sauce does not spill over the edge of the mold when baking.

The classic size of the form in which lasagna is prepared is 9×13 inches (23×33 cm).

4. Don’t play with too many layers

When making classic lasagna, don’t overdo the layers – you don’t need 15-25 layers. Imagine what a heap I sometimes met in some American restaurants. You need 5-8 layers of lasagna, then the sauces work, and the dish remains juicy after baking. And it will be easy to cut such lasagna for serving.

5. Don’t Overuse Watery Filling Ingredients

Be careful what vegetables you use for lasagna. Watery zucchini or juicy tomatoes are not the best options, as are mushrooms, such as champignons. They can make classic lasagna watery, and arranging its pieces on portioned plates will be impossible. If you still want to use these ingredients, fry them and drain off excess juices.

6. Prepare the filling in advance for classic lasagna

While it may seem obvious, you must cook meat or vegetable stuffing first. Vegetables can be blanched, but adding them raw to the filling is risky – they may bleed, not cook, or cook unevenly.

7. Correctly determine the amount of filling

Toppings for lasagna should not be too much or too little. Too much stuffing between the pasta sheets will prevent the dish from being cut neatly, and the layers may “float.” If there is not enough filling, it will destroy the taste of the pasta. It is optimal if each layer of pasta has a filling no more than 1 cm thick.

8. Meaningfully prepare the ingredients for the filling

Don’t put large chunks of vegetables or meat in your lasagna for the same reason as the previous tip. For perfect lasagna, the filling must be finely chopped and can be spread evenly over the pasta sheets. The exception is sausages.

9. When laying out sheets of pasta, use the secret of Neapolitan chefs

I have not seen this in other cities and regions of Italy, and in Naples, several of my colleagues told me about the unusual assembly of lasagna. It is a non-classical layout.

At the bottom, sheets are placed along the mold’s long side. The second layer is along the short side. The third is again along the long side, and so on. The Neapolitans claim that this way, the sauce, and juices do not flow out of the layer.

10. Thoughtfully start laying out sheets of pasta in a heat-resistant form

Line the bottom of a pan with parchment paper or foil – that’s not lasagne. You should first add just a few tablespoons of the bechamel sauce to the bottom of the pan.

It will prevent the bottom sheets from sticking to the mold. When creating each layer of lasagna, ensure that the prepared sheets overlap slightly. Try to overlap adjacent sheets by no more than 1 cm – otherwise, the dough will not be cooked evenly.

And don’t overdo it with too much bechamel sauce. It gives the classic taste of lasagne and the right consistency to its toppings, but it can also spoil the dish if there is too much of it – especially at the bottom.

Further (after the sauce is at the bottom of the mold), to assemble the dish, it is crucial to follow the following order: pasta, filling, sauce, pasta, filling, sauce, and repeating the previous layers.

11. Work out every corner when laying out the lasagna

Be careful to avoid dry lasagne corners, especially if using durum wheat pasta sheets. Fill corners well with sauces and toppings. You can add some drinking water/vegetable broth/milk to the pan’s corners to ensure the pasta softens in the oven as it bakes.

12. Don’t underestimate the power of the top layer of lasagna

Often I cook the top (and last) layer of classic lasagna with a minimum amount of sauce, sometimes completely dry – only with grated cheese. Then the dough rises a little on the sides and bakes until crispy. To me, this is a sure sign of a great classic lasagna, and the tastiest part of it is the finished soft top layer with a golden edge.

13. Don’t Overcook Classic Lasagna

You can’t save overcooked lasagna. The lasagna is ruined when the pasta becomes mushy, and the layers are difficult to separate.

Don’t miss checking the readiness of the lasagna. Cooking time is influenced by many factors: size and shape and material, what type of pasta was used, the number of layers, the quality of the filling, and what temperature was the sauce used for the dish.

Usually, according to the classic recipe, lasagna should be cooked for at least 45 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C. A tip that chefs usually give is to prevent the top layer and undercooked middle of the lasagna from browning. And to dry out, cover the pan with aluminum foil after about 20 minutes after the start of cooking. When the dish is ready, remove the foil and create a golden crust by turning on the grill for a couple of minutes.

14. Let the lasagna rest for a classic taste

Once out of the oven, let the lasagna stand in the mold for 15-30 minutes before slicing; this will prevent the layers from separating immediately, bring the cheese to a stable state, and the classic lasagna taste will be more pronounced. But it’s best to serve lasagna the next day.

I advise you to cover the cooled form with lasagna with cling film and foil to prevent moisture loss and put it in the refrigerator. Then put it out of the refrigerator for about 30 mins before warming up. What for? The lasagna must come to room temperature, so it warms up fast enough to avoid heatstroke in the oven. As you know, combining “ice dish and hot oven” never leads to success.

If the lasagna dries out a bit when reheating, the sauce may help. Prepare some classic bechamel sauce and put it on the table next to the lasagna – it will be very appropriate.