Meet my new favorite lasagna! This spicy bacon lasagna is simple, yet flavorful. It’s topped off with an avocado salsa for a special twist. This is anything but your traditional lasagna so it is only appropriate to give it a little zing. You can control the spiciness level of this dish by adding more or less jalapeno. And remember, some jalapenos are way spicier than others. When you cut up your jalapeno you can smell it and get an idea of how spicy it is. If it burns your eyes and nostrils while smelling it, you’ve got a really hot one. Sometimes jalapenos are rather mild so you may need more than one if you really want to bring the heat. You are the best judge for how much heat you can handle. If it were up to my husband, I’d move up to some habaneros and really bring the heat. No thanks, I’m a jalapeno girl and I don’t imagine that changing anytime soon!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ragu. The opinions and text are all mine.
Spicy Bacon Lasagna
- 12 oz. bacon
- 1 onion diced
- 1 jalapeno diced (adjust amount for desired spiciness level)
- 2 cups chopped cilantro
- 15 oz ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 9 oz package oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 1 jar Ragu Creamy Mozzarella Sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 2 roma tomatoes diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 lime juiced
- Lay the strips of bacon out  in a single layer on a foil-lined 4 sided baking sheet. Put in a cold oven and set the temperature to 400 degrees. Let bake about 20-25 minutes (depending on bacon thickness) until crispy. Once crispy, remove from baking sheet and let drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Meanwhile, set aside about 1/4 cup of the diced onion, 2 teaspoons of the diced jalapeno, and 1/2 cup of the fresh cilantro in a small bowl for the avocado salsa. Saute the remaining onion and jalapeno in a large skillet over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together ricotta, egg, salt, and chili powder. Transfer the cooked onions and jalapeno to the mixture, add in about 1 cup of the cilantro and stir together.
- Lightly grease a 9×13 pan and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with a spoonful of the Ragu sauce, just enough to give the bottom of the pan a light coating. Spread out noodles to cover the pan with a single layer, overlapping slightly. Spoon 1/3 of the remaining Ragu sauce over the noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Crumble 1/3 of the bacon over the ricotta. Repeat with a second layer of noodles, Ragu, ricotta, and bacon. Top it off with a final layer of lasagna noodles and remaining 1/3 of the Ragu sauce. Sprinkle the top with the shredded mozzarella cheese and crumble the remaining bacon over the top.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until cheese starts to brown. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.
- While the lasagna is baking, make your salsa by combining the roma tomatoes, avocado, and lime juice with the set aside onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro over the baked lasagna before serving. Serve individual slices of lasagna topped with the avocado salsa.