I got adventurous at the grocery store last week and grabbed some wonton wrappers as I walked by the Asian section. I know, I’m a wild woman.
I didn’t have a clue what I was going to make with them, but didn’t care. I have Pinterest for that.
Low and behold…these little suckers showed up. And I pinned them faster than you can say “totally-making-that-for-dinner-sometime!”
If you like lasagna…you’re gonna love these little cups of deliciousness. My kids sure did.
As complicated as mini lasagna cups may look…don’t believe it. It’s a fib. That’s just the old-fashioned grandma in your mind speaking. Silence her with these babies…she’ll spice up her tune.
They may be a little more time-consuming than your average brown-the-meat-and-toss-it-on-penne meal, but the flavor and cuteness factor of this dish is totally worth the extra time. And it really is foolproof!
Not to mention the simple ingredients:
Cupcake Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 pound ground beef or venison
- 12 wonton wrappers
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 3 ounces Parmesan cheese {optional}
- 5 ounces Ricotta cheese
- Basil for garnish {optional}
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Brown beef and season with salt and pepper. Drain.
- Cut wonton wrappers into circle shapes using a biscuit cutter or using the top of a drinking glass. You can cut several at a time.
- Reserve 6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 6 tablespoon mozzarella for the top of you cupcakes. Start layering your lasagna cupcakes. Begin with a wonton wrapper and press it into the bottom of each muffin tin. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese, Ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Top with a little meat and marinara sauce. Use around 1-2 teaspoons of all the ingredients depending on your personal preference.
- Repeat layers ending with marinara sauce. Top with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. To remove use a knife to loosen the edges then pop each lasagna out.
- Garnish with basil and serve.
Recipe tweaked ever-so-slightly from this one over here
I doubled the recipe and threw some extra seasoning into the meat: 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds, a teaspoon of dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, and some salt and pepper. I would do this again in a heartbeat – the meat was delectable!
I also used a jar of pasta sauce with Italian sausage bits in it…very yummy indeed!
My hubby’s first response when he saw me tenderly scooping these little babies out of the muffin pan was…”Wow, babe! I bet you won’t make these again anytime soon”. Oh, he of little faith! They only LOOK complicated.
Their meaty, creamy, cheesy goodness in cupcake-form left him thankful I hadn’t agreed with him.
They’re most definitely making it onto our monthly meal planning menu {which I’ll be sharing more about with you soon!}.
Go ahead…break out your muffin tin. You {and your meat eating men} can thank me later.
