Lasagna With Meat Sauce Recipe (With Video)

Prep Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 30 mins

Servings:

8 to 10

This is our ultimate meat lasagna recipe—the one we make often and to great acclaim. It has two fillings, a meat sauce made with both Italian sausage and ground beef that's simmered in tomato sauce. The second filling is a cheesy mixture of mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmigiano-Reggiano speckled with parsley. Each shines on its own, but together they soar between layers of lasagna noodles.

Once you have your ingredients and equipment assembled, putting this baked pasta together is a straightforward process. The recipe requires about 45 minutes of prep and 1 hour 10 minutes to bake—and the results are so rich and delicious, it's a must-make.

Key Ingredients

Most of the ingredients needed for our lasagna with meat sauce are standard.

Ground beef: We use 85-percent lean ground beef for the right ratio of fat to lean.
Italian sweet sausage: This is the most unusual ingredient in our lasagna. Most recipes call for just ground beef, and some incorporate ground pork too, but we prefer the already seasoned pork flavor of sweet Italian sausages removed from their casings.
Canned tomatoes: We use a can of whole peeled tomatoes and blitz them in a food processor, rather than using store-bought crushed tomatoes.
Dairy: We use whole milk ricotta and whole milk; together, these dairy ingredients create the rich cheese filling that shines in the lasagna.
No-boil lasagna noodles: Using no-boil noodles speeds up the process of making the lasagna (no boiling needed, no extra pan to clean). Our recipe includes covering the lasagna while it bakes, which means there's no need to pre-cook the pasta sheets.

Equipment

You'll need:

Large saucepan and a wooden spoon to make the meat sauce
Food processor or blender for pureeing the canned tomatoes
Large mixing bowl for combining the cheeses.
Lasagna pan: Use a 9 x 13-inch ceramic or enameled cast-iron baking pan. These types of pans help the lasagna cook evenly and promote crisp, browned edges more than a glass iteration.

Make Ahead: This lasagna can be assembled and stored in the refrigerator up to a day in advance, then baked for serving.

Directions

Ingredients for Lasagna with Meat Sauce — Brie Goldman

Preheat oven and make meat sauce:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes.

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Add seasonings and cook:

Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

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Add tomato paste:

Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more.

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Puree tomatoes:

Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor.

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Add tomatoes to sauce and cook:

Add tomatoes to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

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Make the cheese mixture:

In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

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Assemble lasagna, starting with meat sauce:

Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron.

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Space lasagna noodles over sauce:

Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks).

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Spread a layer of cheese mixture:

Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles.

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Add another layer of noodles:

Top with 3 more noodles.

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Repeat layers:

Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more.

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Spread meat sauce over top layer:

Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles.

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Sprinkle with cheeses, cover with parchment then foil:

Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment part then with aluminum foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

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Bake:

Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.)

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Cool and serve:

Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve.

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Extra Sauce: You may have some meat sauce leftover after you assemble the lasagna. Save it! Try tossing it with pasta for a quick supper, sandwiching it between potato buns for sloppy Joes, or serving it with fried eggs for breakfast.

Storing Leftover Lasagna With Meat Sauce

Cover any leftover lasagna before refrigerating. If there are only a couple of portions left, wrap them in parchment paper then foil, and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for ease of reheating. (They will also take up less space in your refrigerator that way.)

Freezing

Leftovers also hold up well in the freezer. Package individual slices in parchment then foil and store in a freezer bag for up to a month. To reheat, bake, still wrapped in the parchment-lined foil, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does authentic lasagna have ricotta or béchamel?

Whether authentic lasagna has ricotta or béchamel depends on who you ask. Traditional lasagna from northern Italy, such as from Bologna, is made with béchamel sauce. Some versions made in southern Italy use a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella rather than béchamel, similar to what we use in this recipe.
Is it better to cover lasagna while baking?

Yes, often it is better to cover lasagna while it is baking, but not for the entire cook time. Our recipe calls for covering the dish for most but not all of its baking. The parchment-and-foil cover is removed for the last third of the time so that the top of the lasagna has time to brown and develop those delicious crispy edges.
Is it better to cook lasagna in glass or metal pan?

We prefer to cook lasagna in a ceramic pan rather than a glass or metal pan. A ceramic pan is our go-to for all kinds of baked pasta dishes. If we don't have a ceramic pan, we would use an enameled cast-iron pan, but we would not use other types of metal pans for lasagna. We also prefer ceramic or enameled cast iron over a glass baking pan for this dish.
Do you put meat sauce at the bottom of lasagna?

Yes, you do put meat sauce at the bottom of the lasagna pan when we assemble the dish. An even layer of sauce across the bottom of the dish is essential, whether it's a meat sauce or a marinara sauce. If you put the lasagna noodles directly in the pan without the sauce, they will stick to the pan as they bake.
How many layers should lasagna have?

The number of layers a lasagna should have varies according to different recipes and personal tastes. We recommend having three layers of each element of the filling when making our lasagna with meat sauce. This results in a rich, layered lasagna that is still easy to cut and get from the baking dish to the plate without collapsing. If a lasagna gets too tall, it will be difficult to get portions out of the baking dish in one piece.