I’m just going to come right out with it. I have a recipe you need to try. Like, abandon your plans for the evening and go out to get the ingredients for this mouthwatering summer lasagna right this very minute.
Right – summer lasagna. There’s an oxymoron for ya’!
You don’t even have to read the rest of this pos – blah, blah, blah… See? I’m making it even easier for you to skip over the directions, print this recipe, and get on your way.
Yep, friends, there’s something about Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage!
This unique, fresh and creamy lasagna layers the classic Caprese trio of tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, with spicy turkey sausage, then envelops them in a creamy, garlicky (easy!) white sauce.
Fresh and light, yet filling and hearty, Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage is best described as summertime comfort food. Sumfort food. You’ve got to try it!
Start the Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage by boiling 3/4lb lasagna noodles in heavily salted, boiling water. You’ll only need 9 noodles for the lasagna, but sometimes they break and what not, so I went ahead and cooked more than I needed.
Drain the noodles, then return them to the hot pot and add a splash of olive oil. Gently stir the noodles around to coat in the oil, which will help keep them from sticking together as they cool, FTW.
Meanwhile, remove 3/4lb hot turkey Italian sausage from their casings and add ‘em to a large skillet over medium heat. The sausage provides some oomph to the lasagna, and a savory flavor that I just love.
Break the sausage up as it cooks, then remove it to a plate and set aside.
In the same skillet (three cheers for 1-skillet suppers!) start the creamy white sauce that will permeate each crevice in the lasagna. MMM! Melt 2 Tablespoons butter, then add in 2 cloves minced garlic, and cook until golden brown, about 30 seconds.
Your kitchen should be smelling AMAZING right about now!
Next, whisk in 3 Tablespoons flour and whisk for another 30 seconds.
Now, pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth a few Tablespoons at a time, whisking to incorporate into the flour-butter mixture.
Don’t go too fast, or it’ll be hard to break up the lumps.
When the sauce is smooth, whisk in 1 1/2 cups 2% milk until smooth.
Season with salt & pepper then switch to a spatula and stir the sauce for about 10 minutes, or until it’s thick and bubbly.
Pour the thickened sauce into a large, glass pyrex measuring cup, or bowl with a spout. This step is optional, but I think it makes the assembly of the lasagna a whole lot easier.
Which is where we go next! Generously spray the bottom and sides of a 9×13″ baking dish, then pour in 1/4 cup sauce, and spread it around with a spatula.
Place 3 cooked lasagna noodles long ways on top,
followed by slices of fresh Roma tomatoes,
torn fresh basil,
1/3 of the cooked hot turkey Italian sausage,
and 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.
Drizzle 1/3 of the remaining sauce on top, then repeat!
Two more times, to be exact, for a total of 3 layers. Cover with foil then bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted, and the sauce is bubbly.
I call a center piece! 
Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage
Serves 8
Adapted from Rachel Ray
Ingredients:
3/4lb lasagna noodles
extra virgin olive oil
3/4lb hot turkey Italian sausage (could use sweet)
2 Tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 cups 2% milk
5-6 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 cup torn fresh basil
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles in a very large pot of salted, boiling water until just under al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil and gently stir to coat the noodles.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Squeeze sausage out of its casing and cook while breaking up until no longer pink. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, melt butter, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour, then whisk to combine and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Slowly pour in chicken broth a few Tablespoons at a time, whisking to break up any lumps. Continue pouring and whisking until mixture is smooth. Pour in milk and whisk to combine. Season with salt & pepper.
- Switch to a spatula and stir sauce until thick and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Pour into a bowl with a spout, and set aside.
- Spray the bottom and sides of a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 cup sauce into the bottom, then spread evenly with a spatula. Place 3 lasagna noodles in the bottom, then top with 1/3 of the tomatoes, 1/4 cup torn basil, 1/3 of the cooked turkey sausage, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat 2 more times, for a total of three layers.
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Ahhh, I just can’t get over that creamy white sauce! It’s so thick, and the garlic almost tasted roasted.
Enjoy a piece, or 10. Since it’s lighter than traditional lasagnas, and packed with fresh, summertime flavors, I sort of felt ok, nay, obligated, to go back for more. My inner Garfield agreed. 
If you haven’t hopped in the car already, I hope you’ll give this a try soon. Comfort food in the summer – it’s a very good thing!
Have a great night!
Looks like a great lasagna, I should make it and have my family for supper, thanks for sharing!
That looks gorgeous!
Oh wow. Definitely bookmarking!
All I have to say is YES YES YES!! I can’t wait until my fresh basil and tomatoes come in in the next couple of months.
OMG I am so all over this recipe it looks AHHHHMAZING!
It looks like you may have extras… and I live in WDM… Any chance I can pick these up?
This looks so yummy! Funny because my husband also hates the no-boil noodles! So high maintenance
Looks and sounds absolutely delicious!
Yum!!! What a fun twist on lasagna, definitely trying this!
this looks awesome. i’m definitely trying this
Mmm…you just put two of my favorite things together in one recipe…caprese and a white sauce lasagna
Now I just have to get the spicy turkey sausage!
This dish is right up my alley!! I looove basil!!
A) This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. B) As an Iowa girl who’s currently living outside of the state, it always makes me super happy to see Hy-Vee items in your photos. : ) I miss Hy-Vee.
Just bought a bunch of basil and tomatoes. Looks like I’ll be making this soon
Looks and sounds DELISH!!!
This has my name written allllll over it! Thanks for sharing!
