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This classic Lasagna recipe is like a little black dress – it’ll never go out of style and will always make you happy! Enjoy layers of ground beef, pasta, ricotta cheese mixture, easy homemade marinara sauce, and more cheese in every bite.
Enjoy more baked Italian dinner recipes like Baked Ziti and Manicotti.
Table of Contents
There are a few classic Italian dishes that are loved by just about everyone here in the states. Lasagna might just be the most popular of them all! It’s a perfect sit-down dinner recipe to share with family and friends.
Comforting flavors of homemade tomato sauce, pasta, cheese, and beef makes every bite a delight. It’s a wonderful dinner, especially when feeding a small crowd.
This homemade lasagna is amazing.Even though I don’t come from an Italian family, out of every lasagna I’ve tried in an authentic restaurant, mine is still the very best I’ve had! I have yet to find one that comes close to mine.
It could be because the most important ingredients are missing at restaurants… love and care. Love translates into every ingredient that you choose when cooking for your family and every step you take to prepare it.
Ingredient Notes
Marinara Sauce – When possible, make your own Marinara Sauce. It’s easy and it will make the world of difference in taste. Marinara sauce is easy to made ahead of time or freeze it for later.
Lasagna Noodles – for the easy, time saving step in making lasagna, use oven-ready lasagna noodles. It will save you the step and time of cooking noodles.
Ground Beef – For ground beef, use either 90/10% or 85/15% meat to fat preferably. If you’d like to avoid beef, you can always switch things up with ground turkey or ground chicken instead.
Onion – A yellow onion is preferred but a white onion will also get the job done.
Cheeses – You’ll need Italian shredded cheese mix, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Homemade Lasagna
Make the ricotta mixture. Combine all ingredients for the ricotta layer in a mixing bowl and mix until combined (1).
Cook the beef. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add oil and onions and cook until transparent. Add the ground beef and break up the lumps as you cook. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.Once the meat is just done, add in 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2). Mix well and make sure it’s just cooked through, don’t overcook (3).
Create the first layer. Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish (4). Make sure it’s spread evenly.
Add the first noodles. Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer (5). I like to overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.
Add beef and cheese. Spread beef mixture over the pasta sheets evenly (6). Spread 1 1/2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix (7).
Add more noodles. Layer lasagna noodles in an even layer (8). Again, you can overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.
Add more sauce. Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over pasta sheets evenly (9).
Add ricotta. Spread ricotta mixture evenly (10). Drop spoonfuls of ricotta mixture all over and use your hands to spread it in one even layer.
Add the final noodles and sauce. Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. Overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over pasta sheets (11).
Add cheese on top. Spread 1 1/2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix over the sauce evenly.Sprinkle some oregano over the top (12).
Bake. Spray one side of aluminum foil sheet with cooking spray and cover the casserole dish with foil (13), oiled side down.Bake covered at 350°F) for about 35 minutes.
Uncover and bake more. Take off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes (14).
Recipe FAQs
What to do with leftover ricotta?
This recipe calls for 20 oz of ricotta, and the containers most often in stores are 15 oz or 32 oz. I have gotten lucky a couple times with a 20 oz container but that’s rare. There are a few other recipes I plan to make when I know I will be making lasagna.
Use the leftover ricotta in delicious recipes like Ricotta Pancakes, Easy Ricotta Doughnuts, and more! You can even toss it into pound cake batter, add it to a quiche or breakfast egg muffins, make a flatbread for lunch, or use it to stuff French toast.
What is the difference between lasagna and baked ziti?
While these two dishes do share a flavor palate and very similar ingredients, the dishes are pretty different.
Lasagna is a layered pasta dish made with lasagna noodles. There are distinct layers of noodles, meat, and ricotta mixture.
In Baked Ziti, there is much sturdier and smaller pasta like ziti, fusilli, penne, or rigatoni. You also mix pasta with the meat mixture and sauce and then create pockets of ricotta mixture with dollops of it throughout.
Both dishes can feature various meats like Italian sausage, ground beef, or ground pork.
What cheese can I use instead of Italian mix?
For the best results, use shredded whole milk mozzarella and fresh grated parmesan. You can also add some grated Asiago or Fontina since those are often included in the Italian cheese mix for an even cheesier flavor variety!
What store-bought marinara sauce is the best?
I understand being in a time crunch, you may way to keep a jar of marinara sauce in a pantry just in case. Personally, I like La San Marzano Marinara Sauce or Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce. For a more budget friendly option, Whole Foods has a pretty good sauce in their brand, 365 Organic Marinara.
Tips for the Best Lasagna
- When choosing pasta noodles, I recommend using oven-ready ones. It will be much easier and cut down on cooking steps and time.
- While layering pasta, have the sheets overlap by 1/2 to 1/4 inch. Remember, you can also break apart some pasta sheets in you need to cover small corners and gaps.
- Choose 85/15 meat to fat ratio of ground beef. It will result in a juicier and more tender beef layer. You can always drain off some excess juices.
