Classic Lasagna
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Comforting, familiar flavors but refined—my all-time favorite lasagna layers oven-ready noodles, a rich meat sauce, veggies, and plenty of cheese.
I love this lasagna recipe because it beautifully combines the familiar flavors of the lasagna I grew up on with the refined taste of a restaurant-style dish. It’s also relatively easy to make, thanks to the use of oven-ready or no-boil lasagna noodles, which save time and effort while delivering a taste remarkably similar to fresh homemade pasta—a definite win! The noodles are layered with a flavorful meat sauce made with Italian sausage, vegetables, crushed tomatoes, and cream, as well as creamy ricotta, gooey mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Baked until bubbly and golden, it’s the perfect cozy dish for a crowd, and it reheats and freezes well, too. This is definitely my go-to lasagna recipe!
Table of Contents
“Best Lasagna recipe – ever! And that includes those prepared in notable Italian restaurants…Conversation at the dinner table was reduced to sighs of delight and the utterance of an occasional OMG or YUM.”
What You’ll Need To Make Lasagna
- Onion, Garlic, Carrots, and Celery: These vegetables are the base of the sauce, contributing to the depth of flavor.
- Italian Sausage: The key flavor component of the sauce, it adds richness and depth of flavor with its spices and fat content.
- Red Wine: Ådds acidity and complexity to the sauce.
- Canned Crushed Tomatoes: Provides body, acidity, and tomato flavor to the sauce.
- Heavy Cream: Added to the tomato sauce to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and wine.
- Thyme and Bay Leaves: These herbs contribute aromatic flavors to the sauce.
- Ricotta Cheese: Mixed with egg, cream cheese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, used as a creamy layer in the lasagna, adding moisture and richness.
- Cream Cheese: Adds extra creaminess and tang to the ricotta mixture, and prevents the ricotta from becoming grainy when baked.
- Egg: Acts as a binder in the ricotta mixture, helping it to set and maintain structure when the lasagna is baked.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano: A hard, aged cheese that’s rich in flavor, added to the ricotta mixture and also sprinkled on top of the lasagna.
- Oven-Ready (No Boil) Lasagna Noodles: These noodles do not require pre-boiling, which means you don’t have to worry about them slopping around and sticking together, which is always an issue when using regular lasagna noodles to prepare lasagna. They absorb moisture from the sauce and cheese during baking, cooking to perfect tenderness. I like the Barilla brand.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Adds stretchy, melty texture to the layers of the lasagna.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Make the Sauce
Begin by placing the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery in a food processor. You need to give them a rough chop first, otherwise, they won’t chop evenly.
Pulse until minced but not puréed, so that they melt into the sauce.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, and add the sausage.
Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking the sausage into small pieces, until slightly browned but not cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the partially cooked sausage to a plate. Set aside.
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and add the minced vegetables.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are very soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
Add the wine and continue cooking, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine is mostly absorbed by the vegetables, a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes, cream, salt, pepper, sugar, thyme and bay leaves.
Stir and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes.
Add the sausage back to the pot.
Continue simmering until the sausage is fully cooked and the flavors all meld together, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Fish out the bay leaves and discard.
2. Make the Ricotta Filling
Combine the ricotta, cream cheese, egg, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
Process until evenly combined, then add the basil.
Pulse until the basil is finely chopped.
3. Assemble the Lasagna
Spread about 1-1/2 cups of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
Arrange 3 noodles over the sauce, and dollop a third of the ricotta filling over the noodles.
Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the noodles.
Sprinkle with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
Repeat layering of sauce, noodles, ricotta filling and mozzarella 2 more times. Top with the remaining 3 noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Spray a large piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the lasagna tightly with the foil, sprayed side down. Bake for 40 minutes in a 375°F oven. Carefully uncover and increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake, uncovered, until the noodles are tender, the sauce is bubbling, and the edges are golden and puffed, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! The lasagna can be assembled and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead of time before baking. Allow a few extra minutes in the oven if baking from cold.
Yes, lasagna can be frozen for up to 3 months. If you choose to freeze it before baking, ensure it is thoroughly defrosted in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you follow the recipe’s baking instructions. For already baked lasagna, place any leftovers in a freezer-safe container, or cut it into individual servings. Each serving should be tightly wrapped first in plastic wrap and then in foil. To reheat, cover the lasagna with foil and warm it in an oven preheated to 325°F (165°C) until it is heated through.
