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Homemade Lasagna is the ultimate cozy Sunday dinner, with layers of rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta, and gooey melted cheese baked until golden and bubbly. I make a big pan of it *every time the whole family comes over* and there is never a single piece left. If you love a comforting Italian dinner, it is right up there with our homemade Italian meatballs.
A long, slow simmer on the sauce is the secret that makes this dish taste like it came from your favorite Italian restaurant.
Lasagna Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 681kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Rich, savory, cheesy, and deeply comforting
- ✋ Difficulty: Intermediate but so worth it, on par with our baked tortellini
Quick Answer
To make lasagna from scratch, brown seasoned ground beef and Italian sausage, then build a sauce with hand-crushed whole tomatoes, red wine, tomato paste, and tomato sauce and simmer it for at least 30 minutes. Mix ricotta with egg and parmesan, cook the noodles, then layer sauce, noodles, ricotta, and mozzarella three times in a 9×13 dish. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, then uncover, add more cheese, and bake until melted and bubbly. Let it rest 15 minutes before slicing so the layers hold together.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- The meat is seasoned before it browns. Mixing the seasonings right into the beef and sausage builds deep flavor into every crumble before it even hits the pan.
- Hand-crushed whole tomatoes. Crushing canned whole tomatoes by hand gives the sauce a rustic, fresh texture you just cannot get from a jar.
- Red wine and tomato paste. A splash of dry red wine plus tomato paste adds richness and a savory depth that makes the sauce taste slow-cooked.
- A long, slow simmer. Simmering the sauce for at least 30 minutes, and up to two hours, lets all the flavors meld into something special.
- A creamy, sturdy cheese filling. Ricotta mixed with egg and parmesan stays creamy and sliceable instead of watery and runny.
- A rest before slicing. Letting it sit for 15 minutes lets the layers set so every piece comes out clean and neat.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Every single bite has layers of rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta, tender noodles, and melted cheese.
- It is the ultimate make-ahead comfort food, perfect for Sunday dinner or feeding a hungry crowd.
- It tastes like it came straight from an Italian restaurant, but it is easy enough to make alongside our homemade Italian meatballs.
Key Ingredients
Here is what goes into a classic, from-scratch lasagna. Simple, hearty ingredients layer up into pure comfort food.
- Ground Beef and Italian Sausage: The combo gives the sauce the best meaty flavor. The sausage brings a little extra seasoning and richness.
- Whole Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, and Tomato Paste: Three forms of tomato build a sauce with bright flavor, body, and deep, slow-cooked richness.
- Lasagna Noodles: Classic dried noodles, cooked just to al dente so they hold up to all those layers.
- Ricotta, Egg, and Parmesan: Whisked together for the creamy white layer that sets up sliceable, not watery.
- Mozzarella: Layered inside and piled on top for that irresistible gooey, golden, bubbly finish.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This classic is easy to make your own.
- Make it vegetarian: Skip the meat and layer in sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach instead.
- Use no-boil noodles: Swap in oven-ready noodles and add a little extra sauce so they cook through.
- Add a spinach layer: Stir thawed, squeezed-dry spinach into the ricotta for a pop of green.
- Spice it up: Use hot Italian sausage or a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat.
- Short on time? Turn it into our cozy lasagna soup for the same flavors in one pot.
How to Make Lasagna
- In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, Italian sausage, garlic powder, onion powder, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Brown the meat in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up until no longer pink, then drain any excess grease.
- Crush the whole tomatoes by hand. Add the minced garlic to the pot, then the red wine and tomato paste. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, parmesan, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then simmer at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
- Cook the lasagna noodles per the box directions, drain, and lay them flat. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, parmesan, and half of the mozzarella.
- Spread a heaping cup of sauce over the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Lay 4 noodles down the length of the dish, overlapping slightly to fit.
- Spread a third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then top with more sauce. Repeat the noodle, ricotta, and sauce layers two more times, finishing with noodles and a generous layer of sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover, top with the remaining mozzarella and a sprinkle of oregano, and bake 5 to 8 minutes more until melted. Broil to brown if you like, then rest 15 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Simmer the sauce as long as you can. Even an extra hour deepens the flavor in a big way.
- Cook the noodles just to al dente. They finish cooking in the oven, so slightly firm noodles keep their bite.
- Drain the meat well after browning so the sauce and finished dish are not greasy.
