Homemade Lasagna is a classic recipe that every cook should have in their rotation.
Tender sheets of pasta, a creamy ricotta cheese filling, and a rich meaty tomato sauce are all topped with more cheese and baked until browned and bubbly.
While there are a few steps to this lasagna recipe, it’s easy to make and has so much flavor. This dish can be made ahead of time and freezes well either before or after baking!
Homemade lasagna may have a few steps, but each step is easy – and I assure you it’s worth the time; the perfect Italian meal!
The best lasagna recipe is made with ingredients that you know, and it’s not difficult at all! All you’ll need for this easy lasagna recipe is one pan, one bowl, and a 9×13 baking dish!
Lasagna Ingredients
- Cheese Filling: For this classic lasagna recipe, the filling contains ricotta and parmesan with seasonings and a couple of tablespoons of parsley. No ricotta? No problem, cottage cheese works just fine in this recipe!
- Meat: I use both Italian sausage and ground beef for great flavor. If using all beef, add a ¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds and some Italian seasoning to the meat mixture for flavor.
- 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).
Spinach (variation): To make a spinach lasagna, squeeze out most of the moisture of defrosted frozen spinach and add it along with the cheese layer.
Lasagna ingredients don’t have to be limited to the ones you see here. Substitute meats or different cheeses, or try different meat sauce variations.
How to Make Lasagna
Homemade lasagna may have a few steps, but each step is easy – and I assure you it’s worth the time; the perfect Italian meal! This is a really easy lasagna recipe.
- Boil pasta: Cook in a large pot of salted water per the recipe below.
- Prepare meat sauce: Cook sausage and beef with onion and garlic. Drain well, add the pasta sauce & 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 browned and bubbly.
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
How Long to Bake
Bake this lasagna recipe for a total of one hour. To get a perfect browned cheese topping, you’ll need to bake it in two stages.
- Layer and cover it tightly with aluminum foil to retain the moisture.
- Once cooked, and heated through, remove the foil, top with cheese, and return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is browned and the lasagna is bubbling.
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.
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!
Easy Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded and divided
Tomato Sauce
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 1 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
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large pot of salted water, boil lasagna noodles until al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, brown 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 thickened.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella, 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 ⅓ 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 with the remaining 2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Bake 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.
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I am soooooo excited to give this recipe a try. I was curious to know how would you go about freezing it? And what instructions would you suggest for serving once frozen? 3 amazing women in my life just had babies so I was going to make them lasagnas and want to make sure I give them the best information. Thank you!!
Hi Mare, 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!
Great recipe prepared as written. I spray the foil with cooking spray to avoid sticking, works every time.
Great recipe! We prefer to nearly double the meat sauce and ricotta mixtures, and use a deep pan to accommodate for it. I’ve also used oven-ready lasagna noodles by adding a bit of water to the sauce, and it turned out just as good!
hello
Do we need to combine all the cheese with egg and parsley …..do we put it when all the leyers are finished at the end or in between leyers too?Thank you
To make the egg and parsley mixture, combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, ricotta, parsley, egg, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
The remainder of mozza and parmesan will be sprinkled on top. I hope this helps Ank!
Recipe doesn’t advise the temperature to bake. Please clarify
Hi Edward, you can find this info in step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. I hope this helps!
I’ve just finished making this, it’s literally in the oven now. buuuut I don’t eat pork and subbed it with minced lamb! I also added some mozzarella and ricotta to the tomato meat sauce for added creaminess. and then topped with a shaved blend of asiago, parm and romano. and added Italian seasoning and garlic powder to cheese mix layers.
Wonderful recipe, upped to 48oz on the sauce and added sauteed shiitake mushrooms and green peppers along with a being a little more heavy handed with the spices (with the inclusion of red pepper flakes) to suit family preference!
I used all beef, and instead of 2 cups ricotta I used 1 cup and 1 cup cottage cheese. And an extra garlic clove :). This is now my go to lasagna recipe!
Thank you for the great and easy recipes and will be making use of them.
I am so glad you are loving the recipes Brenda!
Sounds and great and so easy to make will be making the Lasagna this weekend
Amazing lasagna and directions were easy to follow. Highly recommend!
Delicious lasagna! Thank you for the recipe! I was just curious if I could add some red wine in the sauce, and if yes how much do you think? Thank you!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Elsa, but it sounds delicious. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Can this be made the day before cooked
Yes, this can be prepared two days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. You can cook it either before or after (I personally would prefer it to bake fresh to serve). 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. Enjoy Emanuel!
Very yummy. I added finely chopped carrot, mushroom and celery to my meat sauce and it turned out great.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it so many times. It’s a great hit with everyone.
super easy. super good. super recipe. thank you.
such an easy and extremely tasty lasagna. . it’s my go to
Ingredient part doesn’t mention Parmesan Cheese. How much Parmesan should I use?
This recipe uses 1/4 cup of parmesan in the ricotta mixture and 1/4 cup on top with the mozzarella. I hope this helps Darcy!
I substitute for oven ready noodles and a pound of ground beef and a pound of sausage a bit extra Italian seasoning, salt & pepper due to extra meat. Second time making it and it’s as delicious as the first.
Thank you for sharing” Lilly
Loved the lasagna. I used sage sausage (Jimmy Dean) which was a great flavor addition. Instead of tomato sauce, I used a small jar of mild salsa (or medium or hot according to your taste).
For the tomatoes, I used Fire Roasted tomatoes. Best lasagna around