Easy Homemade Lasagna Recipe (2024)

This website uses affiliate links which may earn commission for purchases made at no additional cost to you.

This easy lasagna recipe is a classic dinner idea that everyone should have in their recipe arsenal. Tender sheets of pasta smothered in a meaty tomato sauce and cheesy filling – what’s not to love?

An Easy Classic Lasagna Recipe

I secretly love the Winter. I mean I hate the frigid cold, the dry hands, and my heat bill, but I justlovecozy, hearty Winter meals, like a big bowl of cheesy pasta or Dope Soup. Chilly weather makes me want to cook those nourishing, nostalgic meals that leave you with a warm, full belly and some leftovers for tomorrow. So, you can bet I’ll be making this classic homemade lasagna alllllll Winter long.

I justlovelasagna. It’s so easy, pretty cheap to make, super tasty, and feeds a crowd. It’s my go to for big family dinners and quick and easy to prep in advance for a weeknight dinner.

Tips for the Best Homemade Lasagna:

Lasagna is a pretty straightforward dish to make, but we put together a few tricks we think come in handy for all your repeat lasagna makers out there:

Use oven ready noodles:This is just a no brainer when it comes to lasagna. You can get them right in the pasta aisle and they’ll make prep and assembly a breeze.
Think ahead: You can make the meat sauce up 3 days in advance and keep in the fridge (or months in advance and keep in the freezer!), or the whole lasagna ahead of time and freeze! Simply pop in the oven and you’ll have a home cooked meal in an hour!
Use high quality ingredients: If you’re going to invest the time in making a homemade lasagna, make sure you’re going to get a delicious result! Get that good cheese, the fresh meat, and the high quality tomato sauce.

I love to serve this lasagna up with a fresh salad (#balance) and some buttery garlic bread because more is more with carbs IMO.

And OBVIOUSLY some extra grated parmesan.

How to Freeze & Reheat Homemade Lasagna:

We’ve frozen this lasagna for up to 2 months with great success! So feel free to prep ahead! I love to double this recipe, bake one to eat and freeze the other to maximize my time!

Make the lasagna according to directions.
Wrap the lasagna tightly in plastic wrap around the entire dish (not just the top!). If you’re going to freeze it for a long period of time, wrap it twice! Freeze for up to 2 months!
Thaw the lasagna overnight and cook the next day! If you forget to thaw it, don’t worry. It won’t affect the texture too much, but for best results don’t go straight from freezer to oven.

You can freeze cooked or uncooked lasagna! Just make sure to let the hot lasagna cool completely before freezing if you’re freezing it after baking!

We hope you enjoy this homemade lasagna just as much as we do!

Classic Homemade Lasagna

★5 Stars☆★4 Stars☆★3 Stars☆★2 Stars☆★1 Star☆No reviews

This easy lasagna recipe is a classic dinner idea that everyone should have in their recipe arsenal. Tenders sheets of pasta smothered in a meaty tomato sauce and cheesy filling – what’s not to love?

Print It

Ingredients

for the meat sauce

1/2 large white onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 pound ground beef*
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups tomato sauce

for the rest of the lasagna

9 ounces oven ready lasagna noodles
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 eggs
1 teaspoon herb seasoning
2 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic, diced onion, and diced red pepper until translucent. Push all the veggies to the side of pan, creating a ring of vegetables.
Add the meat in the middle. Cook the meat and while it’s cooking use a straight edge spatula to break up the meat into small pieces. Once no pink meat remains, stir the vegetables and meat together and cook for another 3 minutes. Add oregano, salt, tomato sauce, red wine, and water. Cook until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes, remove from heat.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 13 x 9″ casserole dish. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, basil, and herbs, stirring together until well mixed.
Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the casserole dish. Place a layer of the lasagna noodles in a flat layer over the sauce. Spread about 1/2 cup of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, followed by about 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce. Repeat until you run out of ricotta, ending with noodles topped with sauce. Spread the mozzarella cheese over the last layer.
Cover the pan tightly with tinfoil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes. Allow to cool before serving!

Keywords: how to make lasagna, easy lasagna recipe, classic authentic lasagna recipe, homemade lasagna

Notes

*We used 80% lean! If beef isn’t your thing, you could also substitute ground turkey or chicken!