This is The Best Lasagna- it’s hearty and bursting with so much flavor from the homemade meat sauce and layers of cheese and pasta all nestled in.
This really is The Best Lasagna recipe out there! Full of flavor from the ground beef and sausage, you’ll love this meat lovers lasagna too!
Our family regularly puts some kind of pasta on our meal rotation weekly and often it’s this amazing easy lasagna. If you have a family that looooves pasta and loves hearty dinners, like my kiddos do, then they’ll love this lasagna for dinner.
I love all types of lasagnas, but it took me a long time to figure out my favorite recipe, lots of trial and errors in the kitchen until I finally settled on this one and I had to call it The Best Lasagna.
It has everything that we love, is filling, not complicated and you can make it for so many different things like gatherings, potlucks, freezer meals, etc.
I know everyone has their own favorite lasagna recipe, but trust me, once you try this one – you might just change your tune.
If you are in the market for a new lasagna, The Best Lasagna is your only option, well in my humble opinion! Give it a try and be the judge for yourself!
Some of our other favorite pasta recipes we have on our site include: Spaghetti Casserole, Tortellini Bake, and Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Comes together with easily available ingredients.
- Dinner the whole family will love!
- Leftovers are just as good the second time.
- Perfect for potlucks, parties, and meal trains!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Lean ground beef
Ground Italian sausage
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Canned whole tomatoes
Garlic cloves
Dry red wine
Tomato paste
Canned tomato sauce
Grated parmesan cheese
Dried oregano
Kosher salt
Lasagna noodles
Ricotta cheese
Egg
Mozzarella cheese
Dried oregano
Fresh chopped basil
Fresh chopped parsley
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST LASAGNA, STEP BY STEP:
- 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.
CAN I SWAP OUT THE MEAT?
For The Best Lasagna, we like to use both sausage and ground beef so you get all the flavors. But you can also just sub one for more of the other. Remove ground beef for all sausage, or use all ground beef instead.
If you choose to go that route, I suggest using twice as much of all the other meat spice so you get more of the flavors since you won’t be getting the flavors from the sausage that you normally would get.
DO I HAVE TO USE MEAT SAUCE?
If you don’t want to you don’t need to use the meat. Just remember that the meat brings SO much flavor to this lasagna and is really tasty. This meat sauce is thick and hearty but is easily customizable.
CAN I DOUBLE THIS RECIPE?
Yes, you can double this lasagna recipe. Since the recipe makes 1 9×13-inch pan of lasagna, when you double it, make the second one in a separate lasagna pan. You can even freeze it for later!
HOW TO STORE:
Store your leftover lasagna covered in the baking dish or in an airtight container where it will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
You can freeze leftovers by wrapping the baking dish in plastic wrap and then foil where it will keep for up to 3 months.
When you want to reheat some of The Best Lasagna, just reheat it in slices in the microwave, or warm up larger portions in the oven. If using the oven, cover the baking dish with foil to prevent it from drying out while it’s warming through.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- I make this lasagna with extra sauce, so don’t be surprised if it all doesn’t fit in the pan. The extra sauce is great for serving on top of each slice of lasagna!
- If you need a shortcut, you can use two 32-ounce bottles of whatever sauce you prefer.
- You can swap out the meats or change them up if desired.
- This is a great recipe to double and make more of for later, perfect for meal prep.
- Try to use a deep dish lasagna pan if possible.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Looking for the perfect dinner idea that is bursting with flavor, easy to make and super filling? Then you absolutely must make The Best Lasagna recipe.
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If you’ve tried this THE BEST LASAGNA or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
The Best 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
- make this lasagna with extra sauce, so don't be surprised if it all doesn't fit in the pan. The extra sauce is great for serving on top of each slice of lasagna!
- If you need a shortcut, you can use two 32-ounce bottles of whatever sauce you prefer.
- You can swap out the meats or change them up if desired.
- This is a great recipe to double and make more of for later, perfect for meal prep.
- Try to use a deep dish lasagna pan if possible.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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