Easiest Lasagna Ever
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Nothing beats classic lasagna. And this is the easiest recipe you will ever make. It can be made ahead and it’s freezer-friendly too!
Featured Comment
I don’t even know what it is about this recipe. It isn’t complicated, featuring an assorted variety of meats and cheeses, yet the taste and flavor are fantastic.
I feel that I can either make it the same, again and again, or occasionally tweak it for a change of pace.
why i love this recipe
- A classic dish. With such simple ingredients using pantry staples – we’re talking homemade meat sauce layered with a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella cheese with tender lasagna noodles – this cozy, comforting classic delivers on all levels every single time.
- Makes for a great gift. Lasagna is very easy to double (making two pans), freeze and gift to a new mom or neighbor. What’s the best way to gift lasagna? Assembled and uncooked.
- Reheats very well. Leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavors of the meat sauce and cheese continue to meld together.
tips and tricks for success
- Use no-boil lasagna noodles. To cut down on prep time even more, use no-boil lasagna noodles, making sure the noodles are completely covered in sauce.
- Mix it up. This recipe uses ground beef for budget-friendly convenience but a mixture of lean ground beef and sweet Italian sausage should work very well here.
- Let it rest. Let the lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes. This will prevent the layers from sliding off, and will also make it easier to serve with less mess.
- Make ahead of time. Lasagna is a great dish to make ahead of time. Prep and assemble 1-2 days before, covered with aluminum foil and stored in the fridge.
- Freeze before baking. This will preserve the texture and prevent sogginess. Always use a freezer-safe baking dish, label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
freezing and storage
Prep
To make ahead, cover lasagna tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate up to 24 hours. To bake, let the lasagna sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and bake as directed.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 15-30 minutes.
Freeze before baking
Cover the lasagna tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and bake as directed, adding a few more minutes of cook time as needed.
Freeze after baking
Let the lasagna cool completely; cover tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 1 hour.
Easiest Lasagna Ever: Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! No-boil lasagna noodles are a convenient shortcut to cut down prep time even more. They just need to be completely covered in sauce to cook through properly.
Not at all! Italian pork sausage or ground turkey can be used instead of ground beef.
Feel free to use your favorite store-bought tomato sauce (we love Rao’s Roasted Garlic) in place of the crushed tomatoes and omitting the Italian seasoning.
The egg serves as a binding agent for the ricotta cheese mixture. You can certainly skip the egg if needed, leaving the ricotta a little runnier, but it should not compromise taste.
Yes! For the best results, we recommend assembling, freezing, then baking to help prevent any sogginess. But if you’ve already baked your lasagna, no worries at all – it can still be frozen!
Easiest Lasagna Ever
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 (15-ounce) package whole milk ricotta
- 3 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess fat. Stir in tomatoes and Italian seasoning until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella and egg; set aside.
- Spread 1 cup tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish; top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat with a second layer. Top with remaining noodles, tomato mixture, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and Parmesan.*
- Place into oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until bubbling. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until top is browned in spots. Let cool 15 minutes.
- Serve, garnished with parsley, if desired.
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Notes
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This is almost identical to the one we’ve made for 40 years! Only thing worth considering is mixing the hamburger with the sausage of your choice ( we smoosh them together well before frying) and adding a bit of tomato paste for more depth of flavor with the tomatoes then add a bit of water to thin it to your liking. Adds a bit of body to the sauce as well.
I so enjoy this site – always finding great things!!!
Has anyone already figured out how many calories there are per serving?
Easy to make. Delicious. My husband liked it a lot. This will be my “go to” lasagna recipe. I used oven ready lasagna and it turned out just fine.
Yummy! I ‘m Italian and this is EXACTLY how I make my lasagna- always sauce the dish before the noodles; I always add garlic to the beef & onions; always use Ricotta and the egg- I believe Ricotta makes a tasty difference in the layering; The tomatoes and seasoning- I always add extra basil- flavors merge & house smells great! I always top it off with parmesan and mozzarella..so Delicioso . I have made it with “oven ready” lasagna noodles and it remains fine.
My brother is allergic to eggs- so I made the same recipe – minus the egg- He couldn’t get over it! He kept asking me what was the seasoning & what I did differently- as his wife is also Italian 🙂 so I know this recipe is perfect either way! 🙂
When I saw “easiest” ever lasagna I thought for sure it would call for uncooked Lasagna noodles which I think is the worst part of making one. Has anyone tried it that way? I am going to try it tonight. Going to add little water to bottom of pan. I will update outcome
I’ve made it several times with uncooked noodles and it turns out great. I make it a couple hours ahead of time, wrap it and let the noodles soak up the sauce. Good luck!
