This Classic Lasagna recipe has layers of creamy ricotta, a rich and savory homemade meat sauce, and plenty of melty mozzarella and Parmesan. It’s baked in a standard 9 x 13-inch pan until golden and bubbly for a hearty, satisfying meal.
More Italian classics we love include my Italian Meatballs and Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce.
I’ve been so frustrated over the years with lasagna recipes. They are either too dry, too saucy, or just plain bland. So, when I began the process of developing this Classic Lasagna recipe, there were a few items that were of utmost importance.
- It had to have a meaty, flavorful made from scratch sauce.
- The perfect ratio of sauce to noodles was a must.
- I wanted it to work in a standard 9- x 13-inch pan.
And, by golly, after some serious rounds of testing, here she is. The perfect homemade lasagna recipe that makes enough to feed a family, doesn’t require a giant pan, or leave you with an odd number of leftover noodles in the box.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Meat: I use a combination of 90% lean ground beef and bulk ground Italian sausage. I really love using hot Italian sausage which doesn’t really add much heat, just a ton of flavor.
- Canned goods: I cannot overstate the importance of using high quality Italian tomatoes when making sauce from scratch. Look for canned whole San Marzano tomatoes which are sweeter and less acidic than regular canned tomatoes. My local grocery stores stock them and I’m thrilled that Costco carries them now for a great price. I puree the whole tomatoes in my food processor before beginning (see the Tips section below for more on this). You’ll also need some tomato sauce and tomato paste.
- Wine: A little red wine greatly enhances the flavor of this meat sauce. Choose a medium to full-bodied wine like Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or an Italian varietal (my favorite!) like Chianti, Nebbiolo, or Sangiovese. If you’re not a wine drinker, you can substitue low sodium beef-broth.
- Fresh produce: Diced yellow onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. I use fresh basil in the summer when I have it growing in my garden and dried basil in the cold months – both are great.
- Seasoning: Italian seasoning, fennel seed, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fennel seed is my secret weapon for creating authentic Italian flavor in my Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and this Classic Lasagna. If you love Italian food, it’s definitely worth picking up a jar. I purée the whole tomatoes in my food processor before beginning (see the Tips section below).
- Sugar: A touch of sugar helps balance any acidity from the canned tomato products but will not result in a sweet sauce.
- Noodles: Uncooked curly lasagna noodles.
- Cheese: Part-skim ricotta cheese, shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, and finely shredded Parmesan cheese.
This recipe uses precisely half of a 1-pound box of lasagna noodles, which means you can save the rest to make another lasagna in the future. Or, if you’re into batch cooking, double the recipe and use one box of noodles to make two full lasagnas. I love it!
How to Make Classic Lasagna
This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add the beef and sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crumbled and browned. Drain off the grease, reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, fennel seed, kosher salt and pepper. Cook for several minutes until the onions are softened.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, water, and sugar and stir well to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce on low while you boil the lasagna noodles. Then, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
- For the ricotta cheese mixture, lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta, basil, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.
- Arrange 3 noodles over the sauce.
- Top with half of the ricotta filling in small spoonfuls and gently spread it out with the back of the spoon.
- Spoon a layer of meat sauce over the top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat this layering once more – noodles, ricotta mixture, meat sauce, shredded cheese. Then, top with a final layer of 3 noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over the noodles, spreading it out evenly.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it on the center rack of a preheated 375 degree F oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Return it to the oven, uncovered, for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the lasagna is bubbling. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tips for the Best Classic Lasagna
Preventing Sticky Noodles: Cooked lasagna noodles are very sticky, and if you just leave them in heap at the bottom of a colander after you drain them, they are going to stick to each other. To prevent this, drain and rinse them with cool water until cool enough to handle, then drape the noodles over the edge of the pot so they won’t stick together. You can also lay them out on a sheet of foil, if you’d like.
High Quality Ingredients: Your sauce will only be as good as the ingredients you use. Although canned Italian San Marzano tomatoes are more expensive than other canned tomatoes, I think it is so worth the cost to know that my sauce will be amazing.
Sauce Texture: I purée the canned whole tomatoes in my food processor before adding them to the sauce to speed up the cooking time. Why not just use canned crushed tomatoes instead? Because typically you’ll only find whole San Marzano tomatoes, not crushed. If you want to skip the step of puréeing them, just add the whole tomatoes and stir the sauce occasionally throughout the cooking time, using a wooden spoon to smash the tomatoes against the side of the pan to help break them down. It may take a bit longer, but high quality whole tomatoes are tender and should break down quite easily.
Ratio of Noodles to Sauce: This is the most important aspect to a good lasagna. If you don’t get the ratio right, you’ll end up with a dry lasagna or a lasagna so saucy it won’t slice cleanly. I’ve found that using 3 noodles per layer results in the perfect texture for the amount of sauce in this recipe. If you pefer a higher ratio of pasta, you can use 4 noodles per layer, overlapping them slightly to fit in the baking dish.
Storage Tips
Lasagna is one of the very best make-ahead and/or freezer meals ever. In fact, it freezes so well that I created a recipe for an easy Freezer Lasagna recipe I relied heavily upon when my boys were younger. And, of course, everyone knows that leftover lasagna is delicious. Resting overnight in the fridge allows the flavors to develop even more once reheated.
- Refrigerate: Cover and refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Leftover lasagna reheats very well in the microwave and is best if consumed within 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze: After adding the final layer of meat sauce, cover the lasagna tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil, then wrap the entire pan in a 2nd layer of foil. Freeze for up to 3 to 4 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and bake it according to the recipe directions. You can also freeze an entire baked lasagna or individual slices for easy future meals.
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Classic Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
For the Meat Sauce
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- ½ pound ground Italian sausage, I use hot Italian sausage
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed (I just crush with my fingers a little)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 28 ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, puréed in a food processor or blender
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup red wine, or low-sodium beef broth
- ¼ cup water
- 1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, as needed
For the Ricotta Mixture
- 1 large egg
- 15 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Rest
- 9 uncooked curly lasagna noodles, see Notes below
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups, packed), divided
- 1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
Make the Meat Sauce
- Place a large, deep pan over MEDIUM-HIGH heat and add the beef and sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crumbled and browned. Drain off the grease and return it to MEDIUM heat. Add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, fennel seed, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, water, and sugar and stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over HIGH heat, then reduce the heat to LOW and simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes, while you boil the lasagna noodles. Then, remove from the heat and set aside.
Boil the Noodles
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles 1 minute shy of the package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water until cool enough to handle. Drape the noodles over the edge of the pot so they won’t stick together.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a large sheet of foil on the center rack to catch any spills (* see Notes below).
Combine the Ricotta Mixture
- Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta, basil, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish – it will be a thin layer.
- Layer 1: Arrange a layer of 3 noodles over the sauce. Top with half of the ricotta filling in small spoonfuls and gently spread it out with the back of the spoon. Spoon about 1¼ cups of the meat sauce over the top. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.
- Layer 2: Top with another layer of 3 noodles, the remaining ricotta, 1¼ cups meat sauce, and another ⅓ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate the remaining shredded cheese for later.
- Layer 3: Top with the remaining 3 noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over the noodles, spreading it out evenly.
Bake the Lasagna
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it on the center rack (on top of the sheet of foil) for 45 minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Return it to the oven, uncovered, for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the lasagna is bubbling. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Pasta Love
The Best!!!!!!!!!
Fantastic! So glad you loved it. )