Serves 6 to 8

Why this recipe works:
Following the success of our Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna, we decided to create a hearty sausage version. Boosting the flavors of the ricotta filling with a hefty amount of Parmesan and some fragrant basil certainly helped our cause, as did boldly flavored Italian sausage. To keep things simple, we found spooning dollops of ricotta over the noodles—instead of spreading it—and pinching off pieces of raw sausage helped to streamline assembly. As for the sauce, the test kitchen’s favorite jarred sauce (Bertolli Tomato and Basil Sauce) worked perfectly.

Serves 8 to 10

Our favorite lasagna noodles are Barilla No Boil. You can thaw the spinach overnight in the refrigerator instead of microwaving it. But do warm the spinach liquid to help smooth the ricotta.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To make a spinach lasagna worthy of its name, the first step was simple: increase the spinach. Frozen spinach tastes just as good as fresh and cuts down on kitchen time as well. For the finest, most even texture, we use the food processor to chop the spinach and to smooth out the ricotta cheese. The final secret for extra spinach flavor is using some of the spinach liquid but not enough to make the lasagna watery. We nixed the traditional creamy béchamel in favor of a fresh, herb-flecked tomato sauce but still layered in plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan for added richness.