Best Italian Lasagna Recipe

• Meat: I use lean ground beef and pork sausage. The combination creates a deep savory flavor and a more interesting texture. The fat from the Italian sausage prevents the meat from drying out.
• Sauce: Make a homemade marinara sauce, or try my quicker sauce using pantry ingredients. I use two canned products: tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. The concentrated pulp provides sweetness and helps to thicken the sauce. I use Cento crushed tomatoes imported from Italy because the fruit is ripe, has a soft acidity, and provides an authentic flavor. Sauteed onions, garlic, and Italian seasoning add depth to the sauce.
• Pasta: Wide lasagna noodles create large, flat layers, making spreading other toppings easy. This pasta is cooked until al dente so it holds its shape. It will eventually soak up more liquid from the sauce and tenderize it further during baking. After removing them from the boiling water, place them on a sheet tray in a single layer between clean kitchen towels to keep them from sticking together.
• Eggs: The eggs help bind the filling together and puff up when baking, keeping the mixture light instead of too dense in texture.
• Cheese: This homemade lasagna recipe uses three types of cheese: mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta. Mozzarella is high in moisture for melt and has a mild flavor. It’s layered separately to help hold the lasagna together. For the filling, I use aged parmesan for its nutty, pungent flavor, combined with sweet, creamy ricotta for richness.
• Herbs: Dried Italian seasoning is added for herbaceous notes. It combines oregano, marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Fresh parsley is added as garnish before serving.
• Seasoning: The meat, sauce, and cheese filling are seasoned with salt and pepper to enhance the casserole’s savory taste.

See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).

Ingredient Substitutions

This easy lasagna recipe is simple to customize! Try these tasty options:

• Ricotta Substitutes: If you like, you can substitute cottage cheese for ricotta, which will have a more savory flavor. The large curds are also softer instead of grainy. For a lighter but creamy filling, add bechamel or alfredo sauce instead.
• Meat Options: Use mild or spicy Italian sausage. For poultry options, use ground turkey or chicken. Make it vegetarian with plant-based ground meat, or omit the meat altogether.
• Pasta Swaps: For dietary needs, you can use gluten-free lasagna noodles. You can also use no-bake lasagna noodles, but keep them covered with foil to trap the steam. Cook according to the manufacturer’s directions. Try layering ravioli for quick and extra-cheesy pasta layers.
• Using Jarred Sauce: Jarred marinara sauce is a convenient option for lasagna. You’ll need 56 ounces, which is about 2 ⅓ of the standard 24-ounce jars.

How to Make Lasagna

Step 1: Preheat the Oven

Position the oven rack in the center to ensure even cooking. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190ºC); this temperature is key for baking the lasagna layers until they’re perfectly tender and bubbling with flavor.

Step 2: Saute the Aromatics 

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning, allowing the onions to become soft and translucent, which should take about 3 minutes. This process slowly draws out their sweetness, adding depth of flavor to your lasagna.

Step 3: Brown the Meat

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the beef and sausage to the pan. Break the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks, ensuring even browning. Continue to cook until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to enhance the savory flavors of the meat mixture.

Step 4: Simmer the Sauce 

Saute the tomato paste to concentrate the sweet flavor, then stir in the crushed tomatoes. The sauce simmers with olive oil, garlic, onions, and dried Italian seasonings like oregano, basil, and thyme for about 30 minutes to meld the flavors together.

Ingredient Chemistry: Simmering meat in tomato sauce has two advantages. The slow, low heat allows the flavors to concentrate as the sauce reduces. The natural acids in the tomatoes (malic and citric acid) help tenderize the meat gently over time while the meat infuses flavor into the sauce.

Step 5: Boil the Pasta

Bring water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt per 4 quarts. This helps season the pasta from the inside as it absorbs the salted water, enhancing its flavor and ensuring the noodles aren’t bland. Boil the lasagna noodles until al dente, about 8 minutes, then transfer to a sheet pan lined with kitchen towels to prevent sticking.

Step 6: Make the Cheese Mixture

For an irresistible cheesy herb filling. I use a combination of ricotta cheese for the base, parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley, and eggs. This mixture is added between the layers of noodles.

Step 7: Prep the Baking Dish

Lightly grease a 13×9-inch baking dish with oil. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom to prevent the noodles from sticking during baking. This dish size is ideal for holding all the ingredients in layers.

Step 8: Layer the Lasagna

Each layer is built by laying out three to four overlapping pieces of cooked noodles, then evenly spreading the ricotta cheese mixture, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Then repeat! This layering pattern will keep the dish from sliding apart during serving.

Step 9: Bake the Casserole

It takes 45 minutes to bake the lasagna at 375ºF (190ºC). I loosely cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes to heat the layers and cook the raw egg in the filling. To ensure that the mozzarella cheese layers are fully melted and the surface gets slightly golden brown, remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Experimentation is Encouraged: For an extra browned crust, broil the lasagna for a few minutes before removing it from the oven.

Step 10: Let it Cool

As much as you’d like to dive immediately, it’s best to let it cool down. It’s easier to cut the layers into beautiful slices when it’s not steaming hot, and the layers can settle and pack together. Garnish each serving with freshly chopped parsley.

Serve This With

Baked Goods/Breads

Garlic Bread

1 hr 15 mins

Desserts

Tiramisu

45 mins

Baked Goods/Breads

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

2 hrs 40 mins

Salads

Classic Caesar Salad

30 mins

If you tried this classic Lasagna Recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!