Italian sausage is the best choice for this recipe because it is loaded with spices and herbs, such as salt, oregano, basil, fennel, garlic, and red pepper flakes. In contrast, ground beef is completely unseasoned, which means it lacks these built-in flavors. If you decide to use ground beef, I recommend amping up the seasoning by adding a mix of herbs and spices mentioned above.
Video Tutorial
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Classic Lasagna
Comforting, familiar flavors but refined—my all-time favorite lasagna layers oven-ready noodles, a rich meat sauce, veggies, and plenty of cheese.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1½ pounds Italian sausage (bulk or removed from casing)
- ¾ cup dry red wine
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
For the Ricotta Mixture
- 1 (15 oz.) container whole milk ricotta (about 1¾ cups)
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
For Assembling
- 12 oven ready (no boil) lasagna noodles (such as Barilla)
- 16 ounces shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Place the onions, garlic, carrot and celery in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse until finely minced but not puréed.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage into the pan and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking the sausage into small pieces, until slightly browned but not cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the partially cooked sausage to a plate. Set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and add the minced vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are very soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
- Add the wine; continue cooking, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine is mostly absorbed by the vegetables, a few minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, cream, salt, pepper, sugar, thyme and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, transfer the sausage to a cutting board and chop into smaller pieces (big chunks don't work well in lasagna).
- Add the sausage back to the pan and continue simmering, covered, until the sausage is fully cooked and the flavors meld together, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Fish out the bay leaves and discard.
For the Ricotta Mixture
- Combine the ricotta, cream cheese, egg, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until evenly combined. Add the basil and pulse until finely chopped.
For Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Spread about 1½ cups of sauce in the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles over the sauce (there will be a bit of space between the noodles; they expand as they cook). Dollop a third of the ricotta filling over the noodles, then spread evenly to cover. Sprinkle with ¾ cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layering of sauce, noodles, ricotta filling and mozzarella 2 more times. Top with the remaining 3 noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Spray a large piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the lasagna tightly with the foil, sprayed side down. Bake for 40 minutes. Carefully uncover and increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake, uncovered, until the noodles are tender, the sauce is bubbling, and the edges are golden and puffed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The lasagna can be assembled and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead of time before baking. Allow a few extra minutes in the oven if baking from cold.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The lasagna can be frozen for up to 3 months. If you choose to freeze it before baking, ensure it is thoroughly defrosted in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you follow the recipe's baking instructions. For already baked lasagna, place any leftovers in a freezer-safe container, or cut it into individual servings. Each serving should be tightly wrapped first in plastic wrap and then in foil. To reheat, cover the lasagna with foil and warm it in an oven preheated to 325°F until it is heated
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 776
- Fat: 45g
- Saturated fat: 23g
- Carbohydrates: 47g
- Sugar: 9g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 46g
- Sodium: 1812mg
- Cholesterol: 158mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is just the BEST lasagna. I swapped the sausage out for plant based “meat” and it was great. I have made this a couple of times now and it was so perfect I sent photos of it to my sister and my daughter.
I made this lasagna for Christmas Eve and everyone raved about it. From now on this is my go-to lasagna recipe! The ricotta mixture is divine!
I made this for my family this week. A greatly hit, everyone enjoyed!!
This lasagna is simply the best I have tried and well worth the effort. My food processor certainly got a work out as I used it for the veggies, the cheeses, tomatoes (didn’t have crushed) and even the meat after it was cooked. I used gluten free no cook noodles and it was superb.
Thanks Jenn.
I made this lasagna for a couple friends the other day. Delicious! They all asked for the recipe. I added some fresh chopped parsley on top for a bit of color. Love how there’s more vegetables incorporated than the typical lasagna! This was also my first time using oven-ready noodles. I’m a believer now. 🙂
Hi! I cannot wait to make this lasagna, but can you tell me what type of red wine you used? Is it a Merlot or Pinot Noir.. thanks! Kate
Hi Kate, I honestly don’t remember what kind of wine that was. For the wine, any dry red like Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. that is inexpensive but still good enough to drink will work. Hope you enjoy
Turned out great and the whole family loved it, even my daughter who is not a big lasagna fan!
