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.
Holly, I have seen directions on freezing the Lasagna. I want to make it in advance but I can’t find the instructions on freezing. It is your Easy Homemade Lasagna.
Thank You. Carol
Hi Carol, this is the information for freezing.
To Freeze Lasagna
To 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.
If I could give 10 stars for this recipe, I would. This is the best lasagne recipe I’ve tried in a long time. I used 1 lb. lean ground beef instead of a mix of beef and sausage and then used about 43 oz. of marinara sauce so it was extra saucey. And wow, my friends were dying over this (as well as myself even when we’re our own toughest critics!). This is my new go-to lasagne recipe for life!
I have just made this using the 1/3 cup of cheese mixture in each layer and I have so much left over. Has this happened to anyone else? I’m wondering if I should add it in on top or discard it?
Hi Meredith, for this recipe we use ⅓ of the total cheese mixture (not ⅓ cup) in each layer which shouldn’t result in leftovers. As long as you end with the sauce on top you should be fine to add the remaining cheese mixture to the top of the lasagna, or you can store it for use later.
Can I make this early in the day, refrigerate and cook later same day.
I love to prepare this dish a day or two ahead of time. 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.
Can you use ground sausage?
For this recipe we use ½ lb of ground sausage and ½ lb of ground beef. I hope that helps!
Can I make the cheese filling without the egg? My child has an egg allergy.
Yes, that should work.
We made this last night and it was so good! We used Rao’s Garlic pasta sauce and used 1 lb of sausage and .5 lb of ground beef. Turned out amazing.
I made this for New Year’s Eve. I did use 48oz of pasta sauce and all Italian sausage. It was delicious and everyone loved it. I may only use 9 lasagna noodles next time I make it, as it almost overflowed. I definitely will be making it again and my daughter asked for the recipe.
I love this recipe but we are gluten free and the pre made gluten free noodles work great! and I’ll double the amount of ricotta cheese and add 2 eggs. Honestly best lasagana and it’s better than store bought. the only thing is I really like the crispy almost burnt cheese and that is a little difficult to get without burning all the cheese onto. I also pile the cheese on during the whole bake and do not cover it with aluminum foil.
Tasty and easy. Will be on repeat
Made this recipe almost per instructions: used Herbs de Provence instead of Italian seasoning, used 40oz of pasta sauce instead of 36oz, higher fat ground beef, and used homemade ricotta cheese. The result was the most delicious lasagna my family has ever had! The homemade ricotta made it extra creamy and fresh; we enjoyed having the little bit of extra sauce; and the combination of pork sausage and beef was perfect. Fresh parsley, as listed, was a wonderful addition instead of dried parsley. The dish was nicely filling, but not overly so. Will be adding this to our monthly recipe rotations! Thanks so much for sharing this mouth-watering recipe!
I love this recipe, I have made it several times. The only thing I have changed is I add a little nutmeg to the ricotta.
Hi, I’m excited to make another one of your amazing recipes. Question: Can I use Rao’s Marinara sauce for this recipe? Thanks
Absolutely, that’s my favorite pasta sauce!
Mine comes out Devine when I use one jar of Raos marinara and one can crushed tomatoes with all sorts of seasonings. I make two pans , it’s so delicious
This might be a silly question, but can I use the no-boil lasagna sheet noodles for this recipe?
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!
I’ve made this lasagna recipe many, many, many times and it’s a staple at home now. Absolutely delicious and so easy!!!
I noticed the recipe has a cheese mixture of ricotta, eggs and parsley, so I pre made that, and then later on in the recipe it calls for that same mixture as including parmesan and mozzarella in that same cheese mixture, so it is a bit confusing. Other than that it was fine.
Awesome! A must in my recipe box! I always check spendwithpennies.com when looking for a recipe. Big thanks.
Ok this was the first time I made lasagna. It was delicious. I didn’t change very much and agree that suggestion to add top cheese layer afterwards is ideal. This is a keeper for sure.
I cooked this recipe on Christmas eve for Christmas dinner. I followed it exactly, but used all beef. It was great! Everyone loved it! I will definitely make it again.
Every recipe I’ve tried from Spend With Pennies has been successful. I’m not creative in the kitchen so the notes and ideas for substitutions, etc. are very helpful. Thank you so much!
great recipe from wyatt
Easy and loads of compliments!
Fab recipe, I made it vegetarian by subbing a pack of veggie grounds and some veg I had (mushrooms, zucchini and red pepper) for the mince and sausage. It turned out great!