This easy Lasagna Recipe is meaty, cheesy, saucy, and packed with flavor in every bite. My homemade lasagna is better than any restaurant or store-bought version, and it feeds a crowd for less than going out to eat. My family gets excited every time I pull this cheesy, bubbly casserole out of the oven!
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Helpful Reader Review
“This is the only lasagna recipe I make. It’s so easy and so delicious! I always double the recipe and freeze a pan to have on hand.” – Cheryl ★★★★★
Lasagna Video Tutorial
In this video, I’ll show you how to make my easy Lasagna Recipe with the perfect balance of meat sauce, three-cheese sauce, and noodles that crisp up at the edges. That golden cheese crust seals in all the flavor, making it irresistible.
Seriously the Best Lasagna!
Since I was a child, lasagna has been one of my top 10 favorite foods and I’ve gotten creative over the years to capture its classic flavors in Lasagna Soup, Chicken Lasagna, Slow Cooker Lasagna, and even Chocolate lasagna (does that count?).
Of all of the recipes I’ve tried over the years, this is the perfect lasagna. I loved it so much, I even turned it into Lasagna Roll Ups and gluten-free Zucchini Lasagna (which is gluten-free).
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 it comes home empty every time.
Ingredients for Lasagna
This 3-cheese lasagna is the ultimate comfort food, and the ingredients are refrigerator and pantry staples. See the recipe card below for exact quantities.
- Ground beef – We used 80/20 beef (20% fat content) for a juicier lasagna but a lean ground beef is perfectly acceptable. You can also sub half of the beef with Italian sausage for variety.
- Aromatics – yellow onion and fresh garlic add layers of flavor and aroma.
- Red wine – This amps up the flavor of your sauce (do not use cooking wine). You can sub wine with beef broth or chicken broth.
- Marinara sauce – Use homemade marinara or store-bought.
- Dried thyme – Italian seasoning, basil, or oregano can be substituted
- Sugar – balances the acidity of the marinara sauce (I use this same trick in my Spaghetti Sauce recipe)
- Parsley – flat-leaf or curly parsley works well
- Lasagna noodles – Cook these al dente; they’ll continue to soften as the lasagna bakes. You can also use no-boil noodles.
- 3 Cheeses – I love combining shredded mozzarella, ricotta cheese and cottage cheese for a moist and gooey cheese sauce. The cottage cheese ensures it’s super juicy on the reheat.
- Egg – helps hold the cheese layer together
Natasha’s Tip for Cooking Lasagna Noodles
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 the Meat Sauce
If you’d like to get a head start on this recipe, you can make the meat sauce a day or two in advance. It’s essentially my Spaghetti Meat Sauce.
- 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.
- Simmer 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 the tomato sauce 5 minutes.
How to Make the Cheese Sauce
- Make the cheese filling – Combine all the cheese sauce ingredients and 1 cup of mozzarella in a mixing bowl (reserve the rest of the mozzarella for later).
How to Make Lasagna
- Cook the Noodles – Preheat your oven to 375ºF and cook the lasagna noodles in a pot of well-salted water until barely al dente (firm to the bite – don’t overcook it), then drain and pour in cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent sticking.
- Assemble Lasagna – 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 aluminum 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. Important! Let the lasagna rest for about 30 minutes before cutting and serving. If you cut into it right away, it will slide apart.
Pro Tip to Prevent Cheese Sticking:
To prevent the foil from sticking to the cheese topping, 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.
What Cheese is Best for Lasagna?
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. I admit cottage cheese isn’t traditional for Italian lasagna, so if that upsets you, you’ll love the classic Italian-style lasagna in my Cookbook.
What to Serve with Lasagna
- Maroulosalata
- Greek Salad
- Easy Garlic Bread
- Caesar Salad
- Focaccia Bread
- Caprese Salad
- Panzanella Salad
Make-Ahead and Storage
Here’s everything you need to know about storing lasagna for later. You can even double the recipe to stash some for later!
- To Refrigerate: You can assemble and store it covered in the refrigerator for a day or two until 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: Thaw frozen lasagna in the refrigerator and bake according to the recipe instructions for the most even results. Baking from frozen will take longer (60-90 minutes). Or reheat leftovers in the oven at 350˚F covered with foil until warmed through.
With its meaty sauce and layers of cheese, I think you’ll agree that this is the best lasagna recipe ever!
Easy 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 then drain and pour in cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent sticking.
- 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.
