Love lasagna? It’s one of my favorite dinners. My family enjoys my Easy Lasagna Recipe too, so I make it once a month in the fall and winter. There is usually a crazy debate on who gets to eat the leftovers.
Because I’m always looking to save time & money in the kitchen, I’ve learned a few tips over the years:
1. I use oven-ready lasagna, so pre-cooking the noodles is NOT necessary.
2. This recipe calls for 12 sheets of oven ready lasagna. The Barilla brand usually has about 20 sheets in the box (their recipe is a 5 layer lasagna. Mine is a 4 layer). Save those extra sheets and after 3 lasagnas, you’ll have enough sheets to make an extra lasagna.
2. I use browned meat that I have stored in the freezer. It saves a step of prep time. To learn more: Batch Browning & Freezing Ground Meat & Sausage.
I’ve used this recipe for years and it is adapted from Kraft.
- 1 lb ground meat (your choice: beef, turkey, chicken) or use 2 cups cooked, browned meat
- 2½ cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, or frozen from your garden
- 1 egg
- 1 (26 oz) jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce or homemade vegetable sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 box of oven-ready lasagna
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- If you are using raw meat, brown the meat in a large skillet until cooked through. Drain if needed. Add the spaghetti sauce and water. Mix together and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- While sauce is simmering, combine 1½ cups mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, and egg,
- Pour 1 cup of the meat sauce into a 13 X 9 baking dish and cover the bottom of the dish.
- Lay 3 sheets of the oven-ready lasagna in the pan. (Don't stress, the sheets will expand while baking.) Top with ⅓ of the cheese mixture and cover with 1 cup of sauce.
- Repeat two more times and top with 3 sheets of lasagna. Cover with the remaining sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Grease a large piece of foil and cover the lasagna. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before cutting.
Love lasagna? Two more of my favorite lasagna recipes:
- Vegetable Lasagna with Eggplant, Zucchini & Carrots
- Vegetable Lasagna with Spinach, Peppers, Tomatoes, & Carrots.
Also, follow me on Pinterest for more time-saving kitchen tips and pasta recipes.
Hi Kristia, This looks yummy, its a great family meal and rarely does someone not like it. I love the chicken, spinach and ricotta version, but kids are not keen. I will have to try yours.
This looks delicious! Lasagna can be a lot of fun to make, and way less fun to pay for at a sit down restaurant. I look forward to trying this out. Thanks for sharing!
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