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This is hands down The Best Lasagna Recipe Ever! Easy, cheesy, meaty and so so delicious! It’s the quintessential recipe for feeding a large family or bringing to a potluck. Layer up the hearty meat sauce, different cheeses, and lasagna pasta and then bake until hot and bubbly. This classic recipe is so delicious with some Homemade Garlic Bread or Cheesy Breadsticks.
THE BEST Lasagna Recipe Ever!
So happy to be sharing this epic Lasagna Recipe with you today! This recipe is easy, cheesy, can be made in advance or baked right away and comes out perfectly every time! My family will lick their plates clean when this is on the dinner menu. This recipe is not dry, not soupy, cuts perfectly, holds together, and tastes amazing!
Like I mentioned above, this is the quintessential lasagna recipe that you need in your recipe box. Make this once and never need another lasagna recipe again. It’s meaty, cheesy, decadent and the perfect Italian dinner.
Below are lots of tips and tricks for creating the best lasagna ever which are reflected in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Follow these guidelines and you too will have success with this easy lasagna recipe.
How to Make Lasagna
Lasagna is essentially a layered Italian casserole made up of three parts: meat sauce, cheese mixture, and pasta sheets. Here is the process of how to make and assemble your lasagna. For full recipe details and ingredient measurements, see the printable recipe card down below.
1. Make Lasagna Meat Sauce
Give yourself a good couple hours (or more!) to make the meat sauce because this is a big part of why Lasagna is so good!
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add in onion and saute.
- Add in garlic and ground beef. Break meat apart as it browns.
- Pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, dried basil, sugar, Italian Seasoning and salt.
- Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
- Cook sauce 1-2 hours or until very thick. You may have to add more water as you go to ensure it doesn’t scorch which is totally normal.
2. Make Lasagna Cheese Filling
A classic Lasagna Recipe calls for ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan. While meat sauce cooks, stir cheeses together in a bowl with basil, parsley and salt & pepper. Set aside.
3. Cook Lasagna Pasta Sheets
Regardless of the brand of lasagna you’re using, be sure to check out the packaging and boil noodles for two-thirds of the recommended time. Since you will be baking the entire lasagna in the oven after you layer it, your pasta will continue cooking, so give it a place to go! Overcooked pasta does not make a good lasagna.
What is the correct order to layer lasagna?
Start with a bit of meat sauce in the bottom of a large casserole dish or a plain 9×13 and line the bottom with pasta. Top with the cheese mixture and meat sauce. Add another layer of noodles, cheese, and sauce and then top with more pasta, more sauce and a sprinkling of cheese. So, basically, here are your layers:
- Meat Sauce (just a little so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom)
- Noodles
- Cheese Filling
- Meat Sauce
- Noodles
- Cheese Filling
- Meat Sauce
- Noodles
- Meat Sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese
4. Bake Homemade Lasagna
Cover your layered lasagna with aluminum foil that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake, being sure to pull the foil off the last few minutes of cooking to brown the top.
What Temperature Should You Bake A Lasagna?
Lasagna should be baked at 375° F. Some recipes might call for 350, some might go as high as 425, but I think 375 is perfect.
How long to bake lasagna?
1 hour/60 minutes total: 45 minutes covered with foil and 15 minutes uncovered.
World’s Best Lasagna Recipe Substitutions
While I love this homemade Lasagna Recipe as written, you may have other preferences! Here are some simple substitutions that you may want to try.
Ground Beef vs Ground Sausage
You can absolutely substitute Sweet Italian Sausage or even Spicy Italian Sausage in place of the ground beef if that is your preference.
Cottage Cheese vs Ricotta
Classic Italian Lasagnas are typically made with a blend of creamy Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese.
If you don’t like using ricotta cheese because of the taste or texture, you can definitely substitute cottage cheese in its place 1:1. Everything else in the recipe will stay the same.
Regular Lasagna Pasta vs Oven Ready (no boil) Pasta
I don’t recommend the oven-ready noodles for this particular lasagna recipe. While they may seem like a simple sub, they are partially cooked and dehydrated for packaging. Oven ready pasta is thinner than regular lasagna pasta and I find those give you a more starchy lasagna that doesn’t taste very good (in my opinion). Also, they soak up a lot of moisture because they are essentially cooking and softening in the oven as the lasagna cooks. It’s easy to get a dry lasagna because of this.
Best Lasagna Recipe Tips
The best lasagna you’ve ever eaten is only steps away. Here are my golden rules for creating the best-finished product.
