I'm sharing my secrets to this Easy Lasagna Recipe that will have you passing up the frozen food section next time you crave this classic Italian dish. It's made with jarred pasta sauce and oven-ready noodles to help get it on your table with ease and in little time.
Please note that there are Affiliate Links in the content of Louisiana Woman Blog, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I have used these products that are highlighted below, and recommend them for your convenience. Thank you!
The first secret to a good lasagna is definitely in how you stack it. Since discovering this process from Pamela Smith's Eat Well Live Well cookbook, the results have been consistent in my kitchen. It's not too wet, not too dry, and the flavor is evenly distributed. It's so good I'd much rather take the time putting one together than driving to the store for one of those popular frozen brands.
Another secret is seasoning the filling of ricotta cheese to make this Easy Lasagna Recipe stand apart from any other. The taste of Italian herbs blends through in every bite!
First Step To Easy Lasagna Recipe
But before we go any further, this third secret is really the first step. It's soaking oven-ready lasagna noodles in a bath of hot tap water for twenty minutes in a shallow rectangle dish. I have used the oven-ready pasta before without soaking them and had poor results. The pasta was too firm, and after cooking the lasagna some more, it dried out the dish. Now I have perfect results every time.
Also, using the hot bath method is a lot easier than boiling and draining then handling the hot pasta. While the noodles soak, I make the filling and the sauce. No wasting time here!
The wet pasta noodles are added directly onto the layer of pasta sauce in the dish so there's no draining necessary. It's another step saver.
After layering the flavorful ricotta cheese filling, it's time for the sauce. It's a simple, tasty, and easy to make sauce. All you do is brown the ground beef with a little Italian sausage for extra flavor then add a jar of your favorite pasta sauce. That's it!
All The Way To The Last Step
So this is how you layer it: sauce, noodles, filling, sauce, mozzarella, noodles, filling, sauce, mozzarella, noodles, and sauce. Got it! I never can remember it either. That's why I wrote it down for us.
The last step is a sprinkle of parmesan cheese before baking. Then cover tightly with heavy aluminum foil before baking, and in the last 10 minutes of cooking, remove the foil for a beautiful browned finish.
Easy Lasagna Recipe, Step-By-Step
It's all in how you layer it! A meat lasagna made with jarred sauce and oven ready noodles that helps to get it on your table in no time.
- Total Time: 80 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles, oven-ready or regular
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ¼ pound Italian pork sausage
- ¾ pound ground beef
- 24 ounces jarred pasta sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Soak lasagna noodles covered with hot water layered in a shallow 9 x 13 casserole dish for 20 minutes.
- Combine ricotta cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl, stir to combine, and set aside.
- Brown the ground meats in a large dutch oven then add pasta sauce and water stirring to heat through, set aside.
- Dreain noodles.
- Spray a deep dish 9 x 13 casserole dish with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Layer ¼ of sauce (a little more than 1 cup) into the bottom of the deep dish casserole.
- Place a third of the noodles on top of the sauce.
- Layer half of the filling on top of noodles.
- Pour another fourth of the sauce on top of the filling.
- Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce.
- Place another third of the noodles on top of mozzarella cheese.
- Spoon remaining half of the filling on to of the noodles,
- Pour one fourth of the sauce onto the filling.
- Sprinkle the remaining half of mozzarella cheese over the sauce.
- Place remaining third of the noodles on top of cheese.
- Spoon remaining fourth of the sauce on top of the noodles.
- Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes tightly covered with heavy aluminum foil then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Place lasagna dish on a cookie sheet while baking to catch any drippings to help keep your oven clean.
This recipe is on the less saucy side so you may want to add a little more pasta sauce for your taste.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Italian
This lasagna is so easy you won't mind making it for an everyday meal or when company is coming. My favorite thing is to keep the ingredients on hand in the pantry and freezer then assemble, store in the refrigerator or freezer ready to pull out to bake and serve. This is stress-free entertaining.
Here are more pasta recipes you might like from Louisiana Woman Blog:
- Crawfish Lasagna
- Shrimp and Crawfish Pasta
- More Casserole, Cast Iron One-Pot Meal
- Introducing Tasso Macaroni and Cheese
- Crawfish Fettuccini (Or Shrimp If You Prefer)
- Crawfish Lasagna
Be sure and drop me a line about your experiences with these recipes and if you have any questions. I enjoy sharing them, but more than that I love building relationships with my readers. I'm here to help!
Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
St. Augustine
Lisa Atkins says
Yummm. I always use no boil noodles. Great idea....
Louisiana Woman says
Thank you!
Linda Yarbrough says
It was wonderful. Best I have ever eaten.
Louisiana Woman says
Thanks!