World's Best Lasagna Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

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This is hands down The Best Lasagna Recipe Ever! Easy, cheesy, meaty and so so delicious! It’s the quintessential recipe for feeding a large family or bringing to a potluck. Layer up the hearty meat sauce, different cheeses, and lasagna pasta and then bake until hot and bubbly. This classic recipe is so delicious with some Homemade Garlic Bread or Cheesy Breadsticks.

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THE BEST Lasagna Recipe Ever!

So happy to be sharing this epic Lasagna Recipe with you today! This recipe is easy, cheesy, can be made in advance or baked right away and comes out perfectly every time! My family will lick their plates clean when this is on the dinner menu. This recipe is not dry, not soupy, cuts perfectly, holds together, and tastes amazing!

Like I mentioned above, this is the quintessential lasagna recipe that you need in your recipe box. Make this once and never need another lasagna recipe again. It’s meaty, cheesy, decadent and the perfect Italian dinner.

Below are lots of tips and tricks for creating the best lasagna ever which are reflected in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Follow these guidelines and you too will have success with this easy lasagna recipe.

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How to Make Lasagna

Lasagna is essentially a layered Italian casserole made up of three parts: meat sauce, cheese mixture, and pasta sheets. Here is the process of how to make and assemble your lasagna. For full recipe details and ingredient measurements, see the printable recipe card down below.

1. Make Lasagna Meat Sauce

Give yourself a good couple hours (or more!) to make the meat sauce because this is a big part of why Lasagna is so good!

  1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
  2. Add in onion and saute.
  3. Add in garlic and ground beef. Break meat apart as it browns.
  4. Pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, dried basil, sugar, Italian Seasoning and salt.
  5. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
  6. Cook sauce 1-2 hours or until very thick. You may have to add more water as you go to ensure it doesn’t scorch which is totally normal.

2. Make Lasagna Cheese Filling

A classic Lasagna Recipe calls for ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan. While meat sauce cooks, stir cheeses together in a bowl with basil, parsley and salt & pepper. Set aside.

3. Cook Lasagna Pasta Sheets

Regardless of the brand of lasagna you’re using, be sure to check out the packaging and boil noodles for two-thirds of the recommended time. Since you will be baking the entire lasagna in the oven after you layer it, your pasta will continue cooking, so give it a place to go! Overcooked pasta does not make a good lasagna.

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What is the correct order to layer lasagna?

Start with a bit of meat sauce in the bottom of a large casserole dish or a plain 9×13 and line the bottom with pasta. Top with the cheese mixture and meat sauce. Add another layer of noodles, cheese, and sauce and then top with more pasta, more sauce and a sprinkling of cheese. So, basically, here are your layers:

  1. Meat Sauce (just a little so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom)
  2. Noodles
  3. Cheese Filling
  4. Meat Sauce
  5. Noodles
  6. Cheese Filling
  7. Meat Sauce
  8. Noodles
  9. Meat Sauce
  10. Mozzarella Cheese

4. Bake Homemade Lasagna

Cover your layered lasagna with aluminum foil that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake, being sure to pull the foil off the last few minutes of cooking to brown the top.

What Temperature Should You Bake A Lasagna?

Lasagna should be baked at 375° F. Some recipes might call for 350, some might go as high as 425, but I think 375 is perfect.

How long to bake lasagna?

1 hour/60 minutes total: 45 minutes covered with foil and 15 minutes uncovered.

World’s Best Lasagna Recipe Substitutions

While I love this homemade Lasagna Recipe as written, you may have other preferences! Here are some simple substitutions that you may want to try.

Ground Beef vs Ground Sausage

You can absolutely substitute Sweet Italian Sausage or even Spicy Italian Sausage in place of the ground beef if that is your preference.

Cottage Cheese vs Ricotta

Classic Italian Lasagnas are typically made with a blend of creamy Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese.

If you don’t like using ricotta cheese because of the taste or texture, you can definitely substitute cottage cheese in its place 1:1. Everything else in the recipe will stay the same.

