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 post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
- 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 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 the remaining mozzarella cheese and 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.
a perfect recipe even after not making lasagna for years and with plant protein – I used Gardein ground be’f!
Easy reading, makes sense, and tips rules.
If I use your sauce recipe, do I still need to add the Italian seasoning and tomato paste when making the meat/sauce mixture.
I would suggest using the Italian seasoning. The tomato paste can be left out but will add a little boost of tang and flavor.
The “Cheese Mixture” above does not include the Parmesan or Mozzarella cheeses. Why not include everything instead of only listing it in Step 5? Unfortunately, I missed it. (Think of busy Moms with kiddos underfoot.) Not sure how my lasagna will turn out without these within the cheese layer. A simple edit would help greatly here!
Thanks so much for the feedback, I completely understand how easy it is to miss that step, especially when things are busy in the kitchen. If you added the Parmesan and mozzarella when layering the lasagna rather than mixed directly into the ricotta, it should still turn out just fine. I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
You’re right. These two ingredients are included in the “how to” description, but not in the ingredients list for the cheese mixture. I’ve made it before without mixing them together and it was fine! I’m guessing yours turned out great, too.
can you add sugar to the meat sauce, as an additional ingredient??
Hi Kierstin, while I do not add sugar, some folks enjoy adding a little sugar to the sauce. I’d start with 1 tablespoon and add more to your liking. Enjoy!
If I assemble it the day before and refrigerate, should I let it sit out for some time before baking or should I just bake it longer, and if so, how long? Thanks!!
Lasagna can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking. If the lasagna is cold from the fridge, it may need an extra 20 minutes or so of cooking time.
You can let it sit out about an hour before baking.
Should I beat the egg before I add it to the cheese? Also curious about it’s purpose. I’m guessing it acts as a binder, right?
You can beat the egg first if you’d like, I generally just mix it in the cheese mixture and mix it well. It does act as a binder.
If I wanna make it ahead of time, how do I do that either in the freezer or the fridge?
To prepare ahead of time, you prepare as directed, cover and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. If the lasagna is cold from the fridge, it may need an extra 20 minutes or so of cooking time.
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.
This is a good recipe. I added oregano, basil, and rosemary as well as the Italian seasoning. Also, it takes more than 3 lasagna noodles to cover a 9 x 13 baking dish. I tripled the ingredients to fill the pan.
I’m sorry but you need to double this recipe in order to get 3 layers. 1/2 lb of beef and sausage is not enough. Wasn’t happy with this recipe at all.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe as much as we do Diana. You can see from the pictures how meaty the sauce looks and if you prefer more meat you can absolutely add more.
Have you ever substituted chicken for the ground meat/sausage mixture and if so, how much chicken did you use?
I have use ground chicken (substituted 1 pound for 1 pound) and it was delicious! You may want to up the seasonings if not using Italian sausage. I would add ¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds and some Italian seasoning to the meat mixture for flavor.
What if I forgot the egg in the cheese mixture 🤦🏽♀️?
It will still work out just fine!
Does the recipe change if I add roasted vegetables as well?
No changes are needed if you add roasted vegetables.
Delicious easy to make recipe , i used ready oven ready Barilla lasagna sheets.
Can I make the day before and store in fridge and cook the next day?
This can absolutely be prepared ahead of time! I would remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before reheating and then bake at 350°F until heated through, about 30 minutes or so!
can I use oven ready lasagna
Many readers have successfully used oven ready noodles with no other changes! Let us know how it goes!
This was a hit for Christmas Eve!
I’m trying to make this for Christmas Day. Has anyone used the oven ready lasagna noodles where the noodles don’t need to be boiled.
Many readers have successfully used oven ready noodles with no other changes! Let us know how it goes!
Where it says sauce, do I replace the entire sauce recipe with pasta sauce something like Rao’s or do I add the Rao’s to the sauce recipe? Hope this makes sense.
Thanks so much!
This recipe calls for 36 ounces pasta sauce, if using Rao’s you would use it for the full 36 ounces (or up to 48 ounces if you like it saucy!). I hope this helps!
everything was great except the sausage. I tried it out of curiosity, but i wouldn’t do it again. I still like beef pork veal the best. the sausage dominated the dish. it wasnt balanced. And, yes, I did use quality sausage.
If I make this without meat, do I need to make any changes?
No changes needed.
My daughter has an egg allergy. If I omit the egg from the cheese layer, do you have any recommendations on what I can do to make sure the lasagna doesn’t get too runny?
No changes needed if you skip the egg however I would recommend ricotta cheese (and not the cottage cheese).