Looking for the easiest way to make a delicious lasagna? This easy lasagna recipe has a great taste and is flavor packed without all of the extra time consuming process of making a classic lasagna recipe.
This simple lasagna recipe is the perfect dish when you're craving comfort food. Add it to your list of recipes for a special family gathering or a busy weeknight.
EASY LASAGNA INGREDIENTS
The best part of this easy lasagne recipe is that you may have all of these simple ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store! Check out the list of substitutions below if you're missing something.
- Herbs + Spices: basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper
- Cheese: ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella
- Noodles: boil or no boil lasagna noodles
- Marinara: jar of marinara sauce (pasta or spaghetti sauce) or use homemade marinara
- Other: egg, ground pork, ground beef
SUBSTITUTIONS
Click the tabs to see possible substitutions for each of these ingredients.
GROUND PORK AND BEEF:
Use any variation of ground meat that you prefer. You can use all spicy Italian sausage, all beef or even substitute ground turkey or chicken. We like the combination of pork and beef but experiment a little to see what you prefer. If you use lean ground beef, ground chicken, turkey or any low fat content meat, you'll want to add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to your pan before cooking the meat. This will prevent sticking. If you prefer, you can use a cooking spray.
MARINARA SAUCE:
Substitute a jar of pasta sauce for homemade marinara. Traditional lasagna recipes call for canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Using a marinara sauce simplifies the recipe and makes it much easier to make.
FRESH BASIL, FRESH PARSLEY, FRESH THYME, GARLIC:
When substituting dry herb for fresh herbs remember that dry herbs tend to be more potent. A general rule of thumb is add 1 teaspoon of dry herb for every 1 tablespoon of fresh herb in the recipe. You can even use Italian Seasoning (from the spice aisle) if you have it. If you're substituting garlic, we recommend a garlic powder not a garlic salt.
RICOTTA CHEESE:
Cottage cheese is a popular substitution for ricotta cheese. It has a bit more water content so increases the moisture in the lasagna.
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Enjoy this great recipe as an addition to a full meal with these other recipes:
- Salad: Italian Salad – This classic side dish is colorful and full of flavor!
- Side Dish: Italian Meatballs– These would make a great appetizer!
- Bread: Pizza Dough Garlic Knots – Dip these in your marinara! YUM!
- Drink: Red Wine Sangria – This is one of my all time favorite sangria recipes. Use the rest of the wine leftover from your marinara recipe.
- Dessert: No Bake Chocolate Lasagna – This needs no introduction!
- frying pan
- medium bowl
- 9"x13" baking dish
- utensils for cooking and mixing
- aluminum foil
INSTRUCTIONS
PREPARE: Place lasagna noodles in a 9x13 casserole dish and cover with hot water. Allow noodles to soak while preparing the meat sauce - you can alternately pre-cook your lasagna noodles in boiling water OR use the lasagna noodles labeled "Oven Ready" that do not require pre-cooking.
COOK MEAT: In large skillet, brown ground beef and Italian sausage until no pink remains. Drain any excess oil from the skillet.
ADD GARLIC: Add the minced garlic and saute 1-2 minutes longer, until fragrant.
KITCHEN TIP
Drain excess oil into a bowl. Once it hardens it's easy to throw away in the trash. Do not drain oil down your sink drain.
ADD MARINARA: Add the marinara sauce and herbs to the skillet. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to marry together.
MAKE CHEESE MIXTURE: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, ½ cup parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper.
COMBINE SHREDDED CHEESES: Add the remaining parmesan cheese to the mozzarella cheese and stir together. Set aside for assembling the lasagna.
PREHEAT OVEN: Preheat oven to 375°F.
REMOVE NOODLES FROM WATER: Remove lasagna noodles from the water and set aside to assemble the lasagna. Discard the soaking water.
KITCHEN TIP
Rinse noodles with cold water to prevent them from sticking together quickly.
ADD MEAT SAUCE TO DISH: Ladle just enough meat sauce into the casserole dish to cover the bottom of the pan.
ADD LAYER OF NOODLES: Top with a single layer of lasagna noodles, tearing any noodles in half to cover the entire area of the pan. Spread about ⅓ of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with ⅓ of the remaining sauce mixture. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese mixture over the sauce.
FINISH LAYERS: Continue layering noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheese until you have made three layers. Top the final layer with 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
COVER: Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil. Remove the aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.
BAKE: Bake for 50-60 minutes, removing the foil after the first 30 minutes.
KITCHEN TIP
Allow lasagna to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting. This will help keep the layers together and prevent it from being really runny.
STORAGE TIPS
Storing your food properly is important to prevent spoiling or food poisoning.
Refrigerate: Allow to cool then store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If the lasagna doesn't cool before being stored it will form condensation inside and could possibly heat up the temperature of the refrigerator enough to spoil other food inside.
Freeze: Cool completely then store in an airtight, freezer safe, container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrosting: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
More Recipes You'll Love
How To Make Pizza Dough: An easy thick crust pizza dough recipe.
Italian Sausage Lasagna (without a jar of marinara): Make lasagna the way my mother made it!
Pesto Pasta Salad: This delicious and easy pasta side dish is good any time of year.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Click the questions to see the answer.
WAYS TO USE LEFTOVERS
DEEP FRY: Cut your leftovers into squares and freeze. Then follow our deep fried lasagna recipe!
Ingredients
- ½ pound lasagna noodles
- ½ lb Italian sausage
- ½ lb ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 32 ounce jarred spaghetti or marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh minced basil
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced oregano
- 2 teaspoons fresh minced parsley
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg beaten
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Place lasagna noodles in a 9x13 casserole dish and cover with hot water. Allow noodles to soak while preparing the meat sauce - you can alternately pre-cook your lasagna noodles in boiling water OR use the lasagna noodles labeled "Oven Ready" that do not require pre-cooking.
- In large skillet, brown ground beef and Italian sausage until no pink remains. Drain any excess oil from the skillet.
- Add the minced garlic and saute 1-2 minutes longer, until fragrant.
- Next, add the marinara sauce and herbs to the skillet. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to marry together.
- In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, ½ cup parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper.
- Add the remaining parmesan cheese to the mozzarella cheese and toss together. Set aside for assembling the lasagna.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Remove lasagna noodles from the water and set aside to assemble the lasagna. Discard the soaking water.
- Ladle just enough meat sauce into the casserole dish to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Top with a single layer of lasagna noodles, tearing any noodles in half to cover the entire area of the pan. Spread about ⅓ of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with ⅓ of the remaining sauce mixture. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese mixture over the sauce.
- Continue layering noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheese until you have made three layers. Top the final layer with 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or until the lasagna is bubbling and the cheese melts and begins to brown around the edges.
Nutrition
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