This is comfort food in its truest form. My BEST lasagna recipe is hearty & thick, made with a rich, homemade meat sauce and a creamy ricotta-based filling (with a special, secret ingredient snuck in there as well). Recipe includes a how-to video!
Homemade Lasagna
Sneaking in one of my favorite comfort food dishes before Spring rolls around and cozy dishes like this one start to fall out of favor (though I’ll be making this for my family all year round). This is truly the BEST lasagna recipe, you’re going to love its thick, meaty, layers with the creamiest filling ever, the most flavorful sauce of your life, and its hot, bubbly cheese topping.
Serve it warm with a side salad or bruschetta and a side of garlic knots and follow up with a slice of tiramisu for a satisfying Italian meal, start to finish.
Let’s dig in!
What You Need
It might look like a lot of ingredients, but I would bet most of them you already have in your pantry. Let’s go over a few:
- Ground beef and sweet Italian sausage. I use a blend of these two meats for the same reason that I do in my meatball recipe: when coupled together they produce a dish of rich and unparalleled flavor. I use sweet Italian sausage, but feel free to swap it out for “hot” instead, and if you can only find sausage sold in links just remove the casings before cooking.
- Granulated sugar. Sugar in the tomato sauce helps counterbalance the acidity and results in a sauce with a deeper flavor and more balanced taste.
- Seasonings. Even though I use fresh garlic and onion, I supplement the flavor with a pinch of garlic powder and onion powder (trust me on this). I use Italian seasonings, but bump up the basil, which should be more prominently featured. Salt & pepper (freshly ground is best!) are a must, and a pinch of crushed red pepper is optional but adds a slight heat to the dish.
- Cream cheese. My secret weapon (also seen in my stuffed shells!)! If you don’t like cream cheese, don’t be turned off, the flavor is not overwhelming or distinct at all. It simply enhances the creaminess of the ricotta layer and adds a subtle richness to the dish.
- Mozzarella cheese. This makes up its own layer over the ricotta layer and is the final layer of the lasagna (helps to hold the moisture in). Yes, there’s a lot of cheese in this dish but it’s well balanced and ideal for the best flavor!
Note the can of beef broth in the photo. If you have a layer of browning on the bottom of your pan, deglaze with a bit of broth or red wine before proceeding.
How to Make Lasagna Sauce
My rich, meaty sauce sets my lasagna apart from any other recipe, it’s incredibly flavorful and is what makes this the best lasagna recipe. To make it:
- Heat the olive oil and cook finely chopped onion until softened and translucent, then add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned.
- Sprinkle seasoning over the meat and stir to thoroughly combine. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir.
- Let everything simmer (simmering = flavor!) while you make the ricotta filling.
Ricotta Cheese Filling for Lasagna (with a Special Twist!)
- Combine ricotta, parmesan, cream cheese, egg, and parsley. Make sure the cream cheese is softened; if it’s not just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds until it’s soft enough to be stirred.
- Stir until the mixture is completely combined. Set aside.
How to Assemble Lasagna
- Spread a thin even layer of the sauce/meat mixture on the bottom of your baking dish.
- Arrange four cooked lasagna noodles horizontally so the sauce is covered.
- Add another even layer of sauce/meat over the noodles.
- Spread an even layer of ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. It may be a little messy and swirl together some, no big deal!
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella evenly over the ricotta layer.
- Repeat steps 2-5 (noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella) until you have used up all of your ingredients.
SAM’S TIP: Use a deep 13×9″ (23x33cm) pan as the layers may not fit in a standard glass baking dish. For extra security, bake your lasagna on a foil lined baking sheet, just in case any overflow happens in the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, I recommend it. While some recipes cook do not pre-cook (boil) the noodles, I found the results were less than ideal this way. When not boiled beforehand, they tend to soak up much of the moisture from the lasagna, making a dish that’s a bit too dry for my liking.
Yes, for a vegetarian lasagna simply leave the meat out of the dish. The sauce won’t have as rich of a flavor and the layers won’t be as thick, but it will still be delicious.
The eggs work to help bind the ingredients together and give you more defined layers, If you opt to make the filling without eggs, it will be creamier and more prone to falling apart as you cut it and the slices may not hold their shape on your plate. How much that matters is up to you!
Make it a full Italian meal! Finish everything off up with a slice of coffee and rum soaked tiramisu made with homemade ladyfingers!
