Lasagne is a big favorite here and I had recently seen lots of pins for various recipes for mini lasagne cups, so decided to have a go at making some my self. These are fab for little hands, although may be a bit tricky for those of you with little ones who are baby led weaning, so I chopped one up into smaller pieces for my youngest. My eldest loved these and what a great way to sneak some veggies into his day.

Mini Lasagne Cups

makes 12 mini lasagne cups

Ingredients

• 400g of lean ground beef  (or you can use  green/brown lentils for a veggie option)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 200g of diced butternut squash
• 4 mushrooms, finely chopped
• fresh herbs (I used a mixture of rosemary, oregano and thyme)
• 2 cups (480ml) of passata
• 1 cup (240ml) of low sodium beef stock
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• olive oil
• 40g of mozzarella cheese, grated
• 40g of parmesan cheese, grated
• 12 flat lasagne sheets (I used whole wheat) *see note
• black pepper

for the cheese sauce:

• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 250 ml of  milk
• 30g of parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 teapoon of wholegrain mustard

NOTE: choose a lasagne sheet that will make 2 squares when cut in half, if possible

Directions
Add a little olive oil to a  frying pan over a medium high heat and add the onions, garlic and carrot and fry for about 5 mins

Add the beef mince and cook till browned.

Add the mushrooms, butternut squash, passata, stock, chilli powder, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar and then your fresh herbs. Cover with some greaseproof paper and cook for approx 1 hour over a gentle heat on the hob.

When the meat mixture has almost finished it’s cooking time you can make the cheese sauce, Mix the cornstarch with a little of the milk and add to the rest of the milk in a small saucepan over a low heat, constantly stirring until it comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the 28g of parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 180c or 350f (gas mark 4)

In the meantime bring a large saucepan water to a boil and add the lasagne sheets and cooked until softened. Now comes the tricky part.

Mix your mozzarella and remaining parmesan together in a bowl.

Using a muffin tray (greased with a little oil or butter to stop from sticking). Cut you lasagne sheets in half, so you have 24 squares. Place one half of top of another half so that you have a kind of star shape. Place this carefully in one muffin space and spoon in some of your meat mixture pushing down at the same time. Top with a little of the cheese sauce and your grated cheese. Repeat for the other 11 spaces. Your mini lasagne’s will look like this.

Place in the oven and bake until lasagne sheets have crisped up and cheese on top is melted (approx 15-20mins).

Serve with a side salad or your choice of veggies and Enjoy!!

NOTE: For you little ones, you may want to chop it up slightly before serving, as it may be a little fiddly for their small hands.