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.
Hands down, the best lasagna I’ve ever made. I immediately saved a copy of this for future reference! Other than using dried, instead of fresh parsley, I didn’t change a thing.
We loved it. It was my first time making lasagna myself and I’m so happy to have found this recipe. I did use oven ready lasagna sheets which were fine with the 45 min cooking time, but that’s probably because I doubled the meat and sauce. This will definitely be a regular on our menu! Thank you so much, Holly.
I like ur recipe
Good but not great
As others have mentioned, this recipe just didn’t make enough sauce for a 9×13 pan. I had to spread it real thin between each layer just to make sure I didn’t run out by the time I topped it off with the last layer of noodles.
In the end the lasagna came out very dry. It was mainly just cheese and noodles. This one was a miss for me.
At the last 15 min of baking when you add more cheese to the top of the lasagna, is it the cheese mixture (ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan) or just mozzarella?
Just the leftover mozzarella. The ricotta mixture should be all used within the layers.
I was confused also, the ingredients list said 2 cups, but the directions implied 1 1/2 cups of ricotta. Goops!
You’ll need 2 cups of ricotta (per the ingredients list) and you add 1½ cups of mozzarella to it. Hope that helps.
Did any of you make ahead and put in fridge instead of freezer? If so, how long and at what temp?
Yes, this can be refrigerated up to 48 hours before baking. Remove from the fridge about 60 minutes before baking. Cook as directed, you may need to add 10-15 minutes cook time.
Easy to make and taste great
I put a little garlic powder in with the ricotta
Yummy
You don’t have to boil the lasagna noodles or buy them pre-made! You simply layer the lasagna as you normally would with the uncooked lasagna. The noodles cook while in the oven! Super easy time saving!
I add a little water in each corner and a bit on the sides as I used uncooked noodles. They were all fine. Was confused as it says 12 uncooked noodles. I started making and had no more time to cook the noodles ahead, It turned out just fine. Maybe a little less juicer due to fact the sauce and water was soaked up. I didn’t use the cheese right either. It was good with cheddar and fresh Ramona. Tasted good. Will try cooking noodles ahead next time.
How do you think this would turn out with the oven ready lasagne noodles?
I think it would be great. You might need to add a bit of extra sauce or liquid.
Awesome recipe. Really easy to follow. thank you!
Absolutely the best I’ve ever had, let alone made!!!
Followed recipe, for the most part, & ended up with the best lasagna that I’ve ever made.
Super simple recipe. Super delicious dinner. Thanks to you.
Excellent dish my boyfriend and I quite enjoyed it.
Your instructions are very confusing on here. Your recipe calls for 12 noodles, yet in your instructions you only get to 9. I found the cheese layer to be insufficient. And you never mention to combine the remaining mozzarella with the remaining parmesan for the last layer that goes in with 15 minutes left. I was thoroughly disappointed in the instructions.
The layering order in step 5 is…
1 cup sauce
3 noodles – ⅓ of cheese mixture- 1 cup sauce
3 noodles – ⅓ of cheese mixture – 1 cup sauce
3 noodles – ⅓ of cheese mixture- 1 cup sauce
Finish with
3 noodles – remaining sauce
= 12 noodles total
Step. 6 Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes.
Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese (2½ cups mozzarella cheese and ¼ parmesan cheese), and bake an additional 15 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Broil 2-3 minutes if desired.
Hope that helps.
Great recipes to start my daughter cooking.
Made this and it turned out wonderful!!
Such an easy recipe thanks Holly… I put mushrooms in mine it’s in the oven now, house smells delicious, can’t wait !!!
Love all these
We made this recipe yesterday, a day before Thanksgiving. We are Soo looking forward to putting it in the oven today.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yum! Happy Thanksgiving Charlie!
Just wondering if I can use 1 cup ricotta and 1 cut cottage cheese? Or will that make it taste weird?
I personally love both and while I haven’t tried it, I do think mixing them would work just fine! Let us know how it works out for you!