- Cook your meat sauce for a long time. This not only concentrates the flavors for a more flavorful meat sauce, but it reduces the amount of liquid. If you want to cut perfect slices and not have a soupy mess on your hands, cooking your sauce for an hour or two until its very thick is a big step in the right direction. Bonus points for making the sauce 12-24 hours in advance. Red sauces of any kind always taste better the next day…in my opinion. Reheat the sauce before layering it up in the lasagna for quicker baking time.
- Boil lasagna noodles for two-thirds of the time, according to package directions. Most lasagna pasta will cook for 9-11 minutes. I pulled mine out at around 7 minutes. I don’t want to cook the pasta all the way through because once they hit the oven for baking, they can get mushier than al dente. So, draining them early means they will soak up any extra liquid in the sauce and after the hour in the oven, your pasta will be perfectly cooked, not mushy and help hold those beautiful layers together.
- Don’t use fresh mozzarella. While I big puffy heart eyes love fresh mozzarella, I feel the added moisture isn’t worth the taste. Instead, reach for a block of sturdier mozzarella cheese and grate it yourself. If you think this is sacrilegious and would prefer the fresh mozzarella, be sure to cut it into thin slices and press it in between paper towels to get out as much moisture as possible. And please please please don’t use the pre-grated mozzarella cheese.
- Let your Lasagna rest 15-20 minutes. Again, when trying to achieve those perfect slices, you have to let everything settle and rest before digging in. It will stay plenty hot, but the rest time really gives your lasagna those last few minutes to soak up that moisture and let the cheese firm up a touch. Garnish with dried or fresh basil.
What to serve with Homemade Lasagna
Make your meal a full Italian feast with some of my most loved and favorite salad and side dish recipes!
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- The Best Caprese Salad
- That Good Salad
- Hasselback Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Rolls
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Simple Bruschetta Recipe
- See a full list of side dishes for lasagna
How to store Homemade Lasagna
Half the fun of eating lasagna is being able to eat it AGAIN the next day. Store any extra lasagna in the fridge covered for up to 5 days. Whether that is in the same casserole dish or cut into individual slices in plastic containers, just ensure they are sealed airtight.
Individual slices can be reheated easily in the microwave. If you have more than a few slices in your casserole dish, cover with foil and bake at 350° F until heated completely through again.
Can I Freeze Lasagna?
Absolutely. Whether you are freezing lasagna before or after baking, the instructions mostly stay the same.
Unbaked Lasagna
Wrap casserole dish with assembled lasagna well with plastic wrap AND foil. Can stay frozen for up to two months. I like using a disposable 9×13 foil pan for freezing purposes.
Baking a Frozen Lasagna: unwrap lasagna completely. Cover with fresh foil and bake at 300° F for one hour and finish baking at 375° F for the last 30 minutes. Remove foil for the last few minutes of cooking to brown the cheese.
Baked Lasagna
Wrap casserole dish with assembled lasagna well with plastic wrap AND foil. Can stay frozen for up to two months.
Reheating Baked Lasagna: unwrap lasagna completely. Cover with fresh foil and bake at 350° F until thoroughly warm.
Homemade Lasagna FAQs
No, you do not have to put eggs into the lasagna! Eggs certainly help with binding the cheese together and overall stability, but I found it wasn’t necessary and I didn’t notice a huge difference. As long as you let your lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes after baking, it should hold its shape perfectly as you slice it.
I don’t recommend using fresh mozzarella because all different brands have different moisture levels and it can negatively effect the finished product. If you DO want to use fresh mozzarella, be sure to slice it thin and press out all the extra moisture in paper towels.
More Homemade Lasagna Recipes to Try!
- Skillet Lasagna
- Cheesy Lasagna Dip
- White Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna
- Lasagna Cups
- Slow Cooker Lasagna
- Chicken Lasagna
- Lasagna Soup
More Favorites from Lauren’s Latest
With all these helpful tips and the video below, you should be able to make the best lasagna ever! Printable recipe card is also below.
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.
Best Recipe for Lasagna
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef 93/7
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
For the cheese layer:
- 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese grated
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
Remaining ingredients:
- 1 pound lasagna noodles
- 1/4 pound mozzarella cheese grated, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
Make the Meat Sauce
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onion and saute 2-3 minutes. Add in garlic and ground beef. Break meat apart as it browns. Once meat has browned completely, pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, dried basil, sugar, Italian Seasoning and salt. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook sauce 1-2 hours or until very thick. You may have to add a little extra water as it reduces down to prevent scorching. This is normal.
Make the Cheese Filling
- While meat sauce cooks, make the cheese layer: stir cheeses together in a bowl with basil, parsley and salt & pepper. Set aside.
- Cook lasagna noodles 2/3 of the time marked on the package. About 7 minutes or so. Drain and place noodles in a large bowl of cold water.
