Easy Homemade Lasagna
Italians don’t come at me! This is an Easy Homemade Lasagna recipe that belonged to my grandmother, she passed it to my mother, and now I’m sharing it with you.
We are not Italian, I’m sure this is not traditional, but it’s the way we make it and everyone who has ever had it says it’s the best lasagna they’ve ever eaten. So we must be doing something right?
Growing up my mom made this recipe with Ragu, now that I try to be a little more mindful of where I source my ingredients I use a different sauce but you can use whatever you have on hand in the pantry. Just don’t use plain tomato sauce or you’ll be sad. You need something seasoned and delicious. Of course you could always make your own sauce but that lengthens the process. To each their own.
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This is a great recipe to make for parties! In fact, this was the main course at our wedding. Lasagna, Caesar salad, and bread— you can’t go wrong! So make a lot or a little, make it now or freeze it for later, this is a recipe your whole family will love!
Try this super Easy Homemade Lasagna, make sure to snap a photo and then let me know what you think on social media! Over on Instagram @instantloss or in our community Facebook Page!
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon dried chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (12 ounce) box of lasagna noodles of choice, (I use 365 Whole Foods brand or Jovial brand for gluten-free) cooked according to the package instructions
- 1 (32 ounce) jar marinara sauce of choice, (I use Cucina Antica premium cooking tomato/marinara sauce. It’s non-gmo verified and whole30 approved. My mom uses Ragu.)
- 20 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese or 10 ounces of ricotta cheese mixed with 10 ounces cottage cheese
- 1 pound 3 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brown the ground beef on the stove top with salt, pepper, dried onion, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Drain the grease off.
- In a 9x12 glass baking dish spread a thin layer of marinara in the bottom. In a single layer, lay noddles across the bottom, then spread a layer of ricotta over the noodles. Lightly sprinkle sea salt and black pepper over the ricotta, add a layer of ground meat, then pour the marinara evenly over the top and spread it with a spoon. Sprinkle a thin layer of mozzarella cheese over the sauce and repeat the steps above beginning with the noddles and ending with the mozzarella cheese. You should have three layers.
- Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minute to 1 hour or until bubbling. Remove the foil at the end and continue to bake until the cheese on top has melted and slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
How many servings does this make? And any instructions if I prepare it ahead and reheat it later?
Hello Brandie,
The instructions for reheating it later are the same as preparing it ahead, so cover with foil and heat in the oven at 350′ degrees for approximately 45 minutes to an hour (until bubbling). As far as the servings size goes it totally depends on portion sizes. I would say it feeds about 8-10 people, but we also don’t serve it by itself we usually have a delicious side of soup or mixed green salad served alongside it.
If I used oven-ready lasagna noodles, would I need to alter the other ingredients any? Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
I’m sorry I am not sure I have never used noodles like that before with this recipe.
my daughter’s boyfriend is pescatarian and my husband shuns veggie lasagna and will hate anything with zucchini ( i think that’s why) . I wonder how this would be with no meat. any other suggestions so I can make it and invite the boyfriend??!
Hi Sally,
Thanks so much for reaching out. If you would like you can omit the meat from the recipe entirely. Or you can use soy crumbles, chickpeas, lentils, or whatever kid of meat alternative you would like. However these substitutions are completely flavorless and ground beef naturally has a lot of fat content, so I would suggest looking up a chickpea ground beef substitute or something with more flavoring and seasoning or it will just taste like nothing. Wishing you all the best!
This reminded me so much of my mom’s lasagna. Made it for my girls while they’re home on Christmas break. I used two jars of “clean” sauce, 1/2 cottage/1/2 ricotta cheese, added mushrooms and used one pound of venison burger and one of Italian sausage. We used the oven ready noodles and it turned out perfect after 45 covered/15 uncovered.
I love this recipe! It is so delicious and my family loves it. Thank you!!!