Lasagna with Meat Sauce!
If you are feeling the chill right now, Lasagna is the perfect dish to warm you up. Â It’s a great comfort food and it warms the soul as well as the kitchen. Â I’m such a fan of Lasagna but I have never made it before now. Â It’s a lot easier to make than it is to photograph. Â Getting my kids to eat something new is also a challenge so I made it with meat sauce (one of their favorites). Â I thought I could entice them with the meat. Â And it worked. Â They both enjoyed it — success!!
You will need to make your meat sauce first. Â Here is my recipe for Simple Meat Sauce with Tomatoes.
Once your meat sauce is finished, you can start on the cheese mixture. Â Here are the ingredients you will need: whole milk ricotta cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, milk, egg, fresh basil, oregano, and Italian parsley.
In a mixing bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the cheese layer of the lasagna. Â This is the good stuff!
Time now for the noodles. Â Boil the dried lasagna noodles for 8 minutes. Â You don’t want these to be cooked perfectly. Â It’s better to be a little al dente (not all the way cooked). Â These will finish cooking in the oven. Â After the 8 minutes, rinse the noodles in cold water. Â This will halt the cooking process.
In your 3-quart baking dish, line the bottom with olive oil. Â Your first layer will be three lasagna noodles. Â Then top it with 1/4 of the cheese mixture then 1/4 the meat sauce. Â You will repeat the process with noodles, cheese and meat sauce until it’s all used up. Â I started with 12 lasagna noodles but didn’t use them all. Â It may be different for your dish.
Sprinkle the top of the finished lasagna with the remaining half of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
You will need some parchment paper and aluminium foil to cover. Â Brush olive oil on the bottom of the parchment paper before you put it on top of the lasagna. Â This will keep it from sticking. Â The foil goes on top of the parchment paper. Â Cook in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Â Then remove the parchment paper and foil and cook for another 15 minutes.
Your lasagna will look like this! Â Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes before you serve.
And here it is! Â This is also a great dish to use as left-overs. Â Serve with some veggies and french bread and you have a complete meal. Â I hope you enjoy it!

Lasagna with Meat Sauce!
Ingredients
- 12 dried Lasagna noodles
- 1 14 ounce container Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Egg
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Italian Parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup Fresh Basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Oregano chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- Olive Oil
Instructions
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Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
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Chop up Italian Parsley, Basil and Oregano
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In a mixing bowl, combine Ricotta Cheese, milk, egg, half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the Italian Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Salt.
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In a boiling pan of water, cook the Lasagna noodles for 8 minutes or whatever the package says. Don't overcook these. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
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In 3-quart baking pan, generously drizzle the bottom with Olive Oil
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Line 3 Lasagna noodles on top of Olive Oil
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Top noodles with 1/4 cheese mixture
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Then 1/4 of meat sauce.
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Repeat process with noodles, cheese and sauce until it's all used up
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Top the Lasagna with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
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Brush Olive Oil on piece of Parchment Paper. Put on top of the Lasagna with the Olive Oil side facing down. Then put Aluminum Foil on top of Parchment Paper.
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Cook for 30 minutes
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Take off Parchment Paper and Foil and cook for another 15 minutes.
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Let cool for 15-20 minutes
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Serve
Recipe Notes
This Lasagna recipe was adapted from a recipe in Better Homes & Garden. This is also a great recipe to make ahead of time and freeze until it's ready to eat. You can also make this vegetarian by adding spinach instead of the meat.