I think just about everyone has their version of a lasagna recipe. I'm sure a lot of us can think back to our childhoods and remember our mom, dad, grandmother, or grandfather making a lasagna, and having a particular way of doing it. That was definitely the case for me. I can remember growing up and going to my grandparents house on Sundays for dinner. The Sunday dinner was very often Italian, being that my grandfather was Italian, and every so often the dinner was lasagna. I can remember the rich bounty of ricotta cheese layered in between the noodles, along with meat ragu and a bounty of his trademark tomato sauce. Absolute deliciousness!
Now, I as well have my own ways of making lasagna. I actually have two different ways in which I make it, and this here is one of them. For this lasagna recipe, I take a more classic, and simplified, approach to layering the ingredients. In this recipe the meat ragu and the ricotta are layered completely in one layer each. The bottom layer is all of the meat ragu, along with some sauce and cheese. The second layer is all of the ricotta mixture, along with some sauce and additional cheese. The noodles separate these two layers. This simplistic layering allows for a pretty quick assembly. I use my own tomato sauce recipe to build this lasagna, but you could honestly use any sauce that you prefer. I also use oven ready or freshly made noodles and layer a lot of sauce around them so they cook through in the oven without the need to pre-boil them. The end result is a tasty and fairly quickly assembled lasagna. You could even reasonably throw this together on a weeknight (though I usually save lasagna for a weekend myself).
Ingredients
24 oz lasagna noodles, ready bake or fresh noodles*
1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ cup basil, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
30 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
2 cups, shredded parmesan, divided
4 cups, shredded mozzarella, divided
6-7 cups tomato sauce
Olive oil
*If you use ready bake noodles or fresh noodles, you will not have to precook the noodles. You just need to make sure you have an ample amount of sauce around the noodles to cook them. If you choose to use dried noodles, you will need to boil them in salt water until they are soft, and then lay them out on a tray or cutting board. If you choose to use dried noodles, place a stock pot filled ¾ will water over medium-high heat. Dissolve 2 tbsp of salt in the water and then boil the noodles until they are soft, approximately 8 minutes. Gently drain the noodles and then lay out on a tray or cutting board.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Warm the tomato sauce in a pot on the stove over low-medium heat.
Place a pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the ground beef. Use a spoon to break up the meat and toss as needed. Allow the meat to fully brown, about 5-8 minutes. Once browned, add the salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil. Toss to combine the seasoning and herbs into the meat. Add the tomato paste and stir it into the meat until it has been fully incorporated into the ground meat. Allow the meat mixture to cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring as needed. Remove the pan from the heat.
In a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese. Add the eggs, parsley, and 1 cup of parmesan cheese. Use a spoon to stir all of the ingredients together. Stir until the contents are fully combined and smooth.
Now we can assemble the lasagna. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Add approximately two ladles of tomato sauce to the bottom of the dish, spreading it out evenly across the bottom with the bottom of the ladle. Now, add a layer of overlapping noodles lengthwise to the top of the sauce (approximately 3-4 noodles).
Add all of the ground beef to the top of this layer of noodles, spreading it out into an even layer with a spoon. Add one cup of mozzarella cheese to the top, spreading it out evenly, followed by two more ladles of the tomato sauce. Ensure the tomato sauce is evenly spread.
Now, add another layer of overlapping noodles, lengthwise across this layer of sauce (approximately 3-4 noodles). To the top of this layer of noodles, add all of the ricotta cheese mixture, spreading it out into an even layer with a spoon. Add another cup of mozzarella followed by another two ladles of sauce, again spreading out each layer evenly.
Add one more layer of overlapping noodles (approximately 3-4 noodles again). Top the noodles with another 2-3 ladles of tomato sauce, spread out evenly. Lastly, top with two more cups of mozzarella cheese and one cup of parmesan cheese.
Note: If the noodles are not long enough to reach across the entire baking tray, you can use a “cut and paste” approach by overlapping multiple noodles to reach across the tray. Ensure the noodles are overlapped on all sides to form a “solid” layer of noodles across each layer.
Loosely cover the baking tray with aluminum foil and place the tray in the oven. Allow the lasagna to bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes remove the foil from the lasagna and allow it to bake for 15 minutes more, until the cheese on top begins to brown. Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to cool and set for 10-15 minutes before serving.
To serve, place a portion of the tomato sauce onto a place and swirl it into a circle. Place a square slice of the lasagna on top of the sauce and then garnish with additional chopped parsley.