The Sauce is the Source

• The main culprit of watery lasagna is the sauce. Watery sauce usually translates into a watery lasagna. If you are using a homemade sauce, make sure you simmer it down to a thick consistency before using it. If you are using sauce in a jar, you can simmer it in a pan with 1/2 cup of water until all of the water has evaporated and the sauce is thick. You can also add tomato paste to thicken up a homemade or store-bought sauce.

Cheese Choices

• Lasagna can turn out watery if the cheeses used in the recipe have a high water content. Fresh mozzarella cheese releases a good amount of water when heated. Ricotta contains a lot of water that can accumulate at the bottom of the dish. You can use shredded mozzarella cheese, which does not produce water when melted. Try using a firm ricotta cheese to eliminate excess water. You can also strain your ricotta before using it. Place the ricotta in a cheesecloth suspended over a bowl until all of the excess water is gone.

Drain and Strain

• Vegetables with water remaining from cooking can also cause a watery lasagna. Make sure to press and strain all of the water out of the vegetables, especially spinach, before layering in the lasagna. The noodles can also be a reason for excess water. Drain the noodles completely before layering. You can also try using the no-cook noodles which soak up water in the dish.

Foiled Again

• Covering the lasagna dish with a heavy aluminum foil will prevent steam and heat from escaping the casserole dish. Steam coming from the water in the other ingredients condenses on the aluminum foil and turns into water, which can make lasagna watery. You can try baking the lasagna without any aluminum foil or remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking time. Set the oven to heat only from below to prevent the top layer of cheese from cooking too quickly. You can also poke holes with a fork around the aluminum foil. The holes will allow the steam to escape the dish.

Time On Your Side

• Lasagna can turn out watery if it is not cooked long enough. Many of the ingredients contain water and the water needs time to evaporate. All of the ingredients in lasagna are precooked and the only reason it needs to bake for so long is to melt the cheese, which does not take long, and evaporate the water. If the lasagna is watery after the baking time called for by the recipe, leave it in the oven longer to evaporate the remaining water. You can also try baking at a higher temperature to speed up the process.