ready in about 35 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • uncooked ziti
  • olive oil
  • chopped yellow squash
  • chopped zucchini
  • chopped onion
  • chopped tomato
  • chopped fresh basil
  • chopped fresh oregano
  • crushed red pepper
  • Cooking spray

Serves 8 to 10

It’s important not to overbake the lasagna. Once the sauce starts bubbling around the edges, turn the oven to broil. If your lasagna pan is not broiler-safe, brown the lasagna at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes. Whole milk is best in the sauce, but skim and low-fat milk also work. Supermarket-brand cheeses work fine in this recipe. The Gorgonzola may be omitted, but the flavor of the lasagna won’t be as complex. The test kitchen prefers the flavor and texture of Barilla no-boil noodles, but this recipe will work with most brands. One box of Barilla will yield enough noodles for this recipe; you may need two boxes of other brands.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For the best flavor in our four-cheese lasagna recipe, we settled on a combination of fontina, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, and Gruyère. But the real secret to a great four-cheese lasagna recipe proved to be a fifth cheese. While ricotta didn’t add much flavor, it gave the lasagna body without making the dish heavy and starchy.

You might need to buy:
  • part-skim ricotta cheese
  • ground black pepper
  • minced fresh parsley leaves plus an additional 2 teaspoons
  • unsalted butter
  • all-purpose flour
  • whole milk
  • low-sodium chicken broth
  • table salt
  • bay leaf
  • cayenne pepper
  • no-boil lasagna noodles