By james art 
Lasagna is one of the most perfect culinary creations in the world. Not only is it classic comfort food, but it’s also infinitely versatile, each layer an opportunity to edit and refine its tangy, tangy, creamy potential. Those same layers, however, make it a dense pasta dish and, among other possible pitfalls of lasagna, a bit of a challenge to reheat. So, Chowhound tapped celebrity chef and former muscle magazine columnist Robert Irvine at the 2024 New York Food and Wine Festival for his exclusive advice on how to bring those starchy bricks back to their optimal temperature. And there are no shortcuts allowed.
“Well, it should be in the oven,” says Irvine. “You can’t microwave because it goes from the inside out. It dries up. In the oven. A little stock on top because the stock will loosen everything up and make it better. But definitely the oven, not the microwave.” Irvine’s tip for reheating lasagna in the oven works not only for restaurant leftovers, but for ready-to-eat pasta as well. “You can make it months in advance, freeze it, thaw it naturally, then pop it in the oven and cook it,” he says.
The lasagna ingredient you might overdo, but can easily swap out
Robert Irvine also has some strong thoughts when it comes to your lasagna ingredients. “Lasagna is a cheap man’s dish,” he says. “Sorry, that’s right. That’s where it comes from, immigrants. And I love it because it takes anything. And by the way, there’s not a lot of meat in lasagna. Americans put too much meat in it, but if you go to Italy, lasagna is not like that.”
Whether you want to create variety for meat lovers or ditch the animal protein, as Irvine advises, this ability to incorporate any number of ingredients is what turns a standard lasagna recipe into your own specialty. If you are just starting to experiment with the dish, you can replace the expected ricotta with equal parts cottage cheese. You can also use lasagna as a vehicle for all your prepared frozen vegetables and greens like spinach for a new lineup each time. You, too, can try Giada De Laurentiis’ trick to get the ultimate crispy lasagna edges. Finally, you can always repurpose your cooking plans into a one-pot lasagna soup (no pre-boiling noodles required).