I’m going to try it tomorrow with guests. I have the no cook noodles. Can I put it all together and bake it tomorrow? Will the noodles turn out ok?
Very easy. Can you adapt this to Instant Pot?
Great recipe, I substituted beyond meat and it was deslish.
Also try impossible hamburger patties or grounds. So good!
I made this tonight for my family they all loved it. I added spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture and that tasted pretty good. I agree with the others who say they’ll let their meat sauce summer a bit before building thr lasagna. Other than that this will be a dish I keep making! Thank you for the receipe!!
Love this lasagna recipe so much! So simple and delicious. Question – if I were to make this for my vegetarian friends and just leave out the beef altogether, do you think it would be just as good? Or should I add another layer or extra cheese?
Try making it with veggies instead of the meat, still very delicious. Some of my favorites are red bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms. Or you could try grinding up the mushrooms and seasoning it like the beef for a vegetarian option. Have fun!
Can I just use the same amount of dice tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes? Trying to avoid a trip to the store.
Hi Sarah I put the diced tomatoes in a blender til they had the crushed consistency and it worked out great!
Love this recipe!! As I love all your recipes! I asked for your cookbook for Christmas!
I do have one question I am unclear on – you say “Repeat with a second layer. Top with remaining noodles, tomato mixture, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and Parmesan”. when i repeat with the second layer- which i read a spread 1 cup tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish; top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. But when I do that then top with remaining noodles tomato mixture then cheese and parmensan. there is not enough tomato mixture or cheese. so i am just confused about the next two layers.
This recipe is wonderful. The entire family loves it and is on rotation every few weeks. When I made this today, I was out of mozarella but I had a mix of Cheddar/Mozarella so used that and it actually turned our pretty great. Kids devoured it. Thank you for this, and all your delish recipes Chungah!
First I do love all your recipes and made this one recently but I made it using your slow cooker recipe for spaghetti sauce & added additional cheese. It took a little longer but everyone loved it. Keep these recipes coming because I’m learning to like cooking again……
The texture is right, but if I make it again I would let the sauce simmer for a while. As written, the sauce came out kinda thin and bland.
Used this for all ingredients except I also added can diced tomatoes, spices, 1 tablespoon of diced onion, garlic, on each layer cheese first 8 slices mozzarella and one extra spices as I Oops, I thought I was putting in 1 tablespoon Italian spice but put 1 tablespoon parsley then went oh know, went and also of course the Italian spices. Last I noted, I doubled everything except mead, I did 1 5 lb Italian sausage. By doing that not much extra time in minutes for ingredients. Once I made first lasagna in my oven I then made a second lasagna put together into a same size metal pan from dollar store while my first oven was cooking. (The dollar store I went to came with a plastic cover. Due to freezer size, I put the plastic cover upside under metal under to strengthen the bottom. I then put tight aluminum two layers.) I figure I can cook it on a day will be busy or send it to my son and his roommate. It wasn’t too bad but I loved adding spices because my family likes alot of spices. The only change I might
do next time is add a packet of fake sugar. I say that when I have watched TV chefs making tomato based entree to add a packet of sugar. It I believe to take down acid. I might also change, as I listed above I had added in a can of diced tomatoes, by dicing up fresh tiny diced tomatoes. Thank you to author this recipe as it is truly easy. My husband cooked the meat and onion mixed in with tomato and I did cheese bowl, I then did both lasagnas and it was so quick to make, super easy for clean up, and while the first cooking in the oven while assembly the second lasagna, it was only a short time to have the oven beep came off for the removing of aluminum for remaining time.
So excited! My most beautiful and delicious lasagna to date. 3rd try 🙂
Easy and delicious! Waiting for it for 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven is the hardest part!
Tried this tonight and it sure was delicious. Thank you for the Damn Delicious website. It is my go to when I’m building my menu each week.
Very good. Can I freeze this once it has been cooked?
Easy to make, delicious to eat. It has become a family favourite
This is a yummy recipe. Mine took 45 minutes with the foil on and 15 with the foil off. I also had to use 12 noodles–4 for each layer. 3 per layer jut wasn’t enough, I also used 2 eggs for the ricotta. After I made the changes, it turned out perfectly!