Regular Lasagna Pasta vs Oven Ready (no boil) Pasta

I don’t recommend the oven-ready noodles for this particular lasagna recipe. While they may seem like a simple sub, they are partially cooked and dehydrated for packaging. Oven ready pasta is thinner than regular lasagna pasta and I find those give you a more starchy lasagna that doesn’t taste very good (in my opinion). Also, they soak up a lot of moisture because they are essentially cooking and softening in the oven as the lasagna cooks. It’s easy to get a dry lasagna because of this.

Best Lasagna Recipe Tips

The best lasagna you’ve ever eaten is only steps away. Here are my golden rules for creating the best-finished product.

  • Cook your meat sauce for a long time. This not only concentrates the flavors for a more flavorful meat sauce, but it reduces the amount of liquid. If you want to cut perfect slices and not have a soupy mess on your hands, cooking your sauce for an hour or two until its very thick is a big step in the right direction. Bonus points for making the sauce 12-24 hours in advance. Red sauces of any kind always taste better the next day…in my opinion. Reheat the sauce before layering it up in the lasagna for quicker baking time.
  • Boil lasagna noodles for two-thirds of the time, according to package directions. Most lasagna pasta will cook for 9-11 minutes. I pulled mine out at around 7 minutes. I don’t want to cook the pasta all the way through because once they hit the oven for baking, they can get mushier than al dente. So, draining them early means they will soak up any extra liquid in the sauce and after the hour in the oven, your pasta will be perfectly cooked, not mushy and help hold those beautiful layers together.
  • Don’t use fresh mozzarella. While I big puffy heart eyes love fresh mozzarella, I feel the added moisture isn’t worth the taste. Instead, reach for a block of sturdier mozzarella cheese and grate it yourself. If you think this is sacrilegious and would prefer the fresh mozzarella, be sure to cut it into thin slices and press it in between paper towels to get out as much moisture as possible. And please please please don’t use the pre-grated mozzarella cheese.
  • Let your Lasagna rest 15-20 minutes. Again, when trying to achieve those perfect slices, you have to let everything settle and rest before digging in. It will stay plenty hot, but the rest time really gives your lasagna those last few minutes to soak up that moisture and let the cheese firm up a touch. Garnish with dried or fresh basil.
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What to serve with Homemade Lasagna

Make your meal a full Italian feast with some of my most loved and favorite salad and side dish recipes!

  • Homemade Garlic Bread
  • The Best Caprese Salad
  • That Good Salad
  • Hasselback Cheesy Garlic Bread
  • Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Rolls
  • Roasted Brussels Sprouts
  • Simple Bruschetta Recipe
  • See a full list of side dishes for lasagna

How to store Homemade Lasagna

Half the fun of eating lasagna is being able to eat it AGAIN the next day. Store any extra lasagna in the fridge covered for up to 5 days. Whether that is in the same casserole dish or cut into individual slices in plastic containers, just ensure they are sealed airtight.

Individual slices can be reheated easily in the microwave. If you have more than a few slices in your casserole dish, cover with foil and bake at 350° F until heated completely through again.

Can I Freeze Lasagna?

Absolutely. Whether you are freezing lasagna before or after baking, the instructions mostly stay the same.

Unbaked Lasagna

Wrap casserole dish with assembled lasagna well with plastic wrap AND foil. Can stay frozen for up to two months. I like using a disposable 9×13 foil pan for freezing purposes.

Baking a Frozen Lasagna: unwrap lasagna completely. Cover with fresh foil and bake at 300° F for one hour and finish baking at 375° F for the last 30 minutes. Remove foil for the last few minutes of cooking to brown the cheese.

Baked Lasagna

Wrap casserole dish with assembled lasagna well with plastic wrap AND foil. Can stay frozen for up to two months.

Reheating Baked Lasagna: unwrap lasagna completely. Cover with fresh foil and bake at 350° F until thoroughly warm.

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Homemade Lasagna FAQs

Do you Have to Put Eggs in the Cheese Filling for Lasagna?

No, you do not have to put eggs into the lasagna! Eggs certainly help with binding the cheese together and overall stability, but I found it wasn’t necessary and I didn’t notice a huge difference. As long as you let your lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes after baking, it should hold its shape perfectly as you slice it.

