This easy Lasagna Recipe is meaty, cheesy, and packed with flavor in every bite. Homemade lasagna is better than any restaurant version and it feeds a crowd for way less than going out to eat.
We love lasagna around here and have gotten creative over the years with Lasagna Soup and even Chicken Lasagna, but we’ve heard again and again from our readers that this is the best lasagna recipe they’ve ever made.
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Best Lasagna Recipe
Lasagna is the perfect meal, and of all of the recipes I’ve tried over the years, this is the perfect lasagna. We loved it so much, we even turned it into Lasagna Roll Ups. It’s flavorful and satisfying, but also easy to make. It’s delicious as-is, but you can make it your own by swapping in your favorite ingredients.
In our house, lasagna is a staple for busy school nights because it keeps, reheats, and freezes so well and it’s nice to have something in the fridge to enjoy throughout the week. I even use it for kids’ lunches—I pack a serving in my son’s thermos to keep it hot and that thermos comes home empty every time.
Lasagna Video
Watch Natasha make this classic Lasagna Recipe. It’s the best lasagna we have tried, with the perfect balance of meat sauce to the three cheese sauce and noodles. That golden cheese crust seals in all the flavor and makes it irresistible. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:
- Meaty, cheesy, and saucy – Everything you want in a lasagna recipe.
- Perfect for Meal Prep – It’s simple enough that you can make it on a weeknight, but you can also make it over the weekend to enjoy it throughout the week. Or double the recipe and freeze one lasagna for later.
- Everyone approves – this is a family-friendly meal.
Ingredients
This 3-cheese lasagna is the ultimate comfort food and the ingredients are refrigerator and pantry staples. See the recipe card below for quantities and full instructions.
- Ground beef – We used 80/20 beef (20% fat content) for a juicier lasagna.
- Onion – we use yellow onion, or sweet onion works well
- Garlic cloves – you can add more if you love garlic
- Red wine (or beef broth) – This amps up the flavor of your sauce (avoid using cooking wine).
- Marinara sauce – Use homemade marinara or store-bought.
- Dried thyme – Italian seasoning, basil, or oregano can be substituted
- Sugar – balances the acidity of the tomatoes
- Parsley – flat-leaf or curly parsley works well
- Lasagna noodles – Cook these al dente; they’ll continue to soften as the lasagna bakes.
- Cottage cheese – adds great texture and moisture
- Ricotta cheese – we use low-fat or part-skim ricotta
- Mozzarella cheese – An Italian cheese blend works, but mozzarella is definitely the classic choice
- Egg – helps hold the cheese layer together
Pro Tip: Use a very large pot of salted water to boil the lasagna noodles and stir them several times, especially right after adding them to the pot. This will keep them from sticking to each other and tearing.
How to Make Lasagna
If you’d like to get a head start on this recipe, you can make the meat sauce a day or two in advance. That said, it’s still easy enough that you can make it all in one go, even for a weeknight dinner.
- Brown the beef – Add oil to a deep pan and sautee onion and beef until browned, 5 minutes then add garlic and stir another minute.
- Finish the sauce – Pour in 1/4 cup of wine and stir until almost evaporated. Add marinara, salt, pepper, thyme, sugar, and parsley; bring to a simmer, then cover and cook 5 minutes.
- Make the cheese filling – Combine all of the cheese sauce ingredients and 1 cup of mozzarella in a mixing bowl (reserve the rest for later).
- Prep – Preheat your oven to 375ºF and cook the lasagna noodles in a pot of well-salted water until al dente.
- Assemble – Spread 1/2 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Add 3 noodles, followed by 1/3 of the meat sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella, and half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat, then for the top layer, add 3 noodles, 1/3 of the meat sauce, and the remaining mozzarella.
- Bake – Cover with foil and bake at 375˚F for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned.
- Rest – Let the lasagna rest for about 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Pro Tip: There’s nothing worse than having the top portion of cheese stuck to the foil. To prevent this, I poke 8-10 toothpicks evenly around the top of the lasagna, pushing them in halfway to keep the foil from touching the cheese. Just be sure to count and remove every toothpick prior to serving.
Common Questions
I use both; cottage cheese is healthier and ricotta is creamier, so you get the best of both worlds by using both of these cheeses in your lasagna.
This lasagna recipe was developed with traditional lasagna noodles, but several readers have reported great results using no-boil noodles.
If you don’t have red wine, or prefer not to use it, you can substitute with beef broth or beef stock. The red wine adds great flavor but the lasagna will still be delicious with beef broth.
Cooking al dente pasta means it should be “firm to the bite.” The package instructions will provide the cook time for pasta to reach al dente. Keep in mind, the lasagna will be baked for 45 minutes so do not overcook your lasagna noodles.
Homemade marinara is definitely best, but if you don’t have time to make it, use your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.
Yes, you can easily double this recipe, but you’ll need to bake the lasagna in two pans.
What to Serve with Lasagna
Lasagna is a satisfying meal on its own, but if you’re feeding a big crowd, you can stretch it out by serving it with:
Make-Ahead
Here’s everything you need to know about storing lasagna for later.
- To Refrigerate: You can assemble the lasagna and store it covered in the refrigerator for a day or two until you are ready to bake.