YUM! I will be making this right away, thanks again IGE!!!
Looks yummy
i so have to make this ASAP!!!
How do you alter the directions if using the no cook noodles?
Umm… pretty sure lasagna could NOT get much better than this!!! I cannot wait to make and sink my teeth into this dish. Thanks again for such a great recipe! Enjoy your weekend
Did you know most HyVees sell the Honeysuckle Turkey Italian Sausage already out of the casing and in a tube? This would cut down on one step of the recipe. Looks delicious. I like to use the turkey sausage to make pizza burgers. Top the burgers with pizza sauce and mozzarella. Yum!
This sounds like perfection! My boyfriend left for Iowa this morning (Quad City boy!), and will be there a week…so, I think this will be his welcome home meal next Sunday night!
Wow, I’ve been searching the web for regular caprese salad recipes, but I might just have to try out this lasagna now. It looks much more substantial/filling than a regular salad. Thanks!
Wow! This looks amazing! I cannot wait to try it! Thank you so much for sharing. Your blog is one of my favorite stops!
You had me at “caprese”! Yummy!
This is the first recipe I’ve tried from your blog and we really liked this one! Much lighter than a traditional lasagna, but with all kinds of flavor. I played with it a little, subbing out some broth for white wine, and throwing some Parmesan in the sauce. It was fantastic! Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing; this will be made as soon as my hubby is back to working days. I don’t want to be tempted to eat toooo much when I first make it. Looks delish.
Side note – LOVE your Friday Favorites, as always.
This was amazing – I went home and made it last night and it was a huge hit with my husband! Thanks for sharing!
This looks UNREAL. I cannot wait to try it out!
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! Hubby and I loved it!! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow. This is definitely a keeper recipe! Thank you so much for sharing.
We made this too — ahhhhhmazing!
This. was. AWESOME. Thanks for sharing!
This was awesome!!!
I tweaked it a little, I added TJ Traditional Marinara too, and instead of shredded mozzarella I used the mini pearls from Trader Joes. It was a big hit at my dinner!! I had a 1/4 of the pan left!!
Do you think I could make this a day in advance and then bake it the next day? Or would the tomatoes/basil get too soggy?
I think the sauce might actually soak into the noodles, and the lasagna might come out dry. I think it’d be totally fine to cook the noodles (store them in a plastic bag with some olive oil to prevent sticking,) prepare the sauce, and cut the tomatoes the day before, to make assembly the next day really quick!
I made this last night for the hubby and myself. . . It was amazing!! I followed your recipe exactly (except for I couldn’t find spicy turkey sausage at my grocery store so I had to use pork) and it turned out AMAZING!
Hi – I made this tonight and it’s delicious! One note: I used no boil noodles and they didn’t really soften at first. I ended up making a little more sauce and pouring it over the top.
I made this for my family tonight. I used Sweet Italian chicken sausage and a bit of Parmesan. My family LOVED it!!!
Made this for dinner tonight. I actually used a mild sausage as hubby doesn’t do spicy well and added a little bit of italian seasoning while cooking the meat. I used a No Salt chicken stock while making the sauce. After I made the roux, I added a little parmesan cheese in it for a little more flavor; I love cheese. I used a low fat italian cheese blend. I really liked this recipe and will definately make it again; so versatile. Hubby said he would like to try it without meat. I’ll try it without meat next time and will definately up the fresh basil. Love the fact that this is considerably low calorie in comparison to traditional lasagna and has great flavor. Thanks so much for the recipe.
This is definitely a keeper! Made this tonight and hubby loved it.
I used the turkey sausage that comes in a 1 lb tube and added some red pepper flake to make it spicier. Also lightened it up with the 2% milk mozzarella and used skim milk and low sodium broth in the sauce. I think next time I will throw in an extra tomato or two. Great recipe!
Thank you for continuing to come up with great recipes! I made this last night and it was a hit. It’s nice to know that when I need to figure out something to make I can come to your blog and know that the recipe will come out great! Thanks!
[...] This lasagna looks light, fresh, and delicious! Caprese Lasagna With Spicy Turkey Sausage via Iowa Girl Eats (function() { window.PinIt = window.PinIt || { loaded:false }; if (window.PinIt.loaded) return; [...]
I made this for dinner last night and we just loved it! I’m having leftovers for lunch today and it was just as good the second time around.
[...] Because I ended up working a lot of hours on Sunday I get to deduct some hours from my days this week. So when I got off early on Monday I thought I would make dinner. I wanted to try Iowa Girl Eats’ Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage. [...]
This is in the oven right now. Can’t wait to try it!
[...] for the recipes you saw on KCCI this morning? Click for the Caprese Lasagna and Sangria [...]
Saw this on KCCI this morning & had to make it tonight. Cooking for two I used wild mushroom ravioli in place of lasagna noodles and used individual casseroles dishes. I had Gateway’s Italian sausage on hand which is very lean, so used that. It was amazing! That white sauce is incredible. Great way to use the abundance of fresh basil & tomatoes. Thanks so much!
I was so excited to make this tonight, but when I opened my “box” of lasagna noodles there were only 3! Quick change of plans, this will now be a baked pasta with penne. I thought it turned out great although I think the lasagna format would be best. Just mixed everything together (added some fresh mozzarella pearls that didn’t do much) and topped with mozzarella. My sausage was “Al Fresco sweet Italian chicken sausage. My husband ate 2 1/2 portions and was eager to eat it for lunch tomorrow. Thanks!!
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