Lasagne... freeze pre or post cooking?!

[thelittlestbird]

Hello wise people

I'm batch cooking ahead of the arrival of DC2.

Maybe it's baby brain, but I can't work out whether to bake a lasagne in the oven, then leave it to cool and freeze it - or to freeze it 'raw'.

It's a veggie (lentil and mushroom) lasagne if that helps - no meat.

Would it be better to cook it, let it cool down, then freeze? Then you just have to heat it up x

i would assemble and then freeze so when you eat it, it’s being cooked for the time.

Oh no - two different answers !

I don't want to be defrosting it before putting it back in the oven, so my gut is telling me to cook it first before freezing. Then, as PP said, it's just reheating.

Why am I finding this so difficult to work out

I always cook first, then freeze.

I usually freeze raw, then cook.

I would freeze before cooking and not put the sauce on the top, I would do a cheats sauce (dont like bechemal anyway), cream with melted cheese in it or mascarpone with cheese in it and chuck that on top when you cook it later

I think if you cook then freeze then reheat the top might get too dry. When you buy a ready meal version, the top is not cooked but the inside is.

I freeze uncooked.

Basically it doesn't matter what you do, but being consistent might be the important thing here.

I’m cook then freeze. I do a batch of thinner ones that take less time to cook from frozen

Freeze it raw. It will be less dry that way, and will also use less energy as you're only cooking it once.

I used to cook, then freeze. But am now leaning towards freezing raw and then cooking.

Only because it takes so long to cook from frozen even when already cooked, I think cooking it first might be a waste of time.

Freeze before cooking.

I would cook,l first, then freeze, then you're just heating it up and not cooking.

I would cook, portion and freeze, then defrost and reheat a meals worth each time.
If you freeze raw, then unfreeze and cook, you then have the whole thing to eat as you shouldn't re-freeze it. Surely it would be better to be able to eat lasagne one night, and then a few nights of other things before the next lasagne, than thaw the whole thing and then have to eat it in a few nights?

Cook and freeze the filling and sauce separately, it’s quicker to defrost and then assemble with lasagna and cook for 20 minutes

I wouldn't freeze a dish with mushrooms in. Maybe I've done something wrong but it's always meant slimy mushrooms for me! Sorry that doesn't answer your question but I'd think uncooked might be better.

I’ve done it both ways and it tastes MUCH better if you freeze before cooking. You can cook straight from the freezer, just cover with foil and allow about 90 minutes cooking time.

If I had to freeze it I'd wait for the sauce to be cold before I assembled it and then freeze raw. Stops the pasta starting to cook/soften which it does with a hot sauce, resulting in a soggier finish.

If I make anything to freeze I cook it from frozen. So it is only cooked once and not reheated. I don't know I would think it was drier if cooked, frozen then reheated I also think of frozen ready meals, they are all frozen raw and then cooked. There must be a reason for doing it this way.

And sorry one more thing, I tend to make a big batch of ragu, freeze it in pots (I person serving or 2 person serving etc), then when I want to make a lasagne all I have to do is take out the ragu pot(s) from the freezer and defrost, make the cheese sauce (takes a few minutes) and layer up with the pasta then cook.

Very very helpful everyone - thank you. Frozen uncooked it is ! X