This looks lovely. My husband and I don’t like Italian sausage – I think it’s mainly the taste of fennel seed we don’t love. If we substitute ground beef, what seasonings should we use (if any) in the meat so it doesn’t come out bland?
Sure, Natasha, I would add a bit of oregano, Italian seasoning, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jen! Would love to make this recipe but I can’t get ahold of Italian sausage here in Norway. Do you have a good substitute or recipe for making Italian sausage from scratch with ground pork and spices?
Hi Kristi, You can get away with using ground pork or beef here; just make sure it’s well seasoned as the sausage has a lot of seasoning. Some spices I would add — a bit of oregano, Italian seasoning, whole or ground fennel seeds, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
This was the perfect homecoming dish to welcome my son home from a deployment! Because I made two lasagnas, I began preparing 2 days ahead by making the sauce. Good gracious, this sauce is yummy! On the morning before dinner, I mixed the ricotta and other cheeses together. Instead of using grated mozzarella, I substituted sliced mozzarella. I was a little concerned it would end up being dry however it was just perfect!!! I served it with the big Italian salad which is always a hit! It’s a very hearty, comforting dish. As always, thank you! Cin, cin!
Jenn, what dessert would you recommend, to serve well after dinner?
If you want to stick with the Italian theme, a couple of options are these Chocolate Kisses, Ricotta Cheesecake, or any of my biscotti recipes. And welcome home to your son!! 💗
Thanks so much, Jenn – we thought the lasagna was delicious. Just pulled another portion out of the freezer last week. When there’s no talking at dinner and just mmms and ooohs, you know the recipe is a keeper. Thanks for your reply! We’re making your Beef Stew recipe right now and the kitchen smells so good!
Jenn — I absolutely love this recipe as is. I’m at my in laws and don’t want to start from scratch. Picked up a few jars of Rao’s marinara to make it a bit easier on the assembly side. How do you recommend I incorporate it? Should I replace the tomatoes with Rao’s or skip the veggies and wine and only add the cream? Thanks!
Hi Katie, Glad you like this! To simplify things, I’d skip the veggies and wine. You’ll likely need to add a bit more sauce though to make up for the liquid that the wine and vegetables would have added. Please LMK how it turns out!
Made this for Christmas Eve dinner and later declared that every Christmas Eve meal would be this lasagna! Very good, worth the effort. The ricotta….yummmm.
Jenn – your website is my go-to site for recipes. They never dissapoint – brisket with onions, Chocolate Cream Pie, herb focaccia bread, baked ziti, I could go on and on. The next recipe I plan to try is the Avgolemono Chicken Soup!
💗
Love your recipes!
How can I make the Sausage lasagna more tomatoey, as my husband puts it. It was absolutely delicious, but a bit dry in the middle. I feel that just adding more of the Sausage Bolognese would make it too heavy/rich. Should I just increase the tomato sauce part, but keep the sausage amount the same? Please advise!
I don’t want to ruin your great recipe, but I also want to please my husband 😊
Thank you!
Hi Gergana, Glad you like the recipes! And, sure, feel free to increase the tomato sauce portion of the recipe if you are finding the lasagna to be a little dry.
What happened to the sausage lasagna recipe on this site?? Please bring it back!!!
Hi Stephanie, This is the same lasagna. I just reshot the pictures and tweaked the name. Sorry for any confusion! 🙂
This was so delicious! One of the best lasagna recipes I’ve ever tried. Thanks for a great recipe! Family loved it as well.
Oh, my goodness — absolutely delicious! We made this for Christmas Eve dinner, and everyone loved it!
I made this Christmas Eve for 6 people and it was delicious! I used a pound of ground beef and a pound of Italian sausage and didn’t remove the meat (because I didn’t thoroughly read the recipe) but just added it all together and simmered it longer. A real keeper!
I made the classic lasagna recipe for New Years Eve for my family. It was delicious! I did all of the preparation the day before so all I needed to do the day of was bake it. I followed the recipe exactly. While it was time consuming, it was well worth the effort. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks Jen-your recipes are terrific.
