Homemade Lasagna is a classic recipe that every cook should have in their rotation.
Tender sheets of pasta, a creamy ricotta cheese filling, and a rich meaty tomato sauce are all topped with more cheese and baked until browned and bubbly.
While there are a few steps to this lasagna recipe, it’s easy to make and has so much flavor. This dish can be made ahead of time and freezes well either before or after baking!
Homemade lasagna may have a few steps, but each step is easy – and I assure you it’s worth the time; the perfect Italian meal!
The best lasagna recipe is made with ingredients that you know, and it’s not difficult at all! All you’ll need for this easy lasagna recipe is one pan, one bowl, and a 9×13 baking dish!
Lasagna Ingredients
- Cheese Filling: For this classic lasagna recipe, the filling contains ricotta and parmesan with seasonings and a couple of tablespoons of parsley. No ricotta? No problem, cottage cheese works just fine in this recipe!
- Meat: I use both Italian sausage and ground beef for great flavor. If using all beef, add a ¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds and some Italian seasoning to the meat mixture for flavor.
- 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).
Spinach (variation): To make a spinach lasagna, squeeze out most of the moisture of defrosted frozen spinach and add it along with the cheese layer.
Lasagna ingredients don’t have to be limited to the ones you see here. Substitute meats or different cheeses, or try different meat sauce variations.
How to Make Lasagna
Homemade lasagna may have a few steps, but each step is easy – and I assure you it’s worth the time; the perfect Italian meal! This is a really easy lasagna recipe.
- Boil pasta: Cook in a large pot of salted water per the recipe below.
- Prepare meat sauce: Cook sausage and beef with onion and garlic. Drain well, add the pasta sauce & 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 browned and bubbly.
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
How Long to Bake
Bake this lasagna recipe for a total of one hour. To get a perfect browned cheese topping, you’ll need to bake it in two stages.
- Layer and cover it tightly with aluminum foil to retain the moisture.
- Once cooked, and heated through, remove the foil, top with cheese, and return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is browned and the lasagna is bubbling.
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.
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!
Easy Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded and divided
Tomato Sauce
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 36 ounces pasta sauce *see note
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Cheese Mixture
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large pot of salted water, boil lasagna noodles until al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, brown 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 thickened.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella, 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 ⅓ 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 with the remaining 2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Bake 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.
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Made a large batch ,followed the recipe accordingly …needs a kick so I froze it hoping to figure something to add when I reheat ! Ideas welcome
You could add some red pepper flakes if you want to add a kick. Or next time use some hot Italian sausage in the meat for some added spice!
…. that was supposed to say “oven” Dang autocorrect
I have this in my overnight for the second time in two weeks ❤ Wonderful recipe!
My family loves this lasagna. I use about a pound of hamburger and a pound of pork sausage. don’t be afraid to move forward even if you don’t have all the ingredients its still a awesome recipe
I’m sorry for asking this and the answer is probably right in front of my face, but What temperature do we preheat the oven to?
Hi Tammy! You can find this info in step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
we hate fennel seeds. any suggestions for something else? I’m making this tomorrow.
Hi Selena, you can leave the fennel seeds out and it will still be delicious. Enjoy!
I cannot rate right now but I will try the .only that concerns me is the ricotta cheese because my husband doesn’t like it what would you recommend instead. Thank you
You can substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta. Enjoy Lorraine!
Can I use no-bake lasagna noodles?
Hi Judy, 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!
Great recipe, only piece I would change is do NOT rinse the noodles. They are starchy, which is a must to holding the lasagna together. Drain them well, then lay them out flat on several flat racks. They should be sticky and starchy when you build the lasagna, not rinsed and slippery. Thanks for the keeper!
This recipe is amazing. Made 2X and froze one. Highly recommended!!!! Heather
This recipe is a keeper! My whole family loved it. Now they want me to make it every week.
Is there a recipe for a 8×8 or 9×9 pan?
I do not have a recipe specifically for an 8×8 pan. But if you half this recipe it should fit in an 8×8 pan. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out Tamara!
Easy to follow recipe. Thanks, just what I was looking for.
Tonight is the first time I’ve made this lasagna. I used to make lasagna all the time but it’s been literally some years since the last one. I decided to double the recipe to make two lasagnas, one going to a friend that is in the middle of moving. Doubling this recipe turned out to be a little challenging making two equally built lasagnas. However, and here’s the best part, ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE LOVED THIS LASAGNA!!! They all said it’s the best they’ve ever had and even better than the pricey dishes at fancy restaurants! So, kudos to you at spendwith pennies! I am so glad I used your recipe!❤️
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.