Classic Lasagna
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This classic lasagna recipe layers a rich Italian sausage and tomato sauce with creamy ricotta, gooey mozzarella, and tender pasta for one seriously delicious lasagna.
I love this classic lasagna recipe because it has all the cozy, familiar flavors of the lasagna I grew up on, but it tastes like something you’d get at a nice Italian restaurant. The Italian sausage makes the sauce especially rich and flavorful, and a little cream cheese makes the ricotta filling extra smooth and creamy. I also use oven-ready noodles, which save the trouble of boiling a big pot of pasta and have a delicate texture that’s surprisingly close to fresh homemade pasta.
The lasagna takes some time from start to finish, but none of the steps are difficult, and you can assemble the whole thing ahead of time. It freezes beautifully, too.
“Best lasagna recipe—ever! Served with your fab Caesar salad. Conversation at the table was reduced to sighs of delight and an occasional OMG or YUM.”
What You’ll Need To Make Lasagna
- Onion, Garlic, Carrots & Celery: These aromatic vegetables form the base of the sauce, adding sweetness, savoriness, and depth of flavor.
- Italian Sausage: Adds richness and bold flavor. You can substitute ground beef—just amp up the garlic and Italian seasoning to compensate.
- Crushed Tomatoes, Red Wine & Heavy Cream: The tomatoes provide body and tang, the wine deepens the flavor, and the cream rounds it all out for a rich, well-balanced sauce.
- Ricotta, Cream Cheese, Egg & Parmigiano-Reggiano: These combine for a creamy, flavorful filling that bakes up smooth and rich (the cream cheese keeps the ricotta from getting grainy, and the egg helps it set).
- Oven-Ready (No-Boil) Lasagna Noodles: No need to pre-cook—these absorb the sauce as they bake. I like the Barilla brand best.
- Mozzarella: Melts into gooey, cheesy layers throughout the dish. Pre-shredded is fine—just go for whole milk for the best melt.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Lasagna
Prep the vegetables: Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to a food processor and pulse until very finely minced, but not puréed. Taking the vegetables down this small helps them practically melt into the sauce. If you don’t have a food processor, it’s fine to chop by hand.
Brown the sausage: Cook the sausage in olive oil, breaking it up as you go, until lightly browned but not cooked all the way through. Transfer it to a plate. Don’t worry about getting it fully cooked at this point—it will finish cooking in the sauce.
Cook the vegetables: Add the minced vegetables to the same pot and cook until very soft, stirring frequently. You’re looking for them to soften without taking on much color.
Add the wine: Pour in the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Continue cooking until most of the wine has been absorbed by the vegetables.
Simmer the sauce: Add the tomatoes, cream, and seasonings and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens.
Add the sausage: Chop the browned sausage into smaller pieces—large chunks can make the lasagna harder to layer and slice neatly—and return to the pot. Continue simmering until it’s cooked through and the flavors come together. Remove the bay leaves before assembling the lasagna.
Make the ricotta filling: Process the ricotta, cream cheese, egg, garlic, Parmesan, salt, and pepper until smooth and evenly combined. Add the basil and pulse just until finely chopped. Processing the mixture gives the filling an especially smooth, creamy texture.
Assemble the lasagna: Spread a layer of sauce over the bottom of the baking dish, then add the noodles, leaving a little space between them—they’ll expand as they cook. Layer with the ricotta filling, mozzarella, and more sauce, repeating until everything is used up and finishing with sauce and cheese on top. Be sure the top noodles are covered with sauce so they have enough moisture to cook properly.
Bake: Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake until the lasagna is hot and bubbling. Remove the foil and continue baking at the higher temperature until the noodles are tender and the top and edges are golden and puffed. Give the lasagna about 15 minutes to rest before cutting into it. This gives the layers time to settle and makes it much easier to slice and serve.
Video Tutorial
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Classic Lasagna
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, 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 clove garlic, 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 oz 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 (190°C).
- Spread about 1½ cups of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) 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 (90 g) 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 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 (205°C). 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.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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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Hi , is it definitely a 794 g can of crushed tomatoes ? Took an hour to thicken the sauce, otherwise it was delicious.
Yes, 794 g is correct. And that’s strange that it took so long for the sauce to thicken – glad you hung in there and were happy with the result!
I made this recipe a while back and my guests said it was the best lasagna ever! I pretty much agree.
I did use Italian sausage in the sauce, but I now have a guest coming to does not eat pork. Do you think a spicy Italian chicken sausage will work as a substitute….or should I choose something else.
Hi Mack, so glad you liked it! Yes, spicy Italian chicken sausage will work perfectly.
Hi Jen,
I’ve made this several times and it is the BEST lasagna. In fact, my son (who is super picky) loves it.
Here is my question. I would like to double this recipe to make two lasagna. Would I need to increase the simmering time of the sauce? Would you suggest any alterations?
So glad you like it! Because you’ll have double the sauce in the pot, it will likely take a bit longer to simmer; just keep an eye on it. Other than the finished lasagnas possibly taking a few extra minutes in the oven (because the oven will be more crowded), no other modifications are necessary.
Last night I made the most beautiful and perfect lasagna I have ever made! And, I am 68 years old. However, I didn’t use the thyme nor basil. My Dad always made his meat sauce with rosemary and oregano so I had to go there! But key and spot on was the meat to can of crushed tomatoes. The perfect amount of ricotta/ cream cheese on each layer. The 1 /1/2 cups of meat sauce per layer as well as the amount of cheese per layer lead to a perfectly moist lasagna and no bubbling over spillage!
Covering the lasagna for 40 minutes and then uncovering for the 20 minutes as well as upping the temp made my lasagna picture perfect! No burned noodles sticking out here and there. I wish that “once upon a time” 40+ years ago there had been a Jenn Segal cookbook! Thank you! Mary
Dear Jenn: I am going to make this lasagna for a family gathering this weekend. Do you think I can fully bake it, refrigerate it, and re-heat it at dinner time with good results? Thanks!
Sure, Pam, that’s fine. Enjoy!
All of your recipes are perfection! Quick question regarding the lasagna . Can I make the sauce and ricotta mixture a day ahead of time, refrigerate and then assemble the next day? I’m bringing it for a long weekend and don’t want to assemble 2 days ahead. Thanks !
So glad you like the recipes! Yes, making both the sauce and ricotta mixture ahead is fine. Hope you have a great weekend!
Can you make the sauce without heavy cream?
Hi Kathleen, I wouldn’t omit it. You could replace it with half and half or whole milk.
Absolutely delicious! I have made this twice and it was a hit both times. This recipe is not complicated, but requires some time. I like making and assembling the day before and then just popping it into the oven. The first time, I did not make any modifications to the recipe. The second time, I omitted all extra salt and used hot sausage. I will continue making it with the modifications from now on. Another winner from Jenn!
We love this recipe! Thank you so much.
And it freezes so well—I like making one four-serving square dish for now and another to freeze for later.
My tip is: I don’t like any of the sausages at my store (they are very sweet/have a lot of extra ingredients), so I just buy ground pork and season it with paprika, fennel, Italian spices, salt, pepper.
I would like to make this in two 8×8 foil pans to bring to friends. How should the baking time be adjusted, cooking one at a time? I’m excited to try this recipe!
Hi Rebecca, You can bake both at the same time and the bake time should be about the same. Hope everyone enjoys!
Just a question, have not made lasagna yet but can I leave out the wine?
Hi Mary, you can just omit it – it will still be delicious.