Helen F
I also made this recipe for our 2020 Christmas dinner. I made the sauce the day before which helped speed up the process on the day I made the lasagna. My husband bought chicken sausage rather than Italian pork sausage. It worked just fine. I had never used “ready to bake” noodles and almost substituted “real” lasagna noodles. I’m glad I didn’t…the ready to bake worked just fine! The recipe makes a lot, giving us enough for dinner, a portion to share with a neighbor, leftovers for another night’s dinner, and a container in our freezer for a future dinner. Another great Jen recipe!
Very good lasagna but very rich, one piece and you’re done! It’s my fault also for using egg noodles lasagna…too much! Tasty though so I’m going to try it again but replacing the sausage by ground meat, leaving the cream out from the sauce and reducing the cream cheese in the ricotta mix and no egg noodles… We’ll see🙂
I made this for Christmas eve. It was the best lasagna I’ve ever made and can’t remember having a better one anywhere. I used part skim ricotta and half and half instead of heavy cream, and upped the veggies some, including fresh spinach – because more veggies is always better in my opinion. Thank you for your awesome website and recipes. I’ve recommended you and your site to several people.
How can I make this recipe without any meat ? I also don’t like meat substitutes ? Can I just leave that ingredient out ? Should I double the cheese ? Thanks
Hi Daphna, If you want a meatless lasagna, I’d recommend this one. Hope you enjoy if you try it!
OMG! The best tasting lasagna! I made smaller ones for all the members of my family. They loved the texture, delicious meat sauce, and the medley of flavors.
My daughter loves mozzarella but doesn’t care for ricotta. Is there a substitute for ricotta? I don’t want to change anything else. I am hoping I could use some other kind of cheese? Thank you Jenn.
Hi Monica, although I haven’t tried this with cottage cheese I think that makes the most sense as a substitute for the ricotta. (And so glad all your family members enjoyed!)
Thank you Jenn for responding so quickly. Last question, I promise, if I really don’t want to substitute the the ricotta, can I leave out the cream cheese?
Hi Monica, If you want to omit the cream cheese, I’d replace it with more ricotta.
Hi Jen
I note that this can be made the day before. Should the amount of sauce be increased if made a day in advance? I don’t want the end result to be dry.
Also, I assume removal from fridge 30 minutes before baking is a good idea?
Thanks!
Hi Carol, I don’t think you need to increase the sauce if you make this a day in advance but if it would make you feel more comfortable, you could add a touch more. And, sure, feel free to remove it from the fridge 30 minutes prior to baking to take the chill off. Hope you enjoy!
This is the most amazing lasagne I have ever had in my life, even to my own recipe which I love!! I did add about a tsp of oregano to the sauce, and used 1/2 and 1/2 cream because it is what I had on hand, other than that I made it exactly! This is my new all-time favorite!
Another delicious OUAC recipe! Every recipe of Jenn’s I’ve made is a home-run. I made this for the first-time for my Italian-food loving Dad’s birthday, and he said it was the “best lasagna he’s ever had”. It does take some prep time to make, but it is well worth it. I appreciated the no-boil lasagna noodles, and the ricotta/cream cheese mixture was a great spin on the traditional.
I have never been a big lasagne fan but after I saw your recipe featured in your recent email I decided to try it for Christmas dinner. It was a huge hit! I substituted half of the Italian sausage with Wagyu ground beef. Absolutely delicious! Thanks again for another great recipe.
I thought this was excellent – I would however let it sit out a good half hour or 45 minutes – its so less sloppy as lasagne always is. I also used regular noodles and I soak them in boiling water for about 15 minutes and then assemble. They cook in the oven and they are not overcooked. I come from an Italian family where we never let anything sit too long LOL! I also thought the leftovers were great the next day.
Jenn, this is the best lasagna I have ever made, and my Italian husband said this was the best lasagna he ever ate. He said it brought back memories of his grandma’s Christmas lasagna, only it was even better, the italian sausage takes this to the next level! To anyone who hesitates because of the time involved, the ingredients, or the process, do it! Allow yourself 2 hours to prepare the sauce, assemble, and bake, and let it properly cool before cutting it, you won’t regret it. And resist the urge to substitute the sauce with a store-bought version…you won’t regret making it. The no-boil noodles are amazing, they definitely taste like fresh made noodles. Literally….once the lasagna was out of the oven, we were counting the time during the cooling process to enjoy this amazing dinner. Thank you so much, this is now on my once a month, Sunday dinner rotation!
