Best Lasagna Recipe

Lasagna is what you make when there are people to feed: a full table on a Sunday, or a friend who needs dinner dropped off during a hard week. This one stretches a pound and a half of ground beef across eight servings, and a second pan freezes for a night you don’t want to cook.

The key to keeping it from turning out soupy is simple: I let the meat sauce cook down until it’s nice and thick before it goes anywhere near the noodles. Then I layer everything, bake at 350°F until the top is bubbling, and let it rest for 15 minutes so the slices hold together.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• One pan, eight servings. A pound and a half of ground beef spreads across the whole tray, so the meat goes further than it looks on the counter.
• Make-ahead and freezer-friendly. You can assemble it a day early, or freeze a second pan for a night you don’t feel like cooking.
• A pantry sauce. Canned diced tomatoes and dried Italian seasoning do most of the work, so there’s no special shopping trip.
• No boiling if you want. No-boil noodles skip the pre-cook step, and I’ll show you the one timing change that needs.
• Leftovers slice cleanly. The layers set firmer after a night in the fridge, which makes the next day’s portions easier to lift out whole.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what’s worth a note before you start; the printable card below has the full list with quantities in US and metric.

• Ground beef – the pound and a half here is what makes the tray filling enough to feed a table. To make it go even further, you can stretch the beef with sauteed vegetables without losing the meaty base.
• Canned diced tomatoes – the whole sauce is built on them, and that’s what keeps it cheap. Five cups sounds like a lot, but they cook down into the thick sauce the layers