This hearty homemade lasagna recipe is a family favorite. Yielding 12 generous servings, it’s the perfect dish for feeding a crowd or for potlucks. Made with noodles, three types of cheese, and a meaty tomato sauce, it’s so satisfying and always hits the spot.
Even better, this easy lasagna recipe keeps well, reheats well, and freezes well. Leftovers are delicious for a few days, and it freezes for months! You can even make a double batch of this recipe and freeze half to enjoy later on. In short, it’s simply the best lasagna recipe! For more baked pasta recipes, try my manicotti, baked rigatoni, and stuffed shells.
Ingredients
Sausage — use spicy or mild Italian sausage, depending on your preference.
Beef — I used lean ground beef, which is the least greasy. If you don’t use lean beef, make sure to drain the grease after browning.
Onion and garlic — fresh onion and garlic will add so much flavor to the meat sauce from the very beginning.
Tomatoes — this recipe calls for tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce to create a deep and flavorful base for the meat sauce.
Sugar — a tablespoon of granulated sugar in the sauce will balance out the acidity of the canned tomatoes.
Seasonings — you need dried Italian seasoning, dried basil, salt, and ground black pepper.
Cheese — you’ll need three types of cheese for the lasagna: ricotta for the creamy cheese filling and mozzarella and parmesan for the gooey topping.
Egg — an egg will help bind the ricotta filling and keep it from being runny.
Parsley — chopped fresh parsley adds a peppery herbal flavor to the cheese layer.
Lasagna noodles — while you need 12 lasagna noodles, I recommend having extras on hand in case some come broken in the box. One 16-ounce package should be enough!
How To Make Lasagna
1. To make the meat sauce, heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and beef, and cook until browned.
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until tender.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Then add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, basil, and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Make the cheese filling in a medium bowl by stirring together the ricotta cheese, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
5. While the meat sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process, and drain again.
6. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread 2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of the pan. Place 4 cooked noodles in an even layer on top of the sauce, slightly overlapping if necessary.
7. Spread half of the cheese filling in an even layer over the noodles. Repeat the layers (sauce, 4 noodles, cheese). Then, spread 2 cups of meat sauce over the second cheese layer, top with the remaining 4 noodles, and spread the remaining meat sauce in an even layer over the top of the noodles.
8. Add the mozzarella and parmesan on the top layer and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is heated through, about 15 minutes more. Then, set the oven to broil, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese on top of the lasagna is browned. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Choose A Deep Casserole Dish
Because lasagna is a multi-layered dish, a deep casserole dish is a must so nothing bubbles up and over the edges during baking, and your layers have plenty of room for assembly. I prefer a dish that is 2½ to 3 inches deep. Opt for ceramic or glass so the edges don’t get too hard (metal bakes very crispy sides!).
How Many Layers Does Lasagna Have?
This traditional beef lasagna recipe has 3 layers consisting of sauce, noodles, and cheese filling, in that order. It is then topped with a final layer of meat sauce and more cheese (either shredded or fresh mozzarella and grated parmesan). You should always start with sauce on the bottom of the dish so the noodles don’t stick to it or potentially burn during baking.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the layers for easy reference:
- Start: 2 cups of meat sauce on the bottom of the dish
- Layer 1: 4 noodles + 1 cup ricotta mixture + 2 cups meat sauce
- Layer 2: 4 noodles + 1 cup ricotta mixture + 2 cups meat sauce
- Layer 3: 4 noodles + 2 cups meat sauce + mozzarella and parmesan cheese
Variations
- Swap the sauce: Feel free to swap the homemade tomato sauce for store-bought jarred sauce to save a little time. You can also use homemade marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce instead. You can brown ground beef and onions to add to the sauce or leave it vegetarian.
- Use fresh herbs: Use fresh basil in place of the dried basil if you have it! Add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil to the sauce to replace the dried.
- Use cottage cheese: Use a mixture of cottage cheese and ricotta for the filling (1 cup of each) if you like cottage cheese like I do. Or, use all cottage cheese in place of the ricotta!
- Use fresh pasta: Make my pasta dough recipe instead of using store-bought lasagna noodles. Be sure to still boil the noodles before assembling the lasagna.
For more lasagna recipes, try my chicken lasagna and lasagna soup!
