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 recipe was excellent. It came out great and everyone loved it! Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
I made the lasagna & I baked it accordingly & put it in the freezer-I took it out of freezer & did what it said to do,but worried that it would be Ok-,bcause I had planned on having it for dinner 7 days later. After you take it out of the oven,do you let it cool in room temperature before you serve it & then you shouldn’t have to warm it again in microwave before you serve it Is this alright? Hope so!
Can I use block mozzarella instead of shredded??
Yes.
Omg I am so in love with this recipe!!!! Thank u so much!! I was worried bc for one I have part skim ricotta… and my husband is a meaty guy so I used 2 lbs of beef..in which it turned out greasy. However it taste amazing!!!!
I reserved some of the pasta water from cooking the noodles and added it to the meat sauce. There’s never enough sauce ever, ever in anything. I love sauce.
I don’t have Italian seasoning so I also used salt, pepper, basil, oregano, a tiny bit of thyme, and a few good shakes of paprika.
If I made this dish again I’d probably use a little more pasta water and make more of the ricotta/mozzarella mixture. I also cooked more than nine noodles but in reality I actually only used 9. Good call. I didn’t realized how much the noodles would expand.
I can see why someone might want to not cook the noodles and instead have them cook in the sauce and I’d love to sometime try both methods side by side and do a taste test- however, I found it just as fine to reserve the water and cook the noodles simultaneously. The timing of the recipe is really good. Next time I might try garlic with the meat sauce. Thanks for sharing!
I cook the noodles for 7 minutes, assemble the lasagna, then bake the dish for 35 min @ 350. I like the extra firmness and chewiness of the finished product. The corners get nice and crunchy, but still chewable.
Pasta takes longer than 20 mins to boil/cook, the meat sauce looks rather bland, needs at least minimum 30 mins to absorb flavours and really have the dept… I can’t see how this dish takes 20 mins only.
This recipe has a 20 minute prep time with a 45 minute cook time.
Ya know.. this recipe is perfect. I’ve been trying so many of my own variations for years and, having found your blog, decided to begin anew with your basic recipe.
I make my own tomato sauce; not to be fancy shmancy, only because I have to control my sodium. This results in 210 mg per 1 of 12 of your servings – or 315 mg per 1 of 8 of my servings.. I like mine a bit larger.
The largest contributor to the lower sodium in my version is due to not using all the ground beef in one lasagna. I use the whole 1lb of ground chuck in making about 3 QTS of sauce, but only 3 Cups of that mixture in your lasagna recipe. This worried me at first, I wasn’t sure there would be enough of that tasty beef mixture to chew on, but it worked perfectly And I have enough sauce left over for two more lasagnas at least.
I had forgotten how much difference just a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan/Romano makes. The best topping.
Thank you!
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Here’s my recipe for the low sodium sauce – this will make about 3 QTS:
3 lbs Fresh Tomatoes – whatever’s on sale
2 6-oz Cans Tomato Paste
1 Head of Fresh Garlic
Olive Oil – not extra virgin
Pre- Heat oven to 400-F
Cut round tomatoes into quarters – plum tomatoes in half length-wise.
Separate garlic cloves – do not peel.
Completely coat tomatoes and garlic with oil and place all on shallow baking pan. Turn each tomato slice so the skin side is down.
Roast for 1 Hour on center oven rack.
Let cool for 5 minutes on top of stove.
Place half the tomatoes, half the garlic, 1 can tomato paste, and 2 Cups of water into blender. Start on low for a few seconds then high for 30 seconds. Add additional 1 Cup water if needed to thin so it will liquefy and spin into a vortex. Using fine mesh strainer, strain into large bowl, discarding the leftover pulp. Repeat.
How many people does this recipe serve? Thanks!
This recipe yields about 12 servings.
Amazing and easy. Second time I made it and came out perfect. Only lyrics difference is I added a little garlic with the onions. (I love garlic though) thanks for the great recipe!
Can I substitute ground turkey for the ground beef? If so, do I need to change anything? Thanks for posting this! Can’t wait to try it.
Yes – no need to change anything else! 🙂
I put this together saturday morning but don’t plan on cooking it till monday evening. Was not planning on freezing it. Is that ok?
Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
My brother hates all lasagna but I made him this and he loved it!! First meal that I got no complaints from!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
This truly is THE EASIEST Lasagna EVER! Thank you Chungha for the AHHHmazing recipe. I served with your Mini Garlic Monkey Bread and the Winter Pear Salad w/ Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, and my girlfriends loved it.
Made it twice this week. 1st time with whole milk ricotta (as directed), and the 2nd time with low fat ricotta (only b/c Sprouts ran out of the whole milk ricotta). I highly recommend not going for the low fat ricotta cheese, it was hard to spread and just not as creamy in taste as the whole milk version. The extra fat is all worth it!
Your recipe is wonderful but I must comment on the title “Easiest Lasagna Ever”. I realize this is a tag line to get people on your website, but I am weary of that phrase because everyone uses it even tho it’s just not true. No boil noodles, Italian diced tomatoes, just to name a few easier substitutions. Now a days everything is the easiest, best, mind blowing, life changing thing and most of the time it’s something most people already know. I just hate wasting my time on sites like that. Love you and your website, just had to get in my two cents.
I made this about a month ago for a house full of kids and adults. It was a HUGE hit! It really is the easier lasagna I’ve ever made!
In that past, when I have used no boil noodles, I found the lasagna too dry. For this recipe, I used regular noodles and boiled them first. If I were to try no boil noodles again, I would make the meat sauce twice as saucy to compensate.
I hope they are the tastiest lasagna ever too :p
I’m out of eggs! Can this be made without the egg or is it a crucial part to the cheese mixture?
Yes, you can omit as needed.
How long would I cook it if using no boil noodles? Would I have to cover it with foil?
Holly, cooking time can be significantly reduced by using no-boil lasagna noodles but as always, please use your best judgment. Foil is not needed.
This is the only lasagna I make. It’s the most simple, and definitely the most delicious recipe!
It’s super quick and easy prep, and all the dishes can be done before it’s out of the oven. One of our favorites
This is the way I have always made my lasagna and it is so easy. I like to serve it garlic bread and toss salad and a nice red wine. By the way I’m really enjoy your site I made your Swedish meatballs tonight (03/31/16)and they were so Damn delicious I put them on a bed egg noodles and they were a hit . Thanks and I will be returning. 🙂
Your friend sounds exactly like me, if I were on bed rest I’d request Lasagna or something along that line. I think anything Italian is always a pretty safe bet with me.
This lasagna looks delicious by the way!