Easy Homemade Lasagna
This homemade lasagna recipe is delicious and easy to make. It features layers of pasta, rich meat sauce, and cheesy filling with a golden cheesy topping!
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese divided
- ¾ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 36 ounces pasta sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Boil noodles until al dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown beef, sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat. Drain fat.
- Stir in pasta sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan, ricotta, parsley, beaten egg, and a pinch of salt.
- Spread 1 cup meat sauce in a 9×13 pan. Layer 3 noodles, ⅓ of the cheese mixture, 1 cup of meat sauce. Repeat twice. Finish with 3 noodles topped with remaining sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil, top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake uncovered for another 15 minutes until browned and bubbly.
- Let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Tips:
- Use good-quality pasta sauce (Rao’s is recommended).
- Letting the lasagna rest after baking ensures clean slices.
- You can freeze before or after baking.
- Add spinach in the cheese layer (thaw and squeeze 10oz frozen spinach).
- Use only ground beef or substitute with ground turkey if desired.
- Add fennel seeds and extra Italian seasoning if skipping the sausage.