Ready-to-eat lasagne are a staple of my weight loss plan, particularly when the climate will get colder. There’s nothing like an oozy hunk of meat, cheese and carbs to make you’re feeling as in the event you’ve simply tucked your self right into a pasta doona. Consuming lasagne below a blanket manifests a ravishing sense of symmetry: I’m at one with the universe in all its multi-layered glory.
Plus, it’s inexpensive: you may have a full meal for below $3 – although it’s a staggering testomony to the pace of inflation that this can be a 20% value enhance since I final wrote about low cost lasagne.
As a public service, I examined eight chilled or frozen lasagne discovered at Aldi, Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. Most had been single-serve beef lasagne, with one gluten-free model included, and had been ready in keeping with the microwave instructions on the pack. Each was rated on its flavour (beefy, tacky), look (bonus factors for a parsley garnish) and – importantly – post-microwave structural integrity. Have been my assessments fully subjective? Sure, however after consuming greater than 3kg of lasagne in per week, I’m mainly an skilled.
Greatest total, and finest worth for cash
Worldwide Delicacies Italian Type Beef Lasagne 400g, $2.49 from Aldi (frozen), $0.63 per 100g
I’d by no means tried this Aldi one earlier than my lasagnethon, nevertheless it’s now my high choose for flavour and worth. There’s a very good distinction in textures, and it’s meatier and cheesier than a few of the others with 14% beef and greater than 3% cheese, in keeping with the substances checklist. The additional cheese does give it a extra greasy look which I personally don’t thoughts (it’s type of like how the oil and coconut milk separate in rendang), however some may discover it off-putting.
The remainder of the check
World Kitchen Beef Lasagne 1.2kg, $7.99 from Aldi (chilled), $0.66 per 100g
That is unbelievably good worth. The pasta sheets are thick and comfortable, the cheddar and mozzarella are wealthy and creamy with out being cloying, and the ragu feels hearty and healthful with tomato, onion, carrot, zucchini, celery, spinach and purple wine. It is available in a foil baking tray so it’s supposed for the oven, however as a result of it’s a recent lasagne you could possibly simply lower out a portion and microwave it as a substitute, in the event you want a sooner technique. Whereas different lasagne puddled limply when transferred to a plate, the depth and structural integrity of this one makes it a very good choice to serve with a salad or sides. Actually, if I didn’t stay alone, I’d in all probability purchase this commonly. However for one particular person, a kilogram of lasagne is … so much.
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Coles Frozen Beef Lasagne Pasta 400g, $3 from Coles (frozen), $0.75 per 100g
With extra sauce than construction, the Coles model lasagne is one to eat straight out of the tray, probably with a spoon. Regardless of 4 layers of pasta sheets, it has a shallow profile that doesn’t actually maintain collectively after microwaving. The ragu is fairly gentle on mince (the substances don’t really specify how a lot beef is current, which makes me suspicious) however the total mixture remains to be comforting.
Woolworths Beef Lasagne 375g, $4 from Woolworths (frozen), $1.07 per 100g
The sprinkle of parsley and parmesan is a pleasant contact, nevertheless it doesn’t contribute a lot to the flavour, which is pleasantly bland. This one options three layers of pasta and a really beneficiant quantity of bechamel (39%), but it nonetheless holds its form properly after slicing. The meat sauce accommodates 15% beef nevertheless it’s a fine-textured mince that tastes extra just like the filling in a meat pie than a bolognese. That’s not a nasty factor, and I’d eat this once more.
Observe: there’s supposedly one other cheaper Woolworths model lasagne nevertheless it wasn’t in inventory at any of the shops I visited in Melbourne.
McCain Beef Lasagne 400g, $5.60 from Coles or Woolworths (frozen), $1.40 per 100g
McCain’s model made an honest impression at first chunk however after a pair extra forkfuls, I felt it went means too arduous on the tomato. The acidity was overpowering and made me really feel agitated as a substitute of cosy. It’s additionally intensely salty, which bears out within the superb print: 340mg of sodium per 100g (others had been within the 200 to 305mg vary). I appreciated the feel of the parmesan crumb however in any other case, this one was my least favorite.
On The Menu Frozen Beef Lasagne 260g, $4.50 from Woolworths or Coles (frozen), $1.73 per 100g
That is tolerable and nothing extra. My gripes are admittedly petty: there’s no cheese, solely bechamel; there are solely three layers of pasta as a substitute of 4. However essentially the most severe flaw is the scale. I simply don’t know after I’d ever need a 260g serving of lasagne – it’s too small for a meal and too wealthy for a snack.
Tutto Pasta Gluten Free Lasagna 350g, $6.50 from Woolworths (frozen), $1.86 per 100g
This was essentially the most inexpensive gluten-free possibility I may discover and whereas it’s costlier than the non-gluten-free lasagnes, it’s not any higher. There are 4 layers right here however they disintegrate and mix collectively as you eat as a result of the pasta sheets (rice flour, water, eggs, tapioca, corn maize and xanthan gum) don’t maintain collectively. There’s chunky beef, cheese and plenty of tomato, however no bechamel so it tastes extra like a bolognese polenta bake than lasagne. It’s, nevertheless, really fairly tasty, and it jogged my memory how a lot I take pleasure in a polenta bake.
Latina Beef Lasagne 350g, $7.50 from Woolworths (chilled), $2.14 per 100g
This refrigerated or ‘recent’ lasagne is fairly satisfying. There’s the revolutionary design of placing the bechamel within the center as a substitute of on high, and the ragu is flavourful. As a common rule, pasta sheets are likely to have higher texture in refrigerated lasagne in comparison with frozen ones. That stated, you will get thrice the burden of recent lasagne for nearly the identical value at Aldi.
