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Home » Dinner » Beef » The Best Lasagna

The Best Lasagna

Created: October 29, 2018 Updated: August 27, 2020 by Lyuba Brooke 9 Comments

14.8K shares
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Classic Lasagna recipe is like the little black dress, it will never go out of style and will always make you happy. Enjoy layers of ground beef, pasta, ricotta cheese mixture, easy homemade marinara sauce, and more cheese in every bite.

The BEST Lasagna in a baking pan

Lasagna

There are a few classic Italian dishes that are popular with just about everyone in the states. It’s a perfect sit-down dinner dish to share with family and friends.

Comforting flavors of homemade tomato sauce, pasta, cheese, and beef makes every bite a delight. It’s a wonderful weekend dinner.

This lasagna is amazing. Even though I don’t come from an Italian family, out of every lasagna I tried in an authentic restaurant, mine is still the best. I am yet to find one that comes close to mine.

It could be because the most important ingredients are missing, love in care. Love translates into every ingredient that you choose when cooking for your family and every step you take to prepare it.

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Lasagna on a plate

Tips for a great lasagna:

When choosing pasta noodles, I recommend using oven-ready ones. It will be much easier and cut down on cooking steps and time.

While layering pasta, have the sheets overlap by 1/2 to 1/4 inch. Remember, you can also break apart some pasta sheets in you need to cover small corners and gaps.

Choose 85/15 meat to fat ratio of ground beef. It will result in a juicier and more tender beef layer.

When possible, make your own marinara sauce. It’s easy and it will make the world of difference in the taste. Marinara sauce can be made ahead of time or even frozen.

Make sure to spray one side of aluminum foil with some spray cooking oil and cover the baking pan oiled side down. That will prevent cheese from sticking to the foil when you pull it off.

Lasagna Recipe on a plate

Can I freeze lasagna?

Yes, lasagna can absolutely be frozen and here is how to freeze lasagna.

If you are planning on freezing your lasagna, use an aluminum baking pan to prepare it. Use one 9×13 baking pan or two half the size.

Cook your ingredients and put it together in the pan right up until the baking step. Instead of baking it, freeze it.

Make sure to wrap the container as tightly as possible.

Properly stored, lasagna can last up to 6 months in the freezer.

To thaw lasagna, pull it from the freezer into the refrigerator and slow-thaw it there for 10-12 hours.

Bake as directed in the recipe but increase baking time under foil by 15-20 minutes since the lasagna will be cold going into the oven.

More freezing tips HERE.

The BEST Lasagna in a baking pan lifting it out with a  spatula

Enjoy some more classic Italian recipes:

The Best Italian Meatballs

Eggplant Parmesan

Steak Pizzaiola

Classic Tiramisu

Chicken Marsala

Lasagna in a baking pan

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Classic Lasagna

This is an amazing lasagna recipe featuring the classic beef, ricotta, and pasta flavors made with homemade marinara sauce. 
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved! Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 4 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Servings: 9
Calories: 741kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought) divided
  • 8-10 oz oven ready lasagna sheets
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese mix topping
  • 1/2 tsp dry oregano topping

Beef layer:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (85/15 or 90/10 meat to fat ratio)
  • 1/2 tsp dry oregano
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese mix

Ricotta layer:

  • 20 oz whole milk ricotta
  • 1 cup shredded Italian cheese mix
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh Italian parsley (or regular parsley)
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh basil
  • 1 tsp dry oregano
  • 1 egg
  • salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 casserole dish.

Beef:

  • Preheat a medium cooking pan over medium heat. 
  • Add oil and saute diced onion until transparent. 
  • Add ground beef and cook, breaking up all the lumps, until just done. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. 
  • Once the meat is just done. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Ricotta:

  • Combine all ingredients for the ricotta layer in a mixing bowl and mix very well. Set aside. 

Lasagna:

  • Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish. Make sure it's spread evenly. 
  • Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. I like to overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so.
  • Spread beef mixture over the pasta sheets evenly. Spread 1 1/2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix.
  • Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. Again, you can overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so. 
  • Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over pasta sheets evenly. 
  • Spread ricotta mixture evenly. Drop spoonfuls of ricotta mixture all over and use your hands to spread it in one even layer. (Of course, make sure your hands are clean.)
  • Layer lasagna noodles in one even layer. Overlap the pasta sheets just a little bit, 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so. 
  • Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over pasta sheets, evenly. 
  • Spread 1 1/2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix over the sauce evenly. 
  • Sprinkle some oregano over the top. 
  • Spray one side of aluminum foil sheet with cooking spray and cover the casserole dish with foil, oiled side down. 
  • Bake covered for about 35 minutes. 
  • Take off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Video

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 741kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 1311mg | Potassium: 815mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1370IU | Vitamin C: 10.1mg | Calcium: 654mg | Iron: 3.9mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

The BEST Lasagna recipe collage

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

14.8K shares

Filed Under: Beef, Dinner, Italian, Pasta

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Shay says

    June 22, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    Could I make this the day before and refrigerate until ready to bake? If so, how much longer should I bake for?

    Reply
  2. Regina says

    May 10, 2022 at 7:17 am

    This looks amazing. I’m a big fan of the oven ready lasagna sheets. They are a time saver for this mama.

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      May 13, 2022 at 11:23 am

      Me too, Regina! And thank you, I hope you give it a try! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Jayne says

    December 29, 2020 at 10:23 pm

    5 stars
    Italian mix of cheeses are not sold on our area. What cheeses are used in this mix?

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      January 4, 2021 at 10:53 am

      Hi Jayne,

      It is usually a blend of Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano cheeses. You could make your own or even just add Mozzarella and Parmesan.

      Reply
  4. Juanita says

    September 24, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    I love your recipe, details and steps you included. Super helpful even though I’ve made lasagna a trillion times thought I would give your recipe a try except we don’t eat beef so I substituted beef with ground turkey.

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      September 25, 2019 at 12:38 pm

      Glad you liked it, Juanita!

      Reply
  5. Beth Pierce says

    November 23, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    5 stars
    Hubby and I just loved this! Thanks for the delicious recipe!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      November 26, 2018 at 2:21 pm

      Oh, that is so nice to hear, Beth! Thank you 🙂

      Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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