How To Make Lasagna Ahead Of Time
Lasagna is an excellent dish to make ahead! It holds well in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to bake.
Assemble and refrigerate: You can assemble the lasagna in advance and keep it in the refrigerator, covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days before baking. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before uncovering and baking.
Frozen lasagna: Assemble the lasagna, cover it tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze the unbaked lasagna for up to 3 months. Thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator, then let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking as directed. Be sure to use a baking dish that is freezer-safe. While I don’t prefer using metal pans, you could assemble it in an aluminum lasagna pan for easy freezer storage or if you are making a meal to give to someone.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
Store leftover lasagna, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the whole lasagna or individual slices for longer storage. Once cooled completely, wrap leftovers in a few layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat chilled or thawed lasagna in the oven at 350ºF for 20 to 30 minutes or until completely warmed through.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Do not skip rinsing the lasagna noodles. Rinsing and draining the cooked noodles will stop them from cooking in the residual heat.
- You can use sliced fresh mozzarella cheese or low-moisture shredded mozzarella. Both of these cheeses will make a delicious topping. If purchasing pre-sliced fresh mozzarella, the slices are usually cut thick, so grab a 1-pound (450g) package.
- If the lasagna is near the very top of the baking dish, spray the aluminum foil with some non-stick spray before laying it over the top to help prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil.
- Make sure you cover all the noodles with sauce and cheese. Any exposed pasta will dry out in the oven.
- Let the lasagna rest before slicing it. This is an important step to give the layers time to set up so you can slice the lasagna neatly into squares. Otherwise, all the layers will just become a mess when you try to cut into the casserole. A freshly baked lasagna will stay hot for up to an hour!
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for this lasagna recipe. No-boil lasagna noodles require extra liquid in the casserole dish to cook properly in the oven. This recipe was designed for cooked noodles, so there will not be any extra liquid to cook no-boil noodles.
Yes, leave it out or swap it for a different ground meat, like chicken or turkey, if you like. Or, you can use chicken or turkey sausage.
So many options! To soak up every bit of the rich meat sauce, some of my favorite sides are garlic bread, garlic knots, and dinner rolls. To add some veggies to the meal, try air fryer green beans or roasted asparagus.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this lasagna recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Lasagna Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Casserole dish
- Large Pot
- Large Dutch oven
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the Meat Sauce:
- ¾ pound Italian sausage casings removed (338g)
- ¾ pound lean ground beef (338g)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (6-ounce/170g) can tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce/794g) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Cheese Filling:
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) container ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Assembly:
- 12 lasagna noodles (284g)
- 2 cups (or 8 ounces) sliced or shredded mozzarella (226g)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (26g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
For the Meat Sauce:
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and beef, and cook, breaking up any chunks with the back of a spoon while stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the onion and garlic, and cook stirring often until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, basil, and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.
For the Cheese Filing:
- In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
For the Assembly:
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles, and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Spread 2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared dish. Layer 4 cooked noodles in an even layer, slightly overlapping if necessary. Spread half of the cheese filling (about 1 cup) in an even layer over the noodles. Repeat the layers once more (sauce, noodles, cheese).
- Spread 2 cups of meat sauce over the cheese filling, top with the remaining 4 noodles, and spread the remaining meat sauce in an even layer over the top of the noodles. Top with the mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is heated through, about 15 minutes more. Increase the oven temperature to broil, and broil until the cheese is browned, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Do not skip rinsing the lasagna noodles. Rinsing and draining the cooked noodles will stop them from cooking in the residual heat.
- You can use sliced fresh mozzarella cheese or low-moisture shredded mozzarella. Both of these cheeses will make a delicious topping. If purchasing pre-sliced fresh mozzarella, the slices are usually cut thick, so grab a 1-pound (450g) package.
- If the lasagna is near the very top of the baking dish, spray the aluminum foil with some non-stick spray before laying it over the top to help prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil.
- Make sure you cover all the noodles with sauce and cheese. Any exposed pasta will dry out in the oven.
- Let the lasagna rest before slicing it. This is an important step to give the layers time to set up so you can slice the lasagna neatly into squares. Otherwise, all the layers will just become a mess when you try to cut into the casserole. A freshly baked lasagna will stay hot for up to an hour!