- Freezing: Lasagna can be frozen before or after baking. Either way, it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months when wrapped well or stored in an airtight container.
- To Reheat: Frozen lasagna should be thawed in the refrigerator first; this reduces the time needed for baking and ensures more even heating. Bake according to the recipe instructions; if your lasagna was already baked and you’re simply reheating it, cover the baking dish with foil and reheat at 350ºF until warmed through.
- Slow Cooker Lasaga – this is one of our favorite ways to make dinner ahead of time.
With its meaty sauce and layers of cheese, we think you’ll agree that this is the best lasagna recipe ever!
More Pasta Recipes
If you love this lasagna, then you won’t want to miss these pasta recipes.
- Baked Ziti (Easy Pasta Casserole) VIDEO
- Chicken Pesto Pasta (VIDEO)
- Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe (VIDEO)
- Creamy Baked Feta Pasta (VIDEO)
- Mom’s Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo (VIDEO)
Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Lasagna
- 1 lb ground beef, (15-20% fat content)
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup dry red wine, or beef broth
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 24 oz Marinara Sauce , (3 cups)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
Ingredients for Cheese Sauce:
- 16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
- 15 oz reduced fat ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped, plus more to garnish
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
Instructions
How to Make Meat Sauce:
- Place a deep pan or dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 lb ground beef and diced onion. Saute, breaking up the meat, for 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Add pressed garlic and sauté another minute until fragrant.
- Add 1/4 cup wine and stir for 2 minutes or until wine is nearly evaporated. Add 3 cups marinara, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp parsley. Bring to a simmer then cover and cook 5 minutes.
How to Make Cheese Sauce:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 16 oz Cottage Cheese, 15 oz Ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 egg and 2 Tbsp parsley. Mix well.
How to Make Lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and 9 lasagna noodles. Cook until al dente according to package instructions.
- Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce in the bottom of a deep 9×13 casserole dish. Add 3 noodles, spread on 1/3 of the meat sauce, and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Spoon on and spread the top with 1/2 of your cheese sauce.
- Repeat until you have 3 layers of noodles:
Add 3 noodles, 1/3 meat sauce, 1 cup mozarella cheese, 1/2 cheese sauce
Add 3 noodles, remaining 1/3 meat sauce, remaining 1 cup mozarella. - Poke 9-12 toothpicks over the surface of your lasagna (to keep the foil from sticking to the cheese). Cover with foil and bake at 375˚F for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese turns golden. Let lasagna rest 30 min before slicing.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This recipe brings great joy to my family, and allows us to create beautiful memories around the dinner table. Thank you.
That makes me so happy to hear!
Nice ideas but not enough meat and too heavy on the cottage/ricotta.
Hi Bob, did you test it as written, I think it would be overloaded if we tried to fit any more meat into it, but if you prefer more meat, you could do that with a little less of the cheese filling.
Loved this recipe, my 3rd attempt at making lasagna with different recipes and this one final worked. Thank you Natasha!
This was so bomb…
I’m not the biggest lasagna fan but I had two small servings of this after I already ate dinner!
I made a few modifications: added spinach and kale (pre-cooked and drained) and chili flakes as well.
Natasha I have never made Lasagna before and it was a hit only thing I did was used mezzerita sauce and two jars with two pounds of ground beef because the casserole pan gets wider at the top so had to utilize more noodles but it is a hit! You make us all better cooks!
That’s great, Jordan! Thanks for sharing.
This is my go to lasagna!! I use ground turkey 93% lean and everyone loves it. My family does not like leftovers but they with eat this left over.
Can you clarify if it is one small onion (video) or one medium onion (recipe)? I look forward to trying it!
Hello Cynthia, one medium should be fine
Just wondering if you have a recommendation for a deep 9×13 dish. I like that yours has handles.
Hi Kelly! This is the 9×13-inch casserole dish that I use. It doesn’t have a handle though but feel free to browse through my Amazon Affiliate Shop to check out the different kitchen tools that I recommend and see if there’s one that’s similar to what you are looking for.
Love it so much!
What can I use instead of ricotta cheese since I do not have any on hand ?
You can substitute it with cottage cheese, cream cheese or mascarpone. We’d love to know how it goes!
I’ve made this lasagna and it’s delicious ! I have a question for you. I’m having company for dinner and one of my guests cannot eat beef. Could I substitute the beef for ground turkey and maybe add a couple of Italian sausages (casing removed) to add flavour and just follow this recipe other than that change ? Do you think this would taste okay ?
Glad to hear that you love this recipe, Pat! I have not tried using turkey yet but I bet that will work. Just make sure to adjust and add more seasoning as turkey has a milder flavor than beef.
Hi Natasha! I love all your recipes. What exact dry red wine do you recommend for this recipe? I’ve never cooked with wine before and I plan on making it this weekend, so I would greatly appreciate your recommendations.
Hi Lilli! Any dry red wine would work. Common ones used are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, etc.
Okay, thanks so much! I appreciate the quick response.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, Natasha. I’ve made this several times and it has become a family favorite!
Do you drain the ground beef before continuing with recipe?
I usually drain especially if there’s a lot of grease.
Natasha you have made me a better cook when. It is actually fun making this recipe! I appreciate you and all your recipe’s amazing food and the lasagna came out good no leftovers.