- 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
Filed Under
More Italian Pasta Recipes
If you love this lasagna, then you won’t want to miss these pasta recipes:
- Baked Ziti (Easy Pasta Casserole)
- Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Creamy Baked Feta Pasta
- Mom’s Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
- Stuffed Shells
- Manicotti
- Chicken Tetrazzini
Looking forward to making this, can i replace the mozzarella with cheddar cheese
Hi Sam! Sure, if you prefer that.
I use a colander to drain the liquid from cottage cheese, makes it less runny when serving.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Best lasagna ever so juicy and very taste . Even after reheating in microwave it was juicy. 🙏🙏
Can I use cream cheese to replace cottage cheese? As I only have cottage cheese.
The cottage cheese makes it super juicy. I haven’t tried using cream cheese to advise.
Just made it and I started 24 hours ago!!! I’m not even kidding but well worth the mess my poor kitchen has been left in!! I’m going to have to prepare this ahead of time from now on. Absolutely incredible tasting and will use the sauce recipe for my spaghetti every time I make it. Yum
One of the best lasagnas I have ever eat and prepare. What an easy recipe to follow 🫶.
Very similar to my old family favorite recipe! We add chopped fresh spinach to the ricotta blend, and/or sometimes a layer of very thinly sliced zucchini. The baking pan I use is 10×15, so a few more noodles and maybe up the rest of the ingredients a bit!
I am always looking for a good lasagna recipe. I have two children ages 10 and 7 and they loved it! They prefer a little saucier so I upped the pasta sauce by a cup and then topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I also used oven ready noodles which didn’t affect the cook time. It was just delicious and I’m excited to make it again!
Why low fat ricotta? Does is make the cheese mixture hold together better. Just wondering. Use this recipe all the time for my LasagnaLove recipients.
Hi Annette, you don’t have to use low fat if you prefer to use a different fat percentage.
OMG! This was delicious! I have made other lasagna recipes and even used multiple recipes picking out what I liked and created my own recipe that is awesome too. The major thing I learned from this recipe is to let it rest for 30 minutes. That’s truly the key to presentation and I’m all into that!! Thank you!!
Yes, I’m so glad you loved the result and thanks for waiting patiently!
Once again. Another home run. Never made lasagna in my life. And this was superb. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Why is this recipe different than the one in your cookbook and which one is better?
HI Pat, they are different – this one is saucier (the cottage cheese makes it super juicy) while the cookbook one is more traditional Italian style (no cottage cheese). They are both really good, just different.
Best lasagna I’ve ever made! Even my mother in law who is a fabulous cook said wherever you got that recipe it was the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted. The sauce consistency was amazing 🤩 guess it was the red wine. 🍷 thank you 😊
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Tammy! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Hi Natasha, this recipe looks great but I was wondering if you knew what adjustment are need if I am using precooked “oven ready” lasagna noodles. Thank you!
Hi Tyler, I haven’t tried oven ready noodles and if you use them it can save a step by using them. One of my readers, Stacey, wrote: “for anyone else who’s reading, I use oven ready noodles for this recipe all the time”. I wish I could be helpful with adjustments, but I don’t see any were made to the bake timing itself.
Truly best lasagna recipe! Have been using it for years. Always make two lasagnas at once – one for now, one to freeze for later for fast easy dinner.
That’s great as it will save you time and energy as this is a good make ahead recipe!
Me and my husband agreed, this is the BEST lasagna we have ever had!! We swapped red wine vinegar for the wine and used no boil noodles which increased the cook time. Broiled the last layer of cheese to give it a little brown crisp the last 3 minutes. Chose Botticelli Marinara. DELISH! I love your recipes, thank you!
Hello Holly, thank you for your wonderful feedback and for sharing the substitutions that you used in this recipe. I’m happy that you both love this recipe!
Hello – can this be assembled and then frozen? To cook later? If so, do you just let it thaw and then cook for the amount & temp in the recipe?
Hi Tiff, see the make-ahead section for all of our make-ahead tips.
This is the best lasagna I’ve ever made. It was the perfect ratio of saucy and cheesy and the flavors were balanced so nicely which made it really really enjoyable to eat. I ate it 4 days in a row and didn’t even get tired of it haha! And it was also really simple to throw together! I was really wanting a go-to lasagna recipe and I found it!
I’m so glad you found a favorite on my blog, Madelyn! Thank you for your wonderful review.
Is the cottage cheese small or large curd? And as far as marinara , is that same thing as spaghetti sauce?
Hi Padme, in some instances can be used interchangeably used, but there are differences between the two. Spaghetti sauce tends to be more complex often with additional ingredients than a simple marinara.
Too soggy. It was a good taste though. Followed recipe to a T. I’ll make my own Like I always do.
Hi Caridad, make sure to let it set for a bit according to the instructions before slicing so it’s easier to slice.