We scaled down our Christmas gathering this year and I made this lasagna for 6 people. It was incredible, everyone loved it. I also added a little tomato paste to the sauce. So good and we have plenty of leftovers. I love the addition of cream cheese to the ricotta mixture. This will be my go to lasagna recipe from now on.
Excellent recipe. Made it just as described and it was delicious. It takes some time, but it is not hard to pull together. Another winner and family favorite.
Delicious lasagne ! Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Okay, I’ve been a Jenn Segal fan for several years and some of our very favorite recipes come from her site (and cookbooks), and I’m also a huge fan of lasagna and frequently order it at restaurants (in the Before Times) just to test out other approaches. This one is, hands down, the best I’ve ever had. Period. My husband and I spent several hours today preparing the lasagna for tonight and it was worth every bit of effort. I think I may throw out every other lasagna recipe I have, so I don’t get confused as to which is the best.
Despite being tentative about using oven ready lasagne and adding cream to the sauce, I have to say, this was delicious! It turned out beautiful and I was impressed. Guests enjoyed. Thank you for sharing, Jenn.
Best lasagna I’ve ever made.
Tried this recipe yesterday for dinner, had it prepped the day before, for the sauce to really soak in the lasagnas. It was delicious!! Couldn’t believe I made this myself (with your help of course). I got so much compliments and think I really impressed all the guests. Made the 8-servings recipe, we were 6 and they asked for more… Thank you so much for sharing this, it will certainly become one of my classic!
Wishing you a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year, all the way from Paris!
We tried this recipe out the other day. It was the second from Once Upon a Chef for me. First time issues: the cheese topping got a little overdone on the top. Other than that, totally delicious and step-by-step straightforward. I would suggest getting all the ingredients measured and prepped, but that is a great family activity!
Thanks for the recipe.
Absolutely delicious but so are other lasagna recipes that aren’t so labor intensive. Loved it, however won’t make it again…..
Wow! I made this for a pal as a Christmas gift so I haven’t actually tried it BUT the reviews were outstanding! He couldn’t stop raving about how light, well-seasoned & delicious it was. I stood there for a good ten minutes as he went on and on about how it was the best lasagna he’s ever had, better than any restaurant’s offering. I admit I was a little worried about using the no-bake noodles since I’ve never used them before but apparently all was good. I didn’t change a thing from your recipe.
I have a couple of questions on this very good looking Lasagne.
1) What size baking dish did you use? And who fabricates it? I need one like that. I guess would like one.
2)) The Lasagne noodles in picture look half size. Normally, aren’t they larger in length? Or are the no bake shorter?
3))I want to buy your cookbook. However, it sure would be a lot easier if it were not bound, but in spiral so the the pages lie flat when using.
Any chance this could happen?🤞🤞
Love your recipes.
Sunny D.☀️
Hi Sunny, I use a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and the one in the pics is by Emile Henry. I believe that no-boil and traditional lasagna noodles are the same size. And regarding my cookbook, I appreciate you inquiring! Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be coming out in a spiral version — sorry! Hope you enjoy the lasagna if you make it. 🙂
Hello Jenn,
I am hoping to substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta cheese, which I’ve done with another lasagna recipe (my husband dislikes ricotta cheese).
Will you please let me know if this is an acceptable substitution? If not, what do you recommend in lieu of the ricotta cheese?
Thank you, Jenn.
Dianne
Hi Dianne, I haven’t made this with cottage cheese but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn,
I made this recipe tonight substituting the cottage cheese (16 oz) for the both ricotta cheese and cream cheese. It was delicious. The only other change I made to make it “heart-healthy” was to use 1 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb (2 and 1/2 links) of hot Italian sausage. I cooked the ground beef first, drained the fat and set aside before partially cooking the sausage, leaving the fat to saute the vegetables after removing the sausage. The lasagna had a hint of spice and the partial substitution of the ground beef did not sacrifice the flavor. My husband and two teen boys loved it; I did too! Thank you so much for all your consistently excellent recipes. I have repeatedly shared your recipes with family and friends. You are my “Go-To” chef! I wish you all the best in your cooking endeavors.
