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 am a 62 yo man who can cook, barely, and I always coveted my ex-wife’s and sister-in-law’s lasagna as it was fantastic. My favorite food is Italian and my favorite dish is lasagna. I didn’t want to bother the above cooks every time I wanted to have lasagna so I went looking for a great recipe. I saw your almost flawless reviews and figured that I would give it a try, Final result batch one; I made two large pans and kept one for my son and I and gave the other pan to my younger son and his family. The reviews for me were immediate and word spread fast amongst my friends and family. My second batch; three full pans and three half pans for the ex-wife, sister-in-law, son, best friend, work friend and his friends. I followed the recipe to a tee and it was absolutely fantastic !!! I will be making 5-6 pans for Christmas gifts and I am going to a very large New Year’s party and the hostess has asked me to make 2-3 pans of this dish. Even my ex-wife has been second guessing her own recipe that she has been making for 35 years, ” I must be missing an ingredient”. I never thought that my cooking “skills” would ever be in demand.
Thanks so much for sharing this incredible recipe. It is a definite 10/10 in my book, as well as everyone else who has tasted it.
Happy holidays to you and your family!!!!
Wow, I am so glad your family loved this recipe, Wayne! Thank you for leaving a comment :)
Can you make this in a 7 x 10 casserole dish?
Hi Kate, you should be able to use a 7×10 dish, there will probably be enough extras for another layer. If your lasagna is a bit thicker/taller, it might need extra bake time. I hope that helps!
The recipe does not include all the ingredients (tomato paste, Mozz. chesse, and one more)
Hi Rosemary, we have found that if you are using a “reader view” you may not see the site correctly. The second ingredient is 4 cups mozzarella, and the second to last ingredient under sauce is 2 tablespoons tomato paste. Hope that helps.
It’s easy to see why it’s so well-rated, this lasagna is Excellent! I will make this again, for sure
This is my go to lasagna recipe. It’s so easy and delicious. I get so many compliments on it and even special requests to make it.
Very tasty ! But I used no boil lasagna and it disappeared into the dish as I kept it warm for 3 + hours for after school sports and the noodles weren’t visablr- next time the real deal noodles.
Glad you enjoyed it, Gail! You will have to let us know how it goes with regular noodles.
This was my first time making lasagna by myself and it turned out great! My husband and I really enjoyed it!
Excellent!!! I will be making this again! The whole family loved it
Uhm. when do you add the meat?
Hi Nick, in step 2 and 3 you are adding and preparing the meat sauce, and in step 5 it starts walking you through the order in which to layer everything into the pan including the meat sauce. I hope that helps!
Hi! If I were to make the lasagna a day in advance and then refrigerate it until the next night, will it become soggy?
It won’t become soggy. You’ll need to allow for a bit of extra baking time.
The video doesn’t batch the written instructions. It does not have Parmesan and mozzarella cheese mixed in with the ricotta cheese mixture.?
Hi Michelle, some of the Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese are mixed into the Ricotta mixture, but some is also sprinkled on top. Based on feedback, in the recipe card, the amounts are updated to show it in the cheese mixture section. I hope that answers your question!
I chose this from among many lasagna recipes online. The combo of beef and Italian sausage appealed to me. I also made the pasta sauce.
Is it ok to use no boil noodles? I bought some Italian ones without realizing it.
Thanks,
Sue
I haven’t tried this with no boil noodles so I can’t say for sure. Some readers have been successful with no boil by adding up to ½ cup water to the sauce. Let us know how it goes!
Planning on making this for my family Christmas dinner. If I put together a day ahead before baking and store in fridge, what is the exact baking time needed at 350 degrees?
Hi Melissa! If it’s chilled from the fridge, it will need about 20 minutes extra to cook. I would also suggest removing it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking.
Havent made this yet, about to try. The tomato sauce ingredients include garlic, onions, tomato paste and pasta sauce. Then the link to the pasta sauce uses garlic, onions and tomato paste. Do you use those ingredients in the pasta sauce, then again in the tomato sauce?
Yes, if you are making homemade pasta sauce for this recipe you will want to prepare 36 ounces of it then follow the lasagna recipe to make the final tomato sauce for the dish. I hope that helps!
Excellent! Smelled so good the neighbors came begging for a piece and was roundly praised by all. I did add a splash of wine to the sauce when combining the meat with the tomato products for even more depth of flavor.
Great recipe. My family loved it. I used ground turkey only for my meat and my sauce had no sodium. Kroger sells some canned goods that don’t contain salt.
Wow!! This was a hit! I made it with 1/2 lb bison and 1 lb ground turkey. Seasoned the meat with Italian seasoning and fennel seed. So delicious.
love this recipe! Has anyone tried freezing this and cooking at a later date? wondering how the cook time differs and if it’s just as good?
Yes, it freezes well. You can find this information in the post. Enjoy!
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.
There’s no information on what temperature and how long it needs to be baked for.
Hi Dave, we have found that if you are using a “reader view” you may not see the site correctly. The first instruction says “Preheat the oven to 350°F.” Instruction 6 says to bake for 45 minutes, and the next instruction says to bake for an additional 15 minutes. Hope that helps.
gonna make this next week. it’s decidedly simple. would it be advantageous to include basil ribbons with the cheese?
Hi Sam, I think there is a lot of flavor in this recipe already but you definitely could! It sounds like a great addition.