Layering the Lasagna
- Spread 1/2 cup prepared sauce in the bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Layer in 5-6 noodles across the bottom to completely cover. Spread half of the cheese mixture overtop of the noodles and then one third of the sauce. Top with another layer of noodles, the second half of the cheese mixture and another third of the sauce. Final layer is the last of the noodles and the last of the meat sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 lb. grated mozzarella cheese. So real quick, here is the order of the layers:Meat Sauce (just a little so the noodles don't stick to the bottom)NoodlesCheese FillingMeat SauceNoodlesCheese FillingMeat SauceNoodlesMeat SauceMozzarella Cheese
- Cover lasagna with greased foil. Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes with foil on. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until cheese has browned and everything it hot all the way through. Remove from oven, cover lightly with foil and rest 20-30 minutes before cutting and serving. Sprinkle with dried basil or parsley flakes, cut into squares and serve.
lookies like a big mess.. I italian and GOOD sauce takes at least 5-6 hrs seasoned 2 times ..I would never ever eat that crapppp..
with sauce ,lasagna takes all day to make right
Made this and it was delicious. Thank you for posting this recipe. I will be making it again.
I froze this for use later. How long do I cook it? thinking 1.5 hrs at 350 degrees?
I made this and it was so good.!! The sauce really makes it. Do you know if you can can the sauce? I would love to give it as gifts.
I cooked the sauce for at least 2 hours and it was fairly soupy, not at all think, I followed the ingredient list exactly. I’d love some feedback as to why that might have happened? I haven’t baked it yet, curious to see how it turns out.
This is by far the easiest and best lasagna recipe! I have made this numerous times, and never had any leftovers (I’m not sure if that’s good or bad!) I have always used the no boil pasta and just made sure my sauce was a little less thick, and it was delish and not dry at all. Next time I’ll be trying it with the cooked pasta 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us!!
I cant wait to make & Try this looks Delicious!!
I have finally arrived at the spot to bake perfect Lasagna recipe for best family dinner. I was literally longing for a perfect recipe card for lasagna. Thank you.
This is our favorite lasagna recipe ever! My 5 year old requests it almost weekly! We use gluten free lasagna noodles and it doesn’t change it at all!
This was the most disappointing lasagna recipe I’ve ever made. There were so many noodles and so little sauce and meat comparatively, but I made it with exactly how much the recipe called for. The taste was good, but the family wasn’t impressed with the mass amount of noodles in this!
My husband and I thought that this was the best I ever made. We froze 1/2 of what was left and heated it slow in the oven a few weeks later and it was still great. Not dry at all !! Definitely a keeper and will make again!
This was delicious! I doubled the recipe and did a four layer deep dish lasagne with leftover sauce to have on hand for other pasta dishes. Simmered the sauce for two hours, had our butcher grind the meat again to make it finer, used the water called for to rinse out the cans of tomato sauces, and used extra smooth ricotta – lots of cheesy filling. I also used thin Italian lasagne noodles and did what Italians recommended – cook only four minutes, rinse with cold water immediately and spread on a parchment lined sheet to prep for layering. The quality of your ingredients make all the difference in the world. This is a keeper!
I doubled your recipe for our Christmas dinner.
I added an egg to cheese mixture & I also keep a jar of sauce standing by if there’s not enough sauce or to dry.
It was a hit and we served roasted asparagus with it like you suggested.
Don’t forget to take the 3 Bay leaves out of your sauce before constructing the layers! I didn’t see that anywhere in the directions and I don’t think anyone wants a bay leave in their forkful, lol
Also, I like fennel in my sauce, but I can’t have the fennel seeds. Could you recommend how much fennel powder I should use. I think fennel just adds that extra something to lasagna! No offense!
Thank you so much!
This sounds delicious! I’m going to make this for my Christmas dinner with my children and grands! Forgive me for not knowing this with certainty. So, if you are using cottage cheese, do you use 2 cups?
Thanks!
So good and looking forward to making this again for my dad after he has surgery….thank you!!!
This was absolutely amazing. I substituted cottage cheese for the ricotta because that’s what Costco had. I also made some changes due to dietary preferences. I used ground turkey instead of beef. I simmered the sauce for one hour and the taste was incredible. I used wheat noodles, as well. Since wheat noodles are a little more bitey, I cooked them according to the package directions. Everything else was done according to this recipe.
I can’t cook. I even once auditioned for Americas Worst Home Cook, that’s how bad of a cook I am. But this turned out PERFECTLY. I couldn’t be more proud. My family ate every last piece of this very large lasagna. It’s going on my regular meal rotation. It was way better and way cheaper and way more healthy than the frozen I usually buy at the grocery store. I can’t say enough good things about this recipe.