– Dianne
I agree with Kenneth, it is lasagne with an ‘e’ and it should be pasta sheets, noodles are shaped like spaghetti and used in Chinese dishes. And as it’s Italian the base is called a soffrito, mirepoix is French.
I am looking forward to trying this different version.
This is almost exactly like our old family recipe. The mirepoix adds so much depth to the flavor, you’d really miss it if it wasn’t there. We also add a couple of Tbs of sugar to the sauce, which seems to cut the acid of the tomatoes a bit. The Barilla no bake noodles are the best on the market, even their gluten free version tastes like fresh made pasta. One thing I do cheat with is the spreading of the ricotta. I usually make a mess of spreading the ricotta, pushing the noodles and sauce around. Now I simply put the mixture in a 1 gallon zip bag and cut 1/2″ off of a corner – turning it into a very neat frosting bag. We always make extra smaller aluminum trays to give to our elderly relatives who wouldn’t normally make lasagna for themselves. It freezes well and tastes even better the next day. It is a very tasty, very easy recipe.
Can’t wait to try this, what red wine do you suggest, I can read the brand, just not sure what kind of wine it is?
Hi Margie, The one I used is a blend. Any dry red — Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, etc. — will work well, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand to drink.
Hi – is there a version that does not include pork? Can chicken sausage be substituted?
Sure! Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Just a correction, the correct name for this dish is Lasagne, with the “a” on the end would mean just one piece of pasta. This is a common mistake in the US, but you’d never see that in Italy!
Thanks for your lovely recipe and your amazing work.
I’ve made this a few times now and my family loves it. Unfortunately, I’m a little slow in the kitchen — can I assemble this a day in advance and let it sit in the fridge to cook the next evening?
Definitely, Moira — this is a great recipe to prep ahead.
Hi Jenn, what can I sub in for the wine? We don’t drink alcohol. Many thanks.
Hi Shamim, It’s fine to omit the wine. It will still taste great. Enjoy!
I’ve made this lasagna a couple of times for company and both times it was amazing! Made it just like the recipe reads and I wouldn’t make a single change. Jenn, you’ve perfected it to a T!!
Thank you for sharing!
This was most excellent! I am very pleased to improve upon the lasagna which I had been making for the last thirty years. One thing which I added (idea stolen from a fab Italian restaurant in San Francisco) was to nestle in some quartered slices of salami in the layers. As I said, most excellent!
Question—after the first layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, do I start with noodles again or put sauce on top of the ricotta mixture? Thank you!
Hi Tracy, put the sauce on top of the ricotta and then the next layer of noodles. Enjoy!
Hi Jen: I’m another #1 fan of your recipes. They never fail. I’m sure you’ve covered this topic before but…..what is the best way to grate (shred) fresh mozzarella cheese? I always end up with a gloppy mess.
So glad you like the recipes! If you have a hard time shredding mozzarella, I’d pop it into the freezer for 15 minutes before shredding it. That will make it a little firmer and easier to work with. 🙂
Delicious and relatively quick for lasagna. I followed the recipe closely with two exceptions. I used one pound of fresh ground hot Italian sausage and a half pound of ground sirloin to lighten it a little. The flavor of the sausage came through beautifully I used less olive oil. I did not find the need to add more to sweat the veggies. I kept the full fat cheese. I will definitely make this recipe again.
I LOVE this recipe! It’s so good! Is there a way I would be able to add spinach? Looking to sneak an extra veggie in.
Sure! A few people have commented that they’ve added spinach to this. Hope you enjoy. 🙂
As a novice cook. I have to ask. Do I wilt down the spinach or add it fresh? On top or mixed in with ricotta mixture?
Hi P, you could either use frozen thawed chopped spinach or fresh wilted spinach (either one should be squeezed dry so they don’t add too much moisture to the dish) and I’d add it to the ricotta mixture. Please LMK how it turns out!
My question is can I use just the cheese and omit the meat? I only eat cheese and spinach lasagne . Also can I use my own vegetarian tomato sauce? Would these changes need any tweaking? My lasagne is always a mess either runny or dry. Just can’t master this dish. Help!
Hi Michelle, If you’d like a vegetarian version, I’d recommend this recipe. Hope you enjoy if you try it!