Does Lasagna Have Egg? (Do You Need It?)

Last updated on August 20th, 2022 at 10:34 pm

Lasagna is a dish that is customizable. Usually lasagna is thought to be ribbon noodles, a tomato and meat mixture and cheese. It has many layers of delicious ingredients. 

However, when it comes to this Italian pasta, there isn’t a set recipe to follow. You can substitute the meat for something else, take out the noodles completely, or use many different types of cheeses. 

If you have been planning on making some lasagna for dinner, you could have come across several recipes suggesting you use egg when preparing the dish. Does lasagna have egg in it and do you actually need it?

Lasagna can be made with or without using egg in it. Traditionally the recipe didn’t call for egg but sometimes you may want this ingredient for the cheese mixture.

When you add egg to the ricotta in lasagna it helps to bind the cheese for the dish. This is helpful so it won’t ooze out of the casserole when it is cut but rather it will stay intact. 

When cutting the lasagna it will be perfect squares so you get all the yummy ingredients together in each slice. Now, if you find yourself without eggs and making lasagna for dinner, there are some things you can substitute for the egg.

Try using bechamel sauce, plain yogurt, heavy cream, potatoes, or flax as a substitute for the egg. Just plain old yogurt will work just fine as the binding ingredient you need for the lasagna. 

It will thicken it up and make the dish even creamier. Now you can skip the egg altogether if you want to. You don’t necessarily need egg in lasagna but if you want it to stay together better, then egg is needed.

Can You Skip The Egg In Lasagna?

You are used to making lasagna with egg and when combining the ingredients you realize you don’t have any egg. What can you do? Can you skip the egg in lasagna?

You can skip the egg when making lasagna. Although it will help the dish to bind together and not be too runny, you don’t have to have it as an ingredient.

“The dish eventually evolved into the traditional lasagna of Naples called “Lasagna di Carnevale” made with local sausage, fried meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta or mozzarella, and Neapolitan Ragu. One of the most popular variations of this lasagna dish is called “Lasagna al Forno.” Mitalia Kitchen says in their article The Story of Lasagna. 

They continue, “This variation originates from the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna and is made with ricotta or mozzarella, thick Ragu, bechamel sauce, wine, onion, oregano, and green sheets of pasta made with spinach. Lasagne’s history wouldn’t be complete without variety throughout the regions of Italy. Different areas may use different dough or sauces.”

One of the earliest accounts of lasagna comes from a cookbook from the 14th century. This dish was made in the Italian city of Naples and consisted of pasta and tomatoes. 

Over time, the dish was changed and customized by how people wanted to make their variation of the entree. Some lasagna is made without meat and some without noodles. 

The cheese can be substituted for something else as well. Whatever your eating lifestyle is, lasagna can be made to fit into it. 

So, if you don’t have egg to add to make your lasagna with, don’t worry, you don’t necessarily “need” it. Lasagna can be made without using egg. 

Just know that the dish won’t hold together as well as it would if you added egg into the ricotta cheese mixture.

Why Does Lasagna Get Watery?

Lasagna was one of your favorite meals as a child when your mother or grandmother would make it for family dinner. Wanting to recreate the delicious dish you follow the recipe to a  “t”. When it’s time to cut into the lasagna you notice that it is really runny. 

Disappointed, you may be asking why this has happened?

Several things can factor into why your lasagna came out runny. Everything from not draining the noodles properly, putting in too much sauce, or no egg in the cheese, can account for the lasagna being watery.

No one wants their lasagna to be runny and falling apart. They want a dish that sticks together to be placed on plates and where all the ingredients can be enjoyed together. 

Lasagna can get watery because of several things. 

If your lasagna is always runny, try draining the cooked noodles really well by laying them out on parchment paper and dabbing with a paper towel. You can even use no-boil noodles but for these you need to double the amount of sauce you are using in the lasagna. 

If you think you have too much sauce in the recipe try reducing the amount you are layering in the dish and this could help with making it less runny.

Finally, try adding some egg to your ricotta cheese mixture so it doesn’t ooze out whenever you are cutting portions. The egg helps the cheese to bind together so you get all the layers in every square of the yummy entree. 

Like I said before, you don’t have to make your lasagna with egg so if you prefer not to, try some of the other tips that make your lasagna watery and see if they help. 

Lasagna can get watery for any of these reasons, so if you want a less watery and thicker lasagna, try out some of these tips. You will then be able to enjoy thicker lasagna that sticks together so you can enjoy all the layers in every bite.

Final Thoughts

Many lasagna recipes call for eggs to be added to the ricotta cheese. This helps to stick everything together and thicken. 

Egg in lasagna helps if the cheese tends to ooze out from the layers when you are cutting it. If you don’t have egg or prefer not to use it in your lasagna recipe no worries. 

You can still make lasagna without the egg. 

Some things can be substituted for egg like plain yogurt or any of the other ingredients I mentioned. If your lasagna is too runny try out some of the tips I talked about in this article on how to make it less watery. 

So, the Italian pasta dish doesn’t have to have egg in it. As far as needing egg, it does if you want it to stick together for perfect portions when cutting into the ooey gooey layers of lasagna.