Classic Lasagna Recipe

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This Classic Lasagna Recipe is made with the best traditional ingredients like sausage, homemade sauce and lots of cheese. It's freezer friendly, too!

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: Melissa Griffiths

Ingredients

For the Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion chopped fine
Salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic minced
1 pound meatloaf mix OR Italian sausage
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 can tomato puree 28-ounce
1 can diced tomatoes, drained 28-ounce
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried

Lasagna

12 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 pound whole-milk mozzarella cheese shredded (4 cups)
24 ounces whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese (3 cups)
3 ounces Parmesan cheese grated (1 and 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

For the sauce:

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Stir in cream and simmer until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes.
Stir in tomato puree and tomatoes, bring to simmer, and cook until flavors meld, about 5 minutes.
Off heat, stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the lasagna:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish (avoiding large chunks of meat).
Lay 3 noodles in the baking dish, spread 1/3 cup ricotta mixture over each noodle, then top with 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup sauce (in that order). Repeat layering process 2 more times.
Top with remaining 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining 1 cup mozzarella, and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.
Cover dish tightly with greased aluminum foil, place on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover, and continue to bake until spotty brown and bubbling around edges, 25 to 35 minutes.
Let casserole cool for 10 minutes before serving.

To Make Ahead:

Lasagna, prepared through step 4, can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, covered with aluminum foil, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 1 month; if frozen, thaw completely in refrigerator
To bake, unwrap lasagna, cover with greased aluminum foil, and bake on foil-lined sheet in 400-degree oven until hot throughout, about 1 hour; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is golden, about 10 minutes

Notes

You can assemble the lasagna a day before and store it in the refrigerator. This allows the flavors to blend even more. When ready to cook, just bake as directed.
This recipe doubles (and triples) beautifully so it's great for feeding a crowd, taking dinner to a friend, or freezing for another day.
To freeze for later, complete it through step 4, then wrap well and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking.
To bake after freezing, unwrap lasagna, cover with greased aluminum foil, and bake on foil-lined sheet in 400-degree oven until hot throughout, about 1 hour; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is golden, about 10 minutes

Nutrition

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