Classic Meat Lasagna is an easy and quick weeknight dinner that comes together quickly. Made with jarred pasta sauce, ground beef, and Italian sausage, this meal comes together quickly for a satisfyingly filling snack.
This dish is layered with ricotta and three types of cheese for an irresistibly cheese-y, satisfying meal you’ll want to make again and again! Plus, the tomato-basil sauce is thick and delicious – guaranteed to become one of your go-to dishes!
Healthy Weeknight Meal
Lasagna is a go-to weeknight meal that’s easy to prepare ahead of time, making it perfect for those on diets.
Lasagna‘s layers of noodles and cheese are deliciously comforting, and it can be served with a salad or other veggies for a light dinner option.
Easy to Make
Classic Meat Lasagna is an irresistibly comforting, cheese-rich dinner that’s easy to prepare and ideal for a weeknight dinner or entertaining guests.
This recipe requires just three ingredients: lasagna noodles, cheese, and sauce. But there are ways you can improve it even further to guarantee that it tastes and looks divine.
Start by creating a tasty meat sauce. It doesn’t have to be complicated; use something as simple as marinara (or make your own!) but make sure it’s thick and flavorful. You can add seasonings or use Italian seasoning for some kick.
Step two is to add in the ricotta cheese mixture. You have two options for making it from scratch or buying premade ricotta cheese packages at your local grocery store.
Finally, bake it in the oven for approximately 45 minutes.
Before serving, let all ingredients settle and melt together. Additionally, this will keep the cheese and sauce warm until you’re ready to serve them.
Another tip for keeping your lasagna moist is using no-boil noodles when possible. These can usually be found in the pasta section of most supermarkets and require no boiling, helping prevent your dish from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
When prepping noodles, it’s essential to drain them thoroughly. After cooling, they will be easier to peel when cool.
For even greater efficiency, you can prepare this dish several days ahead and bake it on the designated day. Even better – freeze it and thaw for a delicious yet easy weeknight dinner!
Making a classic meat lasagna requires layering the ingredients together. Sauce, cheese, and noodles are all important components to creating the dish, but the layers hold everything together.
Quick to Prep
Classic Meat Lasagna is an easy and delicious dinner that everyone will love. Start by making the homemade meat sauce ahead of time; then top it off with noodles, cheese and tomato sauce for a deliciously hearty dish that everyone will love.
This meal also freezes well. After assembly, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two days; or bake it, cover tightly with foil, and freeze for up to one month – perfect for reheating a steamy, hot meal any night of the week!
When making the meat sauce, save yourself some time by starting it 30 minutes in advance. It can be prepared, simmered and cooled before being stored in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble your lasagna.
Opt for no-boil lasagna noodles for even faster preparation instead of traditional ones that must be boiled before assembly. You can find them in the pasta section of most supermarkets.
Once the meat sauce, noodles, and cheese mixture have been assembled, it’s time to bake it in the oven. Covered for up to 45 minutes or uncovered until sauce is bubbly and cheese has lightly browned. If baking uncovered, allow an additional 10 minutes or so so that everything gets hot and bubbly throughout.
Once cooked, you can serve the lasagna immediately or let it rest for around 10 minutes before cutting it into squares and serving. This will allow the dish to be set up more evenly and hold its shape while being cut.
Another helpful tip for avoiding soupy lasagna is to ensure the noodles are cooked according to package directions. Cook them just a bit less time than suggested, so they don’t become mushy in the sauce.
Before beginning to prepare your dish, it is wise to pre-prepare the ricotta cheese, basil, salt, and pepper. Doing this ensures that the mixture is spread evenly throughout the dish, so there aren’t any lumps of cheese in your sauce or noodles.
Easy to Clean Up
Classic Meat Lasagna is an irresistibly creamy dish, ideal for dinner or as a potluck main. Made with layers of pasta, meat sauce, and cheese that bake until bubbly and delicious – even picky eaters will love this comforting classic dish!
This classic lasagna recipe is so simple to make – all you need are some basic ingredients and some time. Enjoy this oh-so-delicious meal in no time!
Begin by making the meat sauce. Heat ground beef, onion, garlic, and spices over medium-high heat until cooked. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, sugar, basil leaves, fennel seeds, and Italian seasoning; simmer until thickened (approximately two hours).
Next, prepare the ricotta cheese mixture. Combine ricotta with eggs, parsley, and salt; it’s simple! Plus, it’s an ideal way to use up leftover cheese in your fridge or freezer!
For this recipe, it’s best to use wide lasagna noodles. These have large flat edges, which make it simpler to spread other toppings on top, and are more tender than their wavy counterparts, helping soak up meat sauce and other ingredients.
To maximize the flavor and convenience of this straightforward recipe, bake it for a longer time and then allow it to cool before cutting. Doing this allows the noodles to absorb some extra moisture while the cheese solidifies slightly so you can easily cut clean slices.
Add extra layers of sauteed vegetables to this recipe, such as zucchini, summer squash, onions, and mushrooms. Doing so will give your lasagna more depth and make it slightly heavier in calories.
This delicious and easy-to-prepare casserole is the perfect go-to to enjoy with friends or family. Not only is it a nutritious weeknight meal that takes only minutes to make, but you can freeze it later or reheat it in the microwave for an even faster dinner!
Basic Recipe Information
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cooking Time: 60 minutes
- Approximate Number of Servings: 9
Required Equipment
- 13 x 9-inch (33 x 23 cm) baking dish
- Medium to large Skillet
- Bowl (for beating eggs)
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) of ground beef
- 1/2 pound (225 grams) Italian sausage
- 1 1/2 jars (25-ounce/710-gram jars) of tomato sauce
- 9 No-boil lasagna noodles
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups (270 grams) of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup (45 grams) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup (90 grams) ricotta cheese
(Optional)
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) parsley
- 1/2 (2.5 mL) teaspoon salt
- 1/4 (1.2 mL) teaspoon of ground pepper
Preparation Directions
- Preheat oven to 3500 F (1770 C)
- Cook and crumble beef and sausage in a skillet until no longer pink
- Add 4 cups (960 mL) tomato sauce to skillet; stir until well-mixed
- In a separate bowl, lightly beat three eggs. This is where you’ll mix in the cheeses – add them and stir. Parsley, salt, and pepper are optional, so add them and stir to taste.
- Next, spread some of the meat sauce from step 3 along the bottom of your 13 x 9 inch (33 x 23 cm) baking dish.
- Take 3 lasagna noodles, and spread part of your cheese mixture from step 4 over the noodles.
- Top cheese layer with more meat sauce, then three more noodles
- Add another cheese layer, and top with remaining noodles
- If desired, drizzle a bit of meat sauce on top of your now-structured lasagna
- Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Carefully remove from oven, remove foil, and bake for another 15 minutes and remove.
- Be sure to let the lasagna stand for 10 – 15 minutes before serving – its structure is very good at trapping heat, so it needs some time to cool down.
- Serve!
This recipe is a basic way to create lasagna, and it works.
As for garnish, add salt, pepper, basil, or parsley as desired. Different people have different tastes and may feel the dish needs a bit of one of these or is fine as is.
That being said, you really can’t go wrong with a bit of light garnish in the form of salt, pepper, basil, or parsley, or a combination of these. You may prefer them as toppings rather than being part of your cheese mix.
For sides, try garlic bread or arugula salad with some parmesan sprinkled on top to complete that Italian feel.
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