I agree…this was the best! I made it for my brother who requested it but turned it down for takeout pizza…he’s going to be sorry…lol!
Sounds delicious, but I had to stop making lasagna because the ricotta cheese is very sweet. In fact, it is so sweet it ruins the entire dish. Any ideas for a good substitution for the ricotta?
Great recipe! I made a few minor adjustments that I’ll share, but all in all this was phenomenal and everyone went in for seconds! I didn’t have time to simmer the sauce for so long, so instead of 1 cup of water I added 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup extra sauce, and simmered for about a half hour. The sauce came out perfectly thick and the lasagna held up well and sliced cleanly. Also loved the advice about using sweet Italian sausage, so I swapped 1/4 lb of beef for 2 sausages. I was worried the seasoning would be a little bland, so I added a tablespoon of fennel seeds, a teaspoon of cinnamon, garlic power, onion powder, and more chili flakes, and lemon zest. Oh, and fresh basil for the cheese mixture instead of dried! Thank you for a wonderful recipe that is easily modifiable, and great tips and substitution ideas!
This recipe looks amazing. Question: Do you think I could substitute ground turkey for the beef? (My husband does not eat beef.) Thanks.
Enjoyed making this recipe. I am a vegetarian and substituted mushrooms for the meat and it turned out fabulously. My husband doesn’t care for Italian food but he went back for seconds so big thumbs up on this one
I made this recipe this past weekend. It is amazing!! So delicious – the sauce was wonderful. I made the sauce on Friday night, let it sit overnight and then proceeded with the recipe on Saturday. That is definately the way to go if time permits. Thank you for a great recipe. I’ve always been intimidated by lasagne, but this was easy and well done!!
I have always loved the idea of making lasagna but it’s either too wet or too dry, and I end up disappointed with the final result. I decided to try again and it hit the perfect balance. The only change I made was using no boil noodles. It was very tasty and lasagna held up beautifully on the plate. Next time I might cook add a little more tomato sauce to reserve for folks that like theirs a little saucier. Thank you for sharing.
Isn’t it better to cover the sauce when cooking if for 1-2 hours?
Love this recipe. Made a few modifications. Added some spinach to the cheese mix. I used a mozzarella, parmesan, shredded cheese blend with the ricotta and spinach. Also used oven ready noodles to save time. Just make sure to use extra water.
I have to say, this is quite good!
I loaded up the top of the lasagna with extra mozzarella and then sprinkled it with 3 ounces of grated parmesan. When it bakes it makes an amazing crusty top layer. Thats just a personal favorite for all lasagna for me.
This is a great recipe
This is my go to sauce for lifetime now. It’s amazing. I’m even going to can some this fall!!! I follow yours to the T. Except San Marino Tomatoes are sometimes 3xs what store prices are, so I go cheap & increase the seasonings just a lil. Perfect every time. 🙏😁
merci cest la meilleure recette
I have a 13.5″ X 3.5″ X 10″ pan. If I double the ingredients, and put all of the meat sauce, cheese mixture & noodles in this pan, how do I adjust the cooking time?
Hi Lauren, I am making your best lasagna recipe today. I am doubling the recipe so we can have 2 pans of lasagna. I have made the sauce and it seems quite runny. Will this thicken up? Should I cover it while it simmers for the 1-2 hours?
Why would you call them noodles?! haha I was confussed for a while. I’m ready to try it now 🙂
Question – are you supposed to cover the sauce while it’s coming down?
I am in the process now of making the sauce in advance. I measured everything to the recipe but doubled it because I am making two. The sauce has been on low for about 2 hours now and still not thickening up too much. Please help! 🙂 Making this for Christmas Eve dinner.
Thank you very much! Can’t wait to try.
Hi, this looks amazing. Can I make it with gluten free noodles?
Simmering the sauce right now. It looks and sounds good, I hope so!
I love this recipe sooo much! I’ve already made it several times. I was thinking to use the no boil noodles next time I make it. If I do, would I have to readjust the time in the oven or would it work out the same as cooked noodles?
I used uncooked regular lasagna noodles (not the no-boil ones) and it came out great without adjusting the time. I make a chicken and spinach lasagna and never precook the noodles.
If your sauce comes out as thick as it should, then no boil lasagna noodles would not be a good idea. That pasta really needs a sauce with a lot of moisture, as the water from the sauce gets absorbed into the noodles to soften them. Better for a loose, saucy lasagna. Hope this helps
My husband who is gluten free loved this! We used 365 Gluten Free lasagna noodles instead of normal ones. We increased spice levels as well, so when it said teaspoon we did table spoons. Best recipe ever!