Homemade Lasagna is a family favorite and a great way to feed a crowd.
In this classic lasagna recipe, sheets of pasta are layered with a cheesy filling, a rich meaty tomato sauce, and more cheese and then baked until bubbly and browned.
While there are a few steps, this lasagna recipe is relatively easy to make and has so much flavor.
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This Is Our Go-To Lasagna Recipe Because…
- This recipe has been called the best by many and has thousands of 5-star reviews!
- It uses simple ingredients that you likely have on hand, and it packs big flavor!
- This is an easy lasagna recipe. It requires just one pan, one bowl, and a 9×13 baking dish.
- It reheats well and can be made ahead of time. You can freeze lasagna either before or after baking.
Lasagna Ingredients
- Cheese Filling: For this classic lasagna recipe, the cheese filling has ricotta and parmesan with seasonings. You can make homemade ricotta cheese or replace it with cottage cheese.
- Meat: I use both Italian sausage and ground beef for great flavor. If using all beef, add ¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds and some Italian seasoning to the meat mixture for flavor, or make my homemade Italian sausage.
- Sauce: To keep this sauce quick, I use pasta sauce or marinara sauce (it’s easy to make from scratch with crushed tomatoes and canned tomatoes if you’d prefer). If using store-bought sauce, I love Rao’s for flavor.
Spinach (variation): Spinach is optional but delicious in lasagna. For spinach lasagna, thaw 10oz of frozen spinach, squeeze out the moisture, and add it along with the cheese layer.
How to Make Lasagna
While homemade lasagna may have a few steps, each step is easy – and I assure you it’s worth the time; the perfect Italian meal!
- Boil pasta: In a large pot of salted water boil lasagna noodles per the recipe below.
- Prepare meat sauce: Cook sausage and beef with onion and garlic. Drain well, add the pasta sauce (I love this brand) & simmer it for a few minutes to thicken.
- Combine cheese mixture: Stir the cheese mixture together in a bowl.
- Layer & bake: Layer the meat sauce and cheese mixture with lasagna noodles and bake until the top of the lasagna is golden brown.
How to Layer Lasagna
- Spread about a cup of meat sauce into a 9×13 pan. Add a layer of noodles.
- Top the noodles with some of the ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of noodles and sauce
- Cover with foil and bake. Remove foil, top with mozzarella and parmesan, and bake for another 15 minutes.
Once you have prepared the meat sauce and the cheese mixture, you’re ready to layer. This is the order of layers:
- sauce – noodles – cheese
- sauce – noodles – cheese
- sauce – noodles – cheese
- noodles – sauce (bake) – cheese
Serve with a big slice of homemade Garlic Bread and garnish with fresh basil or a couple of tablespoons of parsley. Finish the meal with a Caesar salad or Italian salad.
Holly’s Tips for the Best Lasagna
Here are my tips to ensure this is the best lasagna recipe you’ve ever had!
- Choose a quality pasta sauce.
- Bake this lasagna recipe for one hour.
- Cover it with aluminum foil for most of the cooking time so it doesn’t dry out.
- Add the cheese during the last 15 minutes of cooking so it becomes browned and bubbly.
- Let it rest at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Make Ahead
Lasagna can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking. It can also be frozen before or after baking.
To Freeze Lasagna
Lasagna is one of the best meals to make ahead and freeze. Double or triple the recipe and store it tightly wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. If the lasagna is cold from the fridge, it may need an extra 20 minutes or so of cooking time.
How To Reheat Lasagna
If you’ve frozen leftovers, pop them in the oven at 350°F covered until reheated. This should take about 30 minutes! Of course, leftovers are perfectly heated in the microwave too!
More Baked Pasta Recipes
Did you enjoy this Homemade Lasagna? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Tomato Sauce
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 36 ounces pasta sauce *see note
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
Cheese Mixture
- 2 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until al dente (firm) according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, brown the beef, sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in the pasta sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste and season with additional salt if desired.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, ricotta, parsley, egg, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce in a 9×13 pan or casserole dish. Top it with 3 lasagna noodles. Layer with 1 cup of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of meat sauce. Repeat twice more. Finish with 3 noodles topped with remaining sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil and sprinkle the top of the lasagna with 2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Broil for 2-3 minutes if desired.
- Rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Video
Notes
- Ricotta cheese can be replaced with cottage cheese.
- Use all beef (or even ground turkey) in place of sausage if needed. If using all beef, add ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning to the meat (and ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds if desired).
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I followed the recipe to the letter for a family supper. Everyone wanted to take some home for the next day. I consider that a win!
I never comment on these, but I am always using your recipes! I’ve made sooo many recipes and they have all themed out so good. Thank you for making things easy to make. I used ground moose meat and this recipe was perfection.
Sorry I meant turned out so good :)
Thank you so much for leaving a review Nicole! I’m so glad you’ve loved the recipes!
When freezing uncooked lasagna, Is there anything that I should do about the cheeses.