Can I Use Fresh Mozzarella for Lasagna?

I don’t recommend using fresh mozzarella because all different brands have different moisture levels and it can negatively effect the finished product. If you DO want to use fresh mozzarella, be sure to slice it thin and press out all the extra moisture in paper towels.

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More Homemade Lasagna Recipes to Try!

  • Skillet Lasagna
  • Cheesy Lasagna Dip
  • Lasagna Cups
  • Slow Cooker Lasagna
  • Chicken Lasagna
  • Lasagna Soup

More Favorites from Lauren’s Latest

  • Dry Brine Turkey Recipe
  • Crepes Recipe
  • Christmas Crack
  • Energy Peanut Butter Balls
  • Strawberry Pavlova
  • Best Stew Recipe
  • Hash Brown Potato Casserole
  • Winter Salad Recipe
  • Parmesan Bread Bites Dominos

With all these helpful tips and the video below, you should be able to make the best lasagna ever! Printable recipe card is also below.

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you wouldgive it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.

4.46 from 136 votes

Best Recipe for Lasagna

This is hands down the Best Lasagna Recipe ever! Easy, cheesy, meaty and so so delicious! Layer up the hearty meat sauce, different cheeses and lasagna pasta and then bake until hot and bubbly.

servings 15 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

For the meat sauce:

For the cheese layer:

  • 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese grated
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • salt & pepper to taste

Remaining ingredients:

  • 1 pound lasagna noodles
  • 1/4 pound mozzarella cheese grated, for topping

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375° F.

Make the Meat Sauce

  • In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onion and saute 2-3 minutes. Add in garlic and ground beef. Break meat apart as it browns. Once meat has browned completely, pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, dried basil, sugar, Italian Seasoning and salt. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook sauce 1-2 hours or until very thick. You may have to add a little extra water as it reduces down to prevent scorching. This is normal.

Make the Cheese Filling

  • While meat sauce cooks, make the cheese layer: stir cheeses together in a bowl with basil, parsley and salt & pepper. Set aside.

  • Cook lasagna noodles 2/3 of the time marked on the package. About 7 minutes or so. Drain and place noodles in a large bowl of cold water.

Layering the Lasagna

  • Spread 1/2 cup prepared sauce in the bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Layer in 5-6 noodles across the bottom to completely cover. Spread half of the cheese mixture overtop of the noodles and then one third of the sauce. Top with another layer of noodles, the second half of the cheese mixture and another third of the sauce. Final layer is the last of the noodles and the last of the meat sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 lb. grated mozzarella cheese.So real quick, here is the order of the layers:

    Meat Sauce (just a little so the noodles don't stick to the bottom)

    Noodles

    Cheese Filling

    Meat Sauce

    Noodles

    Cheese Filling

    Meat Sauce

    Noodles

    Meat Sauce

    Mozzarella Cheese

  • Cover lasagna with greased foil. Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes with foil on. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until cheese has browned and everything it hot all the way through. Remove from oven, cover lightly with foil and rest 20-30 minutes before cutting and serving. Sprinkle with dried basil or parsley flakes, cut into squares and serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 554mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 1.4mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: best lasagna, classic lasagna, italian dinner, italian lasagna, lasagna, lasagna recipe, pasta

World's Best Lasagna Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good lasagna? ›

Ricotta Béchamel Is the Secret to the Best Lasagna

The creamy béchamel melts in your mouth and together with the fresh herbs, it really balances out the hearty flavor of the meat sauce." Of course we're used to seeing ricotta cheese in lasagna, but it usually gets awkwardly spread across each layer in uneven piles.

What to add to lasagna to make it taste better? ›

Sugar: Two tablespoons of white sugar add subtle sweetness and enhance the flavor of the sauce. Spices and seasonings: This lasagna recipe is flavored with fresh parsley, dried basil leaves, salt, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and black pepper.