- Use a deep 9x13x3 dish. All those layers need room, and a deep dish keeps it from bubbling over.
- Cover with foil first, then uncover at the end to get that golden, bubbly cheese on top.
- Let it rest 15 minutes before slicing so the layers set and every piece holds together.
- Freeze leftovers in portions for an easy dinner later, just like our chili mac and cheese.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
A big square of this is a full meal on its own, but it loves company. Serve it with a crisp green salad and plenty of warm, buttery garlic bread to soak up every bit of that sauce.
Round out the Italian dinner with our homemade Italian meatballs on the side, or start the meal with a bowl of Italian wedding soup for a cozy, restaurant-style spread.
If you are feeding a crowd, this pairs perfectly with our creamy chicken Alfredo bake so there is a little something for everyone at the table.
Lasagna FAQs
Yes, and it is one of the best make-ahead meals. Assemble the whole dish, cover it tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Add a few extra minutes to the covered bake time since it will be going into the oven cold.
Absolutely. Freeze it assembled and unbaked, or freeze leftover baked portions, for up to 3 months. Wrap tightly in foil, thaw overnight in the fridge, and bake until hot and bubbly in the center.
This recipe uses regular noodles cooked just to al dente. If you prefer, you can use no-boil oven-ready noodles instead, just add a little extra sauce so they have enough moisture to cook through in the oven.
Watery layers usually come from sauce that is too thin, noodles that were not drained, or skipping the rest. Simmer the sauce until thick, drain everything well, mix an egg into the ricotta, and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing.
A classic combo of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan is hard to beat. Ricotta mixed with egg makes the creamy layer, mozzarella melts into gooey strands, and parmesan adds a salty, nutty bite throughout.
Let it rest at least 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven. This gives the layers time to set so the slices hold their shape instead of sliding apart when you serve them.
Hungry for more Italian comfort food? Serve this alongside our homemade Italian meatballs for the coziest dinner yet.
Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce:
- 28 ounces canned whole tomatoes
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup dry red wine
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 30 ounces canned tomato sauce
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- kosher salt to taste
For assembly:
- 1 pound lasagna noodles
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 6 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Fresh chopped basil for garnish optional
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the ground beef, sausage, garlic powder, onion powder, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined.
- Heat a dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat mixture and brown it, breaking it up into crumbles until no longer pink, 10-15 minutes. Drain any excess liquid that comes off the meat.
- While the meat is cooking, put the whole tomatoes into a large bowl along with the juice. Using your hands, crush the tomatoes into small pieces, discard any hard pieces of tomato, set aside.
- Add the minced garlic cloves to the pot and mix them in, cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the wine and tomato paste, mix it in. If there are any browned bits on the bottom of the pan scrape them off.
- Add the tomatoes you crushed by hand along with the tomato sauce, parmesan, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Mix it in fully until combined.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes. If you can let it simmer longer, I suggest you do, up to 2 more hours. Stirring occasionally.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt or other seasonings if needed to your taste.
- While the sauce is simmering, cook the lasagna noodles per the directions on the back of the box. Drain them.
- Spray a large sheet tray lightly with cooking spray. Lay the noodles out flat, spraying the tops lightly with more cooking spray between layers so they don’t stick together.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x13x3 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, parmesan, and half of the mozzarella set aside.
- To assemble the lasagna, spread a heaping cup of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Place 4 lasagna noodles down the length of the dish, they will need to overlap a little to fit.
- Spread ⅓ of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Spread another heaping cup of the sauce on top.
- Repeat two more times with the noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce with another layer of noodles on top. You may not use all of the lasagna noodles. Top the whole thing with 1 & ½ cups of the sauce. Cover with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly. Take off the foil and add the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the dried oregano and garlic powder on top. Place it back in the oven and bake for 5-8 more minutes until the cheese is melted.
- If you want to brown the cheese, turn the broiler on high and broil until you reach your desired browning. Make sure to watch it the entire time so it doesn’t burn.
- Take out of the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing to serve. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and parsley if desired.
Notes
- Swap out your meat if you’d like, see suggestions above.
- This can be made meatless.
- If you don’t want to make your own sauce, use your favorite pasta sauce from the store.
- This does make extra sauce, so you can keep some to serve over the lasagna or for dipping garlic bread into.
- Make sure you are using a pan with deep sides as this is thick.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Nutrition
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