Thank you
I would make the recipe all the way through as written Peggy. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Easy to make, tastes great, freezes well. Now a regular dish on the menu.
I cooked the Easy Hamburger Soup, it was delicious, I give that recipe a thumbs up!!!
Can you make this with no boil noodles? Is there anything different you should do if you do it that way?
Hi Emily, we have only made this recipe as listed. But other readers have used no-boil used and had great results. I can’t say for sure but others have had to add ¼ to ½ cup of water to the pan to ensure the noodles are cooked. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I have made this recipe several times using oven ready noodles and it has always come out great.
The best lasagna recipe I’ve tried. Instead odds the ricotta cheese I used cottage cheese and it was fantastic. Thank you for sharing it.
This tasted okay but my family thought it was overly cheesy and the parmesan overpowered the dish. I would try again with a lot less parmesan and reducing the mozzarella and hiding the rest in middle layers. My family suggested trying another recipe instead (which really tells me they didn’t like it but didn’t want to hurt my feelings after spending 1.5-2 hr to make dinner).
Easy and thorough instructions!!
Followed recipe but ended up with the ricotta mixture
That’s ok because I partner doesn’t like a whole lot of that
Will give my comment later
This is my go to lasagna recipe and also my go to recipe when I make meals for people, like new moms, and I get rave reviews every time. I’m GF and DF myself so I don’t know what it tastes like but everyone I make it for loves it :) So thanks for an easy, tasty recipe!
This looks delicious and I am about to give it a go! Just have a couple of questions before starting.
If you are planning to freeze the lasagna should you bake it first?
If you bake it first do you thaw it then bake for the 60 minutes or is it better to bake from frozen?
Hi Liz, this dish freezes well both baked and unbaked. If freezing unbaked, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. If the lasagna is cold from the fridge, it may need an extra 20 minutes or so of cooking time. If freezing baked, just pop it in the oven at 350°F covered, until reheated which should take about 30 minutes! I hope this helps!
I always use no bake noodles and I never put water around the edge because it waters down the sauce. But you can put a little around the edge if you want to Rick. I used to use dry noodles, but I felt it made the sauce too soggy even if I towel dried the noodles. My dish freeze well and the family loved it! And they didn’t know I used cottage cheese because I made sure I beat the cottage cheese enough, so they didn’t see the curds.
I want to add spinach too. Should I just mix it with the cheese. Would that make it easier to spread? Or just put it on top of the cheese layer? I’m making it today so I hope to get an answer soon. I’m sure it will be good either way.
To make a spinach lasagna, squeeze out most of the moisture of defrosted frozen spinach and add it along with the cheese layer. I would love to hear how it turns out Shery!
Amazing taste and cheese mixture to meat ratio. My husband and I made this with your marinara recipe New Years Eve – we both absolutely loved it! Next go round, I’ll be making homemade lasagna noodles and fresh homemade ricotta – that will only improve this recipe to phenomenal.
Can you make this using the no cook method on the noodles by adding them in uncooked snd adding water around edges , if so how much water and wit it change the flavor, thank you!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Rick. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Hi, I tried this recipe and though it was delicious! What would you suggest if you wanted to make in advance and serve two days later?
Thank you!
Yes, this can be prepared two days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. You can cook it either before or after (I personally would prefer it to bake fresh to serve). If it’s chilled from the fridge, it will need extra time to cook and I would suggest removing it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking.
Ingredients are good, cooking is good- my only suggestion: put sauce in bottom of pan, a layer of noodles, then the meat. Never heard of anyone starting a lasagna with meat on the pan?
The first layer is the sauce, we use a meat sauce. Hope that helps.
I think Tabradabra may have just been confused because of the typo in the first sentence of step 5. The word sauce was left out; I just assumed you meant meat sauce there because you did mention it later on in that step.
“Spread 1 cup of the meat *sauce* in a 9×13 pan or casserole dish.”
I have updated the recipe to avoid any confusion!
We made this for our Christmas dinner this year and it was a hit!! Modified the cooking time/temp slightly, as we used GF noodles, but the end result was still pure deliciousness. This is going into our staple rotation of recipes for sure!
Please share your modifications as I am using rice GF noodles as well!
Made this for Christmas dinner. As suggested I doubled the pasta sauce and am glad I did. I used no-boil noodles, making sure that they were completely covered with sauce as the directions stated. It was perfectly moist and delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
I made this a couple of weeks ago for my boyfriend and he loved it so much he asked that I make it for Christmas Eve. We are having a family gathering so I will make 2. I’m new to cooking and this was very easy to make. I also had all the ingredients too. I didn’t have to go out and buy anything. Super easy and super delicious!!
omy… i love love lasagna. sooo tasty… this recipe will not disappoint. enjoy! and tyfs :)
I use both ricotta and cottage cheese with the egg. 1:1 ratio, meatloaf mix of beef & pork and if I don’t make the sauce, I get Wegman’s marinara. This is really good!