*Make individual mini lasagnas in small baking dishes for dinner parties, bridal showers, or baby showers!*

Lasagna has always been one of my husband's favorite meals! His mom made the most delicious homemade lasagna when he was growing up, complete with a homemade pasta sauce. I've tried several times to recreate her recipe, but I just can't seem to get it quite right! So I eventually came up with my own version that's a little simpler (thank goodness for a good jar of pasta sauce!) but still tastes amazing.

This easy homemade lasagna recipe is one of our family's favorites because it's so versatile. You can make it with ground beef or Italian sausage, sneak in some extra vegetables, or keep it meatless. It's also a wonderful make ahead dinner that freezes beautifully, making it perfect for busy weeknights, Sunday dinners, or bringing a meal to a friend.

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Lasagna

There are lots of option for this lasagna. It’s super versatile to fit your taste. For example, my husband loves a meaty lasagna, and I love a vegetable lasagna. So I often make most of the lasagna with lots of meat and then leave the corners meatless for me. I’m giving you a list of the main ingredients and then a list of optional ingredient. If you aren’t sure about the vegetables in the filling, I would beg you to give it a try. Lasagna can be a great way to sneak in some veggies where you won’t even notice them.

Just another note to you: one box of lasagna noodles should last for two 9x13 pans of lasagna.

Noodle tip for If You’re in a hurry:

If you are short on time, there are a couple options to speed things up:

Make the lasagna the night before. When you do this, you don’t even have to cook the noodles, it will soften up overnight sitting in the sauce etc.
If you need to be quick and didn’t make it the night before, skip boilng the regular lasagna noodles and use the “oven ready” lasagna noodles. I prefer the chew of a regular noodle, but the “oven ready” ones are still great and so easy when you are short on time.

Let’s get on with the recipe!

Easy homemade lasagna with cheesy layers and a simple shortcut using jarred pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

12 oz package of lasagna noodles, boiled to al dente (use uncooked noodles if you are making it the night before or get “oven ready” if you don’t have time to cook the noodles)

28 oz bottle of pasta sauce (we love Rao’s the most!)

6 oz tomato paste

4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided

16 oz cottage or ricotta cheese

1/4 cup parmesan or pecorino cheese, to garnish

OPTIONAL FILLING INGREDIENTS (we love all of these):

1 lb ground beef or italian sausage, optional

1/2 onion, chopped (to cook with ground beef or sausage)

2 cups spinach, chopped, optional

1 zucchini, chopped, optional

1/4 fresh basil, chopped, optional

This easy lasagna recipe is delicious with ground beef, Italian sausage, or extra vegetables. Customize it to fit your family's tastes!

directions:

First, prep your noodles. If you are using regular lasagna noodles and are preparing the lasagna just before baking it, you will need to boil your noodles and drain the water first. Once your noodles are ready to go, (regular noodles are boiled, or if you are prepping the night before with uncooked regular noodles or using uncooked “oven ready” noodles), line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with lasagna noodles.

If you are using ground beef or Italian sausage, brown it in the pan with 1/2 cup of chopped onions.

In a separate bowl, whist together 28 oz pasta sauce and 6 oz tomato paste.

Now it’s time to layer on the other fillings. Your layer should look like this:

Line noodles on the bottom in a single row
Scoop 2 cups pasta sauce mixture and spread over noodles
Spoon cottage/ricotta cheese on top of pasta sauce
Sprinkle on ground beef/italian sausage & onions (optional)
Spread on 2 cups of chopped spinach (optional)
Sprinkle on chopped zucchini (optional)
Cover with 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Add another single layer of noodles
Pour on the remaining pasta sauce mixture over the noodles
Top with the remaining 2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 F degrees. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then take off the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Pull out of the oven and let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Garnish with 1/4 cup parmesan/pecorino cheese powder and 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional). Ready to serve! Lasagna is a labor of love, but it is a huge hit with the family.

When I make lasagna, I almost always make a double batch so that I can freeze one (They freeze really great. Freeze it before you cook it.), and eat one that night. It’s also a great meal to make ahead, or bring to a friend who has just had a surgery, death of a loved one, or other challenging family moments.

Another fun option, is to make mini lasagnas in ramekins or small Dutch oven pans. These are fun to serve at dinner parties or bridal or baby showers.

Click here for a print friendly version!

Nutrition Facts

(per serving, 12 servings): Calories 510; Total Fat 26g; Carbohydrates 38g; Protein 30g; Fiber 3g; Sodium 1042mg. Estimates include all optional ingredients, using ground beef and cottage cheese.

Nutrition information is an estimate based on including all optional ingredients: ground beef, onions, spinach, zucchini, and fresh basil. Calculations use cottage cheese rather than ricotta. Nutrition will vary depending on the ingredients, brands, and portion sizes you choose.