Best Homemade Lasagna – Made with Italian sausage, ground beef, three kinds of cheeses, and plenty of herbs and spices for the BEST homemade lasagna that your friends and family will LOVE! Easier than you think to make and everything is spelled out in detail for lasagna-at-home that tastes like it’s from a fancy Italian restaurant!
Prep Time45 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr
Additional Time15 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 10
Calories: 635kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
½pounddry lasagna noodlesuse classic noodles, do not use no-boil
1poundground Italian sausage
½poundlean ground beefabout 90% lean
½medium white oniondiced small
½large bell pepperdiced small (red, yellow, or orage)
3 to 4clovesgarlicfinely minced
33.5ouncescanned tomato sauce
one 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
one 3-ounce can tomato paste
¼cupfresh parsleyfinely minced
2tablespoonsdried oregano
1tablespoonItalian seasoning
1tablespoongranulated Sugar
2teaspoonsdried basil
¼teaspoongarlic powder
2tablespoonsdry white wineoptional (sub with chicken broth, water, or omit)
1 ½poundsshredded mozzarella cheesedivided
15ouncesricotta cheese
1cupsour Cream
½cupfinely shredded Parmesan cheese
1large egg
Instructions
Place the lasagna noodles in a 9x13-inch baking dish, pour very hot water over them, making sure they are fully submerged. Allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes while you make the sauce.
Meat Sauce - To a large, high-sided skillet, add the sausage, ground beef, and cook over medium-high heat to brown. Crumble as the mixture cooks to ensure even cooking. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until nearly done.
Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and cook for about 3 minutes; stir frequently.
Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and stir to combine.
Add the parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, sugar, basil, garlic powder, optional wine, and simmer uncovered over medium heat for about 15 minutes; stir intermittently.
Cheese Sauce - Separately, to a large mixing bowl, add 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, ricotta, sour cream, Parmesan, egg, and stir to combine; set aside.
After at least 30 minutes, remove the noodles from the pan, dump the water, dry the pan, and spray it with cooking spray if desired to prevent sticking.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Assembly - Add 1 1/2 cups meat sauce to the bottom of the pan, spread it out over the bottom of the pan, add approximately 3 lasagna noodles over it, add a layer of cheese sauce, and sprinkle with a layer of mozzarella.
Repeat this process 3 times - Meat sauce, noodles, cheese sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella.
To finish, top with the remaining meat sauce and the remaining mozzarella cheese. Tip - The cheese should be quite generous or thick here so that when it bakes, it melts to give you the classic cheesy lasagna everyone loves. If you need to use more than is indicated in the recipe to do this because you added more in between the layers, do so.
Baking - Cover with foil, making a domed tent in the middle. Tip - Take care that the foil doesn't touch the cheese because the cheese could stick to it and you'll rip off the cheese when you remove the foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, uncover, and bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is as lightly golden browned as desired.
Allow the lasagna to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Extra lasagna will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.* (See Notes below for Prepping in Advance and Freezing)
Notes
*Prepping in Advance and Freezing - You can freeze uneaten portions of lasagna in airtight plastic containers in individual sized portions. This for me is easiest, makes efficient use of my freezer space, and when you’re ready to consume it, individual portions thaw faster. However, if you want to make and prep lasagna ahead of time, and freeze it before baking, go ahead and do so. Before you bake it, cover your baking pan very tightly with plastic wrap. When you’re ready to bake it, remove the plastic wrap and cover with foil.Tips:You can thaw lasagna on the counter before baking. This will take hours. Or, you can simply cook the lasagna straight from frozen by adding an additional 15 to 30 minutes to the covered baking time.