Comfort Food Lasagna Ricotta (Printable)

Hearty layers of meat sauce, ricotta, and mozzarella create a cozy Italian main dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Meat Sauce

01 - 1 pound ground beef
02 - 1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
03 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
04 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
06 - 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
07 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
08 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
09 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
11 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 1/2 teaspoon sugar
13 - 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

→ Cheese Mixture

14 - 2 cups ricotta cheese
15 - 1 large egg
16 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
17 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
18 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
19 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

→ Assembly

20 - 12 lasagna noodles
21 - 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
22 - Olive oil for sautéing

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions if not using no-boil noodles, then drain and set aside.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until softened, approximately 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
03 - Add ground beef and Italian sausage to the skillet, breaking apart with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through. Drain excess fat if necessary.
04 - Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
05 - In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, grated Parmesan, fresh parsley, salt, and black pepper. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.
06 - Spread 1 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer 4 noodles over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles, top with 1 cup meat sauce, then sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat this sequence two more times, finishing with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.
07 - Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
08 - Remove lasagna from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's the kind of dish that makes your whole house smell like an Italian grandmother's kitchen, the kind of aroma that stops people in their tracks.
  • Leftovers genuinely taste better the next day, which means you get to cheat a little on meal prep and end up with something even more delicious.
02 -
  • Don't skip the resting period no matter how hungry you are; cutting into it too early will result in a sloppy, separated mess instead of neat, gorgeous layers.
  • The sauce needs those 15 to 20 minutes of simmering to mellow out and come together—rushing it leaves you with a sauce that tastes like separate ingredients rather than a unified whole.
03 -
  • Make the sauce a day ahead and refrigerate it; the flavors settle and deepen overnight, and you'll have less to do when you're actually assembling.
  • Freeze assembled but unbaked lasagna before baking, and you can pull it straight from the freezer and add about 15 extra minutes to the covered bake time for a weeknight meal that tastes like you spent all day cooking.
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