- Make sure to spray one side of aluminum foil with some spray cooking oil and cover the baking pan oiled side down. That will prevent cheese from sticking to the foil when you pull it off.
How to Make Lasagna Ahead of Time
You can make just the marinara sauce ahead of time. Store the sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 24 hours before making the lasagna.
If you have a little extra time to prepare, you can assemble the whole lasagna up to the step of actually baking it. Cool it and cover it airtight, then chill in the fridge it until you’re ready to bake. Do not make it more than 1 day ahead.
When you’re ready to bake it, pull the dish out of the refrigerator while the oven is preheating. Remove the plastic wrap or cover of the dish and bake as instructed. You may need to add about 5-10 minutes to bake time since the lasagna will start off cold.
Storing and Reheating Recommendations
You can store lasagna right in the casserole dish you baked it in. Make sure it’s completely cooled before adding to the refrigerator and cover it tightly with plastic wrap or a lid. It should stay fresh for 3-5 days in the fridge.
Reheat individual portions of lasagna in the microwave, or you can reheat larger portions in the casserole dish in the oven at 325°F covered with aluminum foil. Note that to reheat in the oven it could take up to 20 minutes.
Freezing Instructions
If you are planning on freezing your lasagna, use an aluminum baking pan to prepare it. Use one 9×13 baking pan or two half the size.
Cook your ingredients and put it together in the pan right up until the baking step. Instead of baking it, freeze it. Make sure to wrap the container as tightly as possible.
Properly stored, lasagna can last up to 6 months in the freezer.
To thaw lasagna, pull it from the freezer into the refrigerator and slow-thaw it there for 10-12 hours.
Bake as directed in the recipe but increase baking time under foil by 15-20 minutes since the lasagna will be cold going into the oven.
More freezing tips HERE.
More of the Best Italian Dinner Recipes
- Vegetable Lasagna
- Italian Sausage Lasagna
- Classic Stuffed Shells
- Chicken Parmesan
- Ricotta Cheesecake
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Classic Lasagna Recipe
This is an amazing lasagna recipe featuring the classic beef, ricotta, and pasta flavors made with homemade marinara sauce.
5 from 8 votes
PrintSave Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 4 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 24 minutes minutes
Servings: 9
Calories: 741kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought) divided
- 8-10 oz oven ready lasagna sheets
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese mix topping
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano topping
Beef layer:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 lbs ground beef (85/15 or 90/10 meat to fat ratio)
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese mix
Ricotta layer:
- 20 oz whole milk ricotta
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheese mix
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp minced fresh Italian parsley (or regular parsley)
- 2 tbsp minced fresh basil
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 1 egg
- salt
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 9×13 casserole dish.
Beef:
Preheat a medium cooking pan over medium heat.
Add oil and saute diced onion until transparent.
Add ground beef and cook, breaking up all the lumps, until just done. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.
Once the meat is just done. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Ricotta:
Combine all ingredients for the ricotta layer in a mixing bowl and mix very well. Set aside.
Lasagna:
Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish. Make sure it’s spread evenly.
Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. I like to overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.
Spread beef mixture over the pasta sheets evenly. Spread 1 1/2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix.
Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. Again, you can overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.
Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over pasta sheets evenly.
Spread ricotta mixture evenly. Drop spoonfuls of ricotta mixture all over and use your hands to spread it in one even layer. (Of course, make sure your hands are clean.)
Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. Overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.
Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over pasta sheets, evenly.
Spread 1 1/2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix over the sauce evenly.
Sprinkle some oregano over the top.
Spray one side of aluminum foil sheet with cooking spray and cover the casserole dish with foil, oiled side down.This will help with the cheese sticking to the foil.
Bake covered for about 35 minutes.
Take off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Cheese Options:For the best results, use shreddedwhole milk mozzarellaandfresh grated parmesan. You can also use shreddedItalian cheese mixfor an even cheesier flavor variety! You can mix in someAsiagowith parmesan orFontinawith mozzarella. Both flavorful options.
- Leftover ricotta? Use the leftover ricotta in delicious recipeslikeRicotta Pancakes,Easy Ricotta Doughnuts, and more! You can eventoss it into pound cake batter, add it to aquicheor breakfastegg muffins, make aflatbreadfor lunch, or use it tostuff French toast.
- Storing: store lasagna right in the casserole dish you baked it in. Make sure it’s completely cooledbefore adding to therefrigeratorandcover it tightlywith plastic wrap or a lid. It should stay fresh for3-5 days in the fridge.
- Reheatindividual portions of lasagna in the microwave, or you can reheat larger portions in the casserole dish in the oven at325°Fcovered with aluminum foil.Note that to reheat in the ovenit could take up to20 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 741kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 1311mg | Potassium: 815mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1370IU | Vitamin C: 10.1mg | Calcium: 654mg | Iron: 3.9mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in October 2018.
ABOUT LYUBA
I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...
