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5 from 5 votes

The Best Make-Ahead Lasagna (freezer-friendly too!)

The Best Make-Ahead Lasagna recipe is made with a rich sausage sauce and loads of cheese. This will be your go-to lasagna recipe, guaranteed!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 16
Author: Melissa Griffiths

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion chopped fine
  • Salt and pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves 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 3 cups whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 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 the oil in a 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 the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up the meat with wooden spoon (until no longer pink) about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until liquid evaporates and only the 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 the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in bowl.
  • Spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish (avoiding large chunks of meat). Lay 3 noodles in 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 a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until the top is spotty brown and the lasagna is bubbling around the edges, about 25 to 35 minutes. Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Ground Italian sausage or a meatloaf blend are both really good options, but you could use any ground meat that you wanted. 
  • To make lasagna ahead, prepare it through step 3, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, cover it with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to a month.
  • When baking a lasagna that you’ve made ahead, be sure to remove the plastic wrap and cover with foil before baking according to the instructions.
  • This lasagna recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen cookbook The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 16 servings | Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 628IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 325mg | Iron: 1mg

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