Thanksgiving Lasagna Is So Much Better Than Turkey

Picture your ideal Thanksgiving dinner. Is a bronzed, perfectly roasted (but let's face it: boring) turkey at the center of the table or are you craving something different this year? We've got the perfect alternative: having Thanksgiving lasagna.

Thanksgiving lasagna is a time-honored tradition in many Italian American homes (just ask Stanley Tucci). It's a brilliant way to round out the feast with a large-format, special-occasion pasta. And if you decide to skip the turkey (or just go for a much-easier turkey breast instead of the full bird), lasagna has the stature and swagger to own the center of the Thanksgiving table. It's also less intimidating to make a lasagna than a hulking turkey.

Here are our best tips for making an unforgettable Thanksgiving lasagna.

Try a new lasagna recipe

There are plenty of lasagna recipes that feature fall vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and hearty greens. 2002 F&W Best New Chef Fabio Trabocchi favors a luxe Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna with a rich, creamy sauce and root vegetable ragù at the holidays, while F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple shares a Pumpkin Lasagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard for a tomato-free vegetarian feast. 2005 F&W Best New Chef Lachlan McKinnon's Woven Lasagna with Prosciutto and Fresh Spinach Sauce (which graced the cover of the May 2020 issue) is a celebration in itself, but there's never a wrong time for former F&W Test Kitchen senior editor Grace Parisi's classic Grandma Lasagna, packed with tomato sauce, meat, shredded mozzarella, and creamy ricotta cheese, or writer Marve McLean's hearty, happy-making Vegetarian Lasagna "Bolognese" with Plant-Based Meat.

Treat yourself to a new oven-to-table lasagna pan

A gorgeous casserole dish will make your Thanksgiving lasagna look that much more epic on the table. Our dedicated team tested plenty of pans for sturdiness, ease of carrying, how well they fared from oven to freezer and back, ease of cleaning, and the wow they brought to the table. These are their five favorites.

Use ravioli instead of lasagna noodles — or skip the noodles altogether

If you have a beloved source for fresh stuffed ravioli, then you're just minutes away from lasagna. After all, what are ravioli but ready-made layers of pasta and cheese? Grace Parisi's Vegetable and Ravioli Lasagna is especially brilliant, leveraging quick-cooking sausage, plenty of mozzarella, and deliciously caramelized vegetables. Former Gourmet food editor Melissa Roberts cleverly subs noodles with produce in her Spaghetti Squash Lasagna, making this a perfectly sumptuous main for gluten-free guests. Chef Christine Lau's Crispy Rice Cake Lasagna was a favorite of F&W staffers at her restaurant Kimika, and its meld of Italian sausage, fennel, gochujang, ssamjang, and kimchi with tender, tubular Korean rice cakes may make this cultural crossover casserole a must on your holiday table for years to come.

Make ahead for a no-stress feast

The best part of Thanksgiving lasagna is that you can make it a full day ahead and just pop it into the oven an hour before you're ready to serve it. Stash your assembled, unbaked lasagna in the fridge, covered in foil, for up to 24 hours, then bake as directed in your recipe, adding 10 to 15 minutes of foil-covered baking time to ensure that it's bubbly and melty all the way through. Then garnish with torn basil, proudly bring it to the table, and give thanks for a holiday that's (finally) not something to stress over. Author Andrea Slonecker's Après-Ski Lasagna layered with boxed noodles, canned tomatoes, Italian sausage, fresh basil, earthy mushrooms, and creamy ricotta cheese comes together quickly the day before and is every bit as elegant on the holiday table.

Luxuriate in leftovers

Chef and author Sara Gruenberg crafted her Turkey and Butternut Squash Lasagna with Crispy Sage specifically to celebrate Thanksgiving leftovers and notes that if your predilections are for sweet potatoes rather than squash, that's a perfectly great swap.