What not to do when making lasagna? ›

In the spirit of learning and lasagna, here are the top mistakes everyone makes with lasagna.
  1. Overcooking the noodles. ...
  2. Boiling noodles without oil and salt. ...
  3. Letting your lasagna get too soupy. ...
  4. Using the wrong protein. ...
  5. Overloading the layers. ...
  6. Substituting cottage cheese for ricotta. ...
  7. Using preshredded cheese.
Aug 30, 2022

How many layers of lasagna is best? ›

Let me break it to you: If you want to make a lasagna, three layers just won't cut it! For the perfect lasagna, you need at least 4-5 layers to really enjoy all those mouth-watering flavors. And, here's a pro-tip: make sure to season each layer generously, but not too much. The average lasagna has 8 layers!

Is ricotta cheese or cottage cheese better in lasagna? ›

When put into a lasagna, cottage cheese can remain lumpy and grainy, which is not ideal for a filling that's supposed to be smooth and creamy. Beyond having the incorrect texture, cottage cheese's flavor is sharper and more acidic than mild ricotta, which has a sweeter taste that doesn't clash with other ingredients.

How to improve a lasagna? ›

Up the luxe factor by infusing the white sauce with wild mushrooms, which provide a complementary flavour for the beef. Give the meat sauce a boozy kick with a generous measure of full-bodied red wine. It's important that you don't add too much liquid to the sauce – lasagne shouldn't be a sloppy dish.

Should you bake lasagna covered or uncovered? ›

In an oven preheated to 375 degrees F, this homemade lasagna should be perfectly baked in about 50 minutes (30-40 minutes covered, 5-10 minutes uncovered).

Why add tomato paste to lasagna? ›

A good tomato paste helps to thicken but also adds a sweet and savory umami flavor. Lean Ground Beef: Lean beef adds a robust and hearty meatiness that's essential in a classic lasagna recipe.

Why do you put milk in lasagna? ›

The secret ingredient? Milk. It tenderises the meat, to leave you with the most tender ragù. Use a deep dish and find out how to layer a lasagne.

Should I bake lasagna in glass or metal? ›

Acidic ingredients like tomatoes and citrus can react with aluminum (the most common metal used in bakeware), creating a metallic taste in your food. This is why lasagna and other casseroles with acidic ingredients are often baked in glass.

Is there a wrong way to make lasagna? ›

10 Most Common Lasagna Mistakes

There shouldn't be too much or too little filling. Too much between one layer and another will keep you from ever getting a perfect slice. Too little and all you'll taste is pasta. Do not put large pieces of vegetables or meat in lasagna for the same reason as above.

Is it better to let lasagna sit before baking? ›

Let the lasagna rest before cooking it

For cooking patience is an excellent ally, so when you have finished composing your lasagna, let it rest for about 40 minutes before baking it; in this way the pasta will absorb all the flavors of the condiment and the cooking will be more homogeneous and the taste richer.

Should you criss cross lasagna noodles? ›

(Do notice that I put the noodles criss cross – perpendicular from the layer below – it helps it to hold together when you serve it). So, the noodles directly on the cheese means there won't be enough for a top layer of noodles.

How to stop lasagne from falling apart? ›

The biggest offender, though, is watery, thin pasta sauce. A helpful technique can prevent this pitfall from sabotaging your lasagna: Reduce your sauce to thicken it before pouring it into the casserole. A thin sauce runs right off of cooked lasagna noodles, causing all the layers to slide off of each other, as well.

Do you put cheese in between lasagna layers? ›

The best way to layer your lasagna is to start with a layer of red sauce, follow it up with a layer of white sauce, then pasta, then cheese. Follow this pattern until you've filled your tray.

What keeps lasagna from falling apart? ›

A thin sauce runs right off of cooked lasagna noodles, causing all the layers to slide off of each other, as well. A thick sauce, meanwhile, almost acts like a glue that holds the layers together, resulting in a dish that slices into neat squares.

How do you keep lasagna from being soupy? ›

Whether you're making a tomato and meat sauce from scratch or using a jarred sauce, you can thicken it with cornstarch to prevent the problem of a soupy lasagna. Cornstarch is a classic binding ingredient that won't affect the sauce's flavor and is much more effective than flour.

How to stop lasagne from being sloppy? ›

How can I keep lasagna from being a mushy mess? The best way is to keep your ingredients dry. Cook your pasta sauce long enough to boil out most of the moisture so the sauce is thick.

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