The Best Classic Lasagna Recipe – Homemade lasagna full of pasta, ricotta, a homemade meat sauce, and tons of cheese. This is the world’s best lasagna recipe!
I’ve been working on this meat lasagna recipe for over a year.
I set out to make the best traditional lasagna recipe. Every time I made it, I’d make little tweaks here and there until I thought it was just right.
MY LATEST RECIPESI think I finally nailed it!
How to make lasagna:
- Make the meat sauce
- Make a ricotta cheese mixture
- Boil the pasta
- Assemble the lasagna
- Bake
- Cool
- Enjoy
How to layer lasagna:
- Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of a baking dish
- Make a layer of cooked lasagna noodles
- Spread an even layer of the ricotta cheese mixture
- Spread an even layer of meat sauce
- Repeat those layers two times
- Top it with a final layer of noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese
How to bake lasagna:
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes
- Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes
- Let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing
Wondering what to serve with this amazing lasagna recipe? Try these.
- Salad with Homemade Garlic & Herb Vinaigrette
- Zesty Tomato Broccoli Salad – From Inspire a Creation
- Homemade Garlic Bread – From Recipe Tin Eats
You may also like:
- The Best Classic Meatloaf Recipe
- The Best Classic Chili Recipe
- The Best Classic Buttermilk Banana Bread Recipe
Watch the step by step video for The Best Classic Lasagna recipe below.
The Best Classic Lasagna Recipe - Homemade lasagna full of pasta, ricotta, a homemade meat sauce, and tons of cheese. This is the world's best lasagna recipe!
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion -chopped
- 2 garlic cloves -minced
- 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 teaspoons salt -divided
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning -divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves -divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley -divided
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese -divided
- 15 oz. (1 3/4 cups) whole milk Ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese -divided
- 1 large egg
- 12 lasagna noodles
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the meat sauce. Add beef and sausage to a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until meat is browned, about 6-8 minutes. Drain the fat from the meat. Return the meat to the skillet.
Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon basil, and the black pepper. Stir until well combined. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the minced parsley.
As the sauce cooks, make the ricotta mixture. In a large bowl, add 1 cup mozzarella, the ricotta, 1/4 cup parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the egg, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon basil. Stir until well incorporated.
- Cook the pasta al dente, according to it’s package directions.
Assemble the lasagna. In a 13x9 inch baking dish, add a thin layer of meat sauce. Layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, and 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce. Repeat the layers twice.
- Add a final layer of the remaining noodles, meat sauce, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan.
- Cover with foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil. Bake 15 more minutes.
- Let the lasagna cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Video
Love a good hearty lasagna recipe – This one is so perfect for a tasty weeknight dinner!
Just delicious! What a classic comfort food.
Made this tonight…. a total hit! Thank you!!
Everything about it was delicious! Totally adding this to the rotation.
There was an old version which used UNCOOKED lasagna noodles which I loved at the time, and wonder if this can be tweaked to make it without cooking noodles? Such a nice shortcut. The meat sauce looks very familiar and tasty, with added fennel seed.
Good, except that if you follow the recipe and use 1-1/2 cups sauce for the first, second and third layers, there’s none left for the top layer. Zero. Just came back here to see if maybe I missed something, but I didn’t. I’ll salvage the top layer with some Newman’s Own I have in the fridge and bury it with enough mozzarella and parm that probably nobody will notice, but be forewarned, and additional 8oz or so of tomato sauce would do this recipe good. Otherwise, quite tasty.
You know, generally speaking the best recipes are the classics. This looks amazing! I love the mix of hamburger and italian sausage.
There is nothing like classic lasagna! Love it. I am a fan of using the flat noodles that you can put in without boiling first, though. Just one less pot to clean.
Looks so yummy! A hearty meal the entire family will surely love.
It’s been a while I made some Lasagna. This looks delish. Full of flavors and textures.
You can never go wrong with a classic lasagna. Served with some garlic bread and a Cesar salad – does it get any better? Love the homemade meat sauce!
IT turned out great! I did a few things according to taste and preference but this was a great recipe!