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 made this and it was a HIT! it was soooo good, i didn’t have parsley, so I just left it out. I used Hunts canned tomato sauce (half original, half four cheese). I also add just a splash of fish sauce for umami (maybe a tsp for the whole pot of sauce)
I will try to bake my own lasagna.
Excellent
This is a great recipe! I follow it exactly except I don’t boil the noodles ahead of time. If you bake the lasagne covered for one hour, then uncover and add the cheese for another 15 minutes, then let it rest, the noodles are cooked completely through. ( and, I don’t buy the no boil noodles either)
Your directions of the not boiling the noodles sounds easy, but being a diabetic, that will not work for me. When you boil the noodles prior to making, it takes out some of the starch, (sugar), making it more diabetic friendly. I am sure that a lot of people will love your input. Thanks
The recipe needs to explain the ricotta mix, because on the recipe itself it says only three ingredients, but on step 4 they add in more ingredients. Thanks!
Best lasagna I’ve ever made
Low-Carb Tip: Use low carb tortillas instead of lasagna noodles. Just cut them into approximately the width of regular lasagna noodles and arrange them on each “pasta” layer. They should not be boiled first, they will absorb moisture while baking and are virtually indistinguishable from regular lasagna noodles in the finished product.
Everything else in the recipe is low carb (just pay attention to the sugar in any pasta sauce you use).
Thank you for sharing that tip, Michael!
My family absolutely loved this!
PERFECT. I made this tonight for the family and they couldn’t get enough. My dad’s favorite meal is lasagna and he said this was one of the best he’s had. This is going to the weekly dinners! Thank you!!
Can you use oven-ready lasagna noodles instead and skip boiling the pasta?
I have not tried myself but others readers have with great results! I would love to hear how it turns out for you, Carolyn.
Fantastic recipe!
This recipe was soooo delicious my kids and husband loved it!! Definitely recommend 100%
I’m hoping to make this soon for my hubby & I. But it’s just us 2. So you think I could split the recipe and bake it in a smaller dish and then freeze the other half? If so, do you have recommendations for cooking from frozen? Thank you!
That is a great idea, Amanda! Lasagna can be baked from frozen and should be baked covered about 90 minutes at 375°F. Remove the foil and place a butter knife in the center to ensure it is heated throughout (depending on the shape/size of the pan you might need a few minutes more). You can broil a couple of minutes to brown the cheese if needed. You will still need to let the lasagna rest before serving. Let us know how it goes!
One of the best lasagna recipes I’ve tried! I did use two jars of spaghetti sauce since some versions I’ve made were dry. This one is a keeper. I’ll use it again.
This is the first recipe I tried for lasagna. The taste itself is not the problem, but my husband and I both agreed that there was way too much ricotta mixture and not enough meat sauce. I think I would make double the meat sauce / half the ricotta cheese mixture if I chose to make this dish again.
I am glad you were still able to enjoy it, Jennifer!
If I were to make day before serving, how long would I bake it for at 350° the next day after a full day of refrigeration
If it’s chilled from the fridge, it will need approximately an extra 10-15 mins to cook and I would suggest removing it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking.
My family love my lasagna I always make for them
Great recipe!
I added extra sauce and spices and it was delicious!
Also, I used more noodles to help cover the dish.
Ugggthe rest of the ingredient for the cheese mixture didn’t show on the list so no mozzarella or parm was added. You have to read all the instructions which I did but forgot because they weren’t on the ingredient list… not sure what to expect because it’s already in the oven. So disappointed! Guess we will see.
I am so sorry to hear that, Pam. I am sure it still tasted delicious though! In step 4, all the cheese mixture ingredients are listed including a portion of the mozzarella and parmesan. Based on feedback, this has been updated to show it in the cheese mixture section.
making this for 2nd time it was delicious but I too only got 3 layers but it was fine that way