This Simple Lasagna Recipe is rich, decadent, and a perfect make-ahead meal. It's got layers of meat sauce, four kinds of cheese, and tender noodles and uses a couple of basic shortcuts to keep the prep to a minimum.
If you are looking for a classic lasagna recipe that doesn't take all day to assemble, this is your recipe. For more baked pasta recipes, you can also try this Ground Beef Pasta Bake, Baked Mac and Cheese, or this Sundried Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake.
Jump to:
Simple Lasagna Recipe
Everyone gets excited for lasagna night, but some recipes are so time consuming they are reserved for special occasions. With this easy homemade lasagna you can work smarter, not harder. Our lazy version of the Italian classic uses a couple of simple shortcuts to make it easy to have your favorite comfort food any night of the week.
There is no pre-cooking lasagna noodles, made-from-scratch marinara sauce, or even grating cheese. We recommend making a double batch so that you’ve got one for now and one for later!
Key Ingredients
- Lasagna Noodles - Because we pre-soak the noodles in hot water, you can use regular lasagna noodles, oven ready lasagna noodles, or no-boil lasagna noodles. They will all work great!
- Marinara Sauce - using a jar of your favorite brand of marinara sauce gives you a head start. You will still be adding meats, onions, and seasoning to the sauce but you can save yourself a little time and effort.
- Sausage - we love spicy Italian sausage but you could also use sweet Italian sausage.
- Ground Beef - you’ll want to use a lean ground beef for lasagna to minimize any extra greasiness.
- Onions - yellow Spanish onions caramelize nicely for this sauce, but you could also use white or red onions.
- Cottage Cheese - adding this to the ricotta mixture is a favorite trick of mine. It keeps the mixture a little lighter than if you used 100% ricotta, but the flavor is the same.
- Ricotta Cheese - I use whole milk ricotta for lasagna but you can use a lighter kind if you prefer.
- Eggs - eggs are what helps keep the cheese mixture together, but it also adds rich flavor.
How to Make Homemade Lasagna
- Prepare your No-Boil Lasagna noodles: place noodles in a large bowl or baking dish and cover them completely with hot tap water. Let the noodles sit for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Make the meat sauce: heat a large skillet over medium heat and saute your onions. Next, add your sausage and beef with a touch of water and garlic until the meats are cooked through. Season and mix in your marinara sauce then set aside.
- Make the cheese mixture: in a large bowl, add your cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, eggs, parsley, salt, and nutmeg, and mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Build your lasagna: be sure to spray your 9” x 13” baking dish with non-stick spray and then layer as directed below.
Lasagna Layers
In your prepared 9” x 13” baking dish, build in the following order, from the bottom up:
- Spread 1 cup meat sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
- Place 4 noodles on top of the meat sauce, overlapping slightly if necessary.
- Spread ⅓ of cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.
- Cover cheese with about 2 cups of meat sauce.
- Repeat two more times (noodles, cheese, meat, noodles, cheese, meat).
- Finish with a final layer of noodles and 1 cup of meat sauce, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Tips For Freezing Lasagna
As long as you have the freezer space, it’s always a good idea to freeze an extra pan of Homemade Lasagna. It’s great to have on hand for busy nights or to pass along to family or friends who could use it.
- If you know that your lasagna will be in the freezer for a while, or if you are planning to give it to someone, build it in a disposable pan so that it doesn’t take up precious baking dish real estate.
- Freeze lasagna after it is built and before it has been cooked.
- Once completely cool, wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and cover completely with aluminum foil.
- Be sure to remove the plastic wrap before baking--but leave bake with the aluminum foil.
- You can store it frozen for up to 3 months, but we’re willing to bet it won’t stay frozen for that long!
- Once you are ready to bake your frozen lasagna, transfer the pan to the fridge overnight to thaw. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees the next day and pull your lasagna from the fridge to come up to room temperature. This is especially important if your lasagna isn’t in a disposable baking dish because you don’t want the glass to crack in the oven!
Frequently Asked Questions
Ricotta cheese is classic, but cottage cheese made its way into American lasagna, presumably because it was easier to find. Nowadays, you can find ricotta cheese in just about every major grocery store, but many people still swear by cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese makes the filling a little lighter while ricotta makes it thicker and richer. This is why I like to use a combination of both!
This recipe calls for baking lasagna at 375 degrees F which will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes, give or take. Every oven is different, so it’s best to take a peek after you have removed the aluminum foil and it has been in the oven for 1 hour.
If you choose to bake your lasagna at 350 degrees, it may take closer to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Eggs act as a binder for your cheese mixture and hold everything together so that you can cut nice slices once it’s all baked. Ricotta and cottage cheese both have quite a bit of water content and the eggs ensure that you don’t end up with a soupy mess once it’s all cooked.
In this Homemade Lasagna recipe, we use 4 layers of lasagna, for a total of 16 sheets. Different brands and types of noodles have different quantities per box, so if you need to, you can use 3 noodles per layer.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator: store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: uncooked lasagna can be stored frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight. Bake as directed the next day.
- To reheat: you can reheat a small portion in the microwave, or place in a preheated 350 degree oven, cover with foil, and heat until warmed through.
Simple Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
Lasagna Sauce Recipe
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 medium Yellow Onion chopped
- 1 lb Spicy Italian Sausage
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 2 quarts Marinara Sauce
Cheese Mixture for Lasagna
- 15 oz Cottage Cheese
- 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 1½ cups Mozzarella shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan grated
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 teaspoon Parsley chopped
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
Additional Lasagna Ingredients
- 16 each Lasagna Noodles
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded, to sprinkle on top before baking
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 2 teaspoon Parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
To Prepare No-Boil Noodles
- In a large bowl or 9 by 13" baking dish, add lasagna noodles. Pour hot tap water over the noodles and let them soak in the hot water (as hot as you can get it) for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
To Prepare Meat Sauce
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and saute until transparent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sausage, ground beef and ¼ cup of water to the onions and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, using a spoon to break up the meat.
- Add minced garlic, then cook until the meat is no longer pink, or about 5 minutes more. Turn off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste, then add in the marinara sauce and mix until combined. Set aside.
To Prepare Cheese Mixture
- In a large bowl, add the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and nutmeg. Mix until well-combined.
How to Assemble and Bake Easy Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray a deep 9 by 13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Spread about 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of your baking dish, place 4 noodles on top of the meat sauce, spread about a ⅓ of the cheese mixture on the noodles, and cover with about 2 cups of meat sauce. Repeat two more times (noodles, cheese sauce, meat sauce, noodles, cheese sauce, meat sauce).
- To finish the lasagna, cover with a final layer of lasagna noodles and top with 1 cup of meat sauce to cover the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and ⅓ cup of parmesan cheese evenly over the top.
- Cover the lasagna with foil and place the baking dish onto a baking sheet (to help catch anything that may fall over the edge while baking). Bake for about 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let the lasagna sit for 10 minutes before garnishing with parsley and slicing. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Pasta Entrees We Love
- Baked Penne Pasta with Italian Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Tortellini Pasta Bake
- Easy Crockpot Lasagna with Ravioli
- 4 Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Sun Dried Tomatoes Baked Chicken Penne Pasta
- More Pasta Recipes
- More Dinner Ideas
This Homemade Lasagna recipe is rich, decadent and so simple that some might even call it life-changing. Made with beef, spicy Italian sausage and four different kinds of cheese, our lazy version of the Italian classic makes it easy to have your favorite comfort food any night of the week.
Leave a Reply