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 hadn’t made lasagna in years and was looking for a new recipe. Thia was perfect! We are big meat eaters,so idid 1 lb of the ground beef and Italian sausage. Otherwise I made no alterations. Turned out perfect. I will be making this again!
So tasty! I have also made this for friends post partum and it’s always a hit.
One question – Do you have any direction on heating if you freeze? Thanks!
Hi Hannah, Let the lasagna defrost in the refrigerator overnight. If baked and just reheating, I would remove it from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking and then bake at 350°F until heated through, about 30 minutes or so!
yay super yummy im 7 and im make this for my momy all by myslef and she lovd it!!! super duper yummy recepie!!!
So delicious.
Excellent and easy recipe. I’ve now made this several times and it comes out perfectl each and every time!
I made this recipe yesterday on a whim, because I had made ricotta cheese for the first time and was looking for a recipe. My family said it was the best they ever had. Even people who don’t normally like lasagna enjoyed it. I used fresh herbs from the garden instead of the Italian seasoning and the Rao’s marinara. Delicious! I used fresh pasta, so it might have been a bit dryer than it would have been otherwise. Should I add some liquid if I am going to make it again with fresh uncooked pasta? I
Hi Tanya, you shouldn’t need to make any additional changes if use fresh pasta. If you find it a bit dry, you could increase the pasta sauce to accommodate though!
Is this a good recipe for meal prepping (preparing and freezing before baking)?
Amber, this dish freezes well both baked and unbaked. If freezing unbaked, 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 freezing baked, just pop it in the oven at 350°F covered, until reheated which should take about 30 minutes! I hope this helps!
The whole family loves this ! I like to add mushrooms
I’m trying to make this with oven ready noodles and the instructions say 30 minutes. Should I bake it for as long as this recipe says or will that overcook my noodles?
Many readers have successfully used oven ready noodles with no additional changes. Let us know how it goes!
Wonderful!
Amazing recipe. A little labor intensive for me(hate to cook!), but the results were outstanding. I didn’t change one thing. I did buy Rao’s marinara sauce, but next time I will try to make my own. The 34 oz bottle was 11 dollars!
Really easy and yummy! Made it with my husband for date night first and again later for family. My god daughter asked for the recipe after a second plate. Stouffer’s lasagna, eat your heart out because I’ll never buy another frozen one again as long as I can make it. Thanks Holly!
My husband and I loved this recipe. I really liked how it wasn’t overpowered with the cheese filling. I added some chopped red bell peppers and 3 tbsp of sugar to the meat sauce.
Real crowd pleaser! I doubled recipe for 2 pans, added chopped spinach to the cottage cheese mixture and spread thin coat of pesto sauce on pasta layer on one of the pans. Both versions were delicious, best I’ve tasted.
Best Lasagna I’ve ever had! I did 75% beef tho and 25% Italian sausage and I think it may be better than 50/50.
one of the best lasagna’s I’ve had in a long time. 5 stars, will make over and over again
So excited to try this recipe, but I’m wondering if I’d be able to make it and then freeze/refrigerate before baking?
Yes you can! You can pre-bake it or freeze it unbaked. When ready to enjoy, 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.
Thank u. Was a hit recipe at home
spend with pennies is always good no matter the recipe!
in my opinion the best way to freeze lasagna is with a vac sealer just refrigerated then cut then freeze then vac seal any portion sizes you need. the only “trick” to it is to remove the vac seal plastic before defrosting (otherwise the sauce on the bottom stays in the bag)
I have made this recipe a number of times and its delicious and well worth the effort to freeze.
Thanks for the great tip Fae, I love my vacuum sealer!
This was fantastic! I used Raos arrabiato sauce instead of a marinara. I’ll be using this recipe again.