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Lasagna
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ sweet or yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced (about 1 heaping Tablespoon)
- 1 lb (453 g) ground beef (I use a lean beef but use whichever percentage you prefer)
- 1 lb (453 g) sweet Italian sausage¹
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 28 oz (795 g) tomato sauce
- 14 oz (396 g) diced tomatoes undrained
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Filling/Topping
- 15 oz (425 g) whole milk ricotta cheese
- ½ cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 3 cups (340 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions until al-dente (typically 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.12 lasagna noodles
- Drain and run noodles under cold water to keep them from cooking further. Set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking you can begin preparing your sauce. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.2 Tablespoons olive oil, ½ sweet or yellow onion
- Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).3 cloves garlic
- Add ground beef and sausage to the pan and cook, crumbling, until mostly browned. Drain if needed. If you have accumulated a brown layer on the bottom of the pan, simply deglaze with a splash of broth or wine.1 lb (453 g) ground beef, 1 lb (453 g) sweet Italian sausage¹
- Add Italian seasoning, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir until well combined with the meat.1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and sugar and stir well. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally while you prepare the cheese layer:28 oz (795 g) tomato sauce, 14 oz (396 g) diced tomatoes, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Filling
- Stir together ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, egg, and dried parsley until completely combined.15 oz (425 g) whole milk ricotta cheese, ½ cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese, 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Assembly
- Spoon a thin layer of sauce onto the bottom of a 9×13” (23x33cm) baking dish. Top with an even layer of 4 noodles.Top the noodles with a third of your sauce. Dollop half of your ricotta over the sauce and use a spoon to spread evenly (it will be a thin layer and may swirl with the sauce, this is fine). Top the ricotta with 1 cup (113g) shredded mozzarella.3 cups (340 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- Repeat with 4 more noodles, half of your remaining sauce, another layer of ricotta and another cup of mozzarella, then 4 more noodles, remaining sauce, and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella evenly over the top.
- Lightly spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray and place the foil (spray-side down) over the lasagna. Place the lasagna on a foil-lined baking sheet (in case any overflow happens this will keep it from making a mess in your oven) and bake in 350F (175C) oven for 40 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes/until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
¹Sausage
Sometimes I am only able to find sweet Italian sausage in the form of links; simply remove the casings before using if this is the case.Meat You can use all beef, all sausage, or even just 1 lb of either meat if you prefer. You could also leave out the meat entirely and have a vegetarian lasagna.Storing
You can store the lasagna in the pan you bake it in wrapped tightly in foil, or in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. It may also be frozen in an airtight container for 1-2 months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Alisa
Absolutely delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you enjoyed it, Alisa! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🥰
Susana
Hi Sam! Could I use oven-ready lasagne (aka no boil) and if so do I need to add extra liquid, sauce so they cook correctly?
Sam
Hi Susana! I am not familiar with that particular type of pasta so I can’t say for sure how it would work.
Diane
Do you drain the grease off the ground beef after browning it?
Sam
If there is a lot of grease it can be drained. 🙂
Elisandra
I made mine and put on top italian milano salami and came out so delicious. Love this recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elisandra! 🙂
Aaron
if I prefer the ricotta layer to be thicker could I double the cheese mixture for this or would it mess up the recipe ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That should work just fine 😊
Laura Happ
I just found this recipe today and since I had most of the ingredients, I decided to make it. It came together quickly. I only had 1 pound of grass fed beef.I added the cream cheese to the ricotta cheese with the egg. I had the no boil lasagne noodles and the lasagne turned out great. We were having our two grandaughters over for dinner and they love cannellini beans, so I added a can, drained. Everyone loved it and had seconds!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy it was such a hit, Laura! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🩷
Betty Ann Reed
Can this be assembled the day before baking?
Sam
That should work just fine. 🙂
Michelle
can you use fresh basil or is there a reason for dried
Sam
You can definitely use fresh basil, yum! Enjoy, Michelle!
Angie Blankenshiphip
I prefer not to boil lasagna noodles; can’t we just use No-Boil noodles?? It looks like it is baked plenty long enough to me. What say you???
Sam
Hi Angie! I haven’t tried it with no boil noodles. When I have tried it in the past without boiling the noodles I have not been happy with the results. Let me know how it goes if you do try it with the no boil noodles. 🙂
Stefanie
Could you substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta in this recipe?
Also- can you freeze this unbaked?
It looks fabulous!
Sam
Hi Stefanie! You could freeze this unbaked. I believe the cottage cheese would work for the ricotta. Enjoy! 🙂
Leah
Great recipe!
Brandi
This is definitely my new go-to lasagna recipe! It was delicious!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Brandi! 🙂