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.
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!
Easy Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese shredded and divided
- ¾ teaspoon salt more to taste
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
Cheese Mixture
- 2 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg beaten
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 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 the top of the lasagna with the remaining 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.
Excellent recipe. Easy to make and delicious!
I followed you recipes was very good we really enjoyed it thanks for sharing
l,haven’t made the lasagna. but will try it.
I can’t wait for you to try it Kenny!
My first time baking a lasagna and come across this recipe, and its BOMB!!!
Great Receipe! My only variation was to use cottage cheese and a package of frozen spinach instead of ricotta/parsley only due to what I had on hand.
I made the Recipe ahead of time and put in the refrigerator till tonight. What should i reheat it at and for how long ?
I would remove it from the oven while the oven is preheating. And then bake is as per the directions in the recipe. Enjoy Al!
Can you make this ahead of time and put into freezer, then cook later?
Absolutely Lanette!
Hi! What would you recommend as egg substitute for those who have allergies or can i just omit it? Thanks!
Hi Angela, it should be okay to leave the egg out of the cheese mixture. We would love to hear how it turns out!
I followed the recipe (so easy) and it turned out perfect I will definitely make this again.. next time I’ll make two one of dinner and one to freeze..
First time I’ve ever made Lasagna and it was absolutely amazing! Highly recommend using Rao’s Marinara, it is pricey but worth it. I made it with some Red Lobster Biscuits. I probably messed up in the layers but it still turned out great! I added an extra layer or 2 and used the Ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese.
Can you use the gluten free oven ready lasagne?
This would work with oven ready lasagna however I can’t say for sure how to adjust the recipe, it can vary slightly from brand to brand. You may need to thin the sauce a tiny bit. I would suggest looking at the directions for the sauce on the package and making sure you have as much sauce as suggested.
I tried this and it came out delicious. The only thing I did different is I did NOT boil my lasagna noodles. My mother in Law taught me a long time ago that that step is not necessary if you have enough liquid In Your sauce. So now I always add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup extra pasta sauce or tomato sauce seasoned with Italian seasoning so it’s fairly liquidy.
This recipe was simple to follow and was DELICIOUS! Definitely putting in my recipe book and making more regularly.
First, thank you for all of your delicious recipes! I was looking for a lasagna recipe and yours popped up first and I knew I didn’t need to look further. However, I have a question – do you shred bricks of Parmesan and mozzarella or purchase the cheeses already shredded? I know the store bought shredded cheeses have a coating to help them stay separated and not gummed up. But this could also change the texture and taste of the recipe. Thank you.
I always prefer to shred my own cheese if possible Galynn!
I’ve used several different recipes to make lasagna – this is definitely the best (though not necessarily the easiest).
does not show bake temperature
Hi Scott, this is in step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
This looks delicious, can’t wait to give it a try
What brand of pasta sauce do you use?
I tend to use Rao’s but any brand will work just fine!
Honestly, I look for your recipes because they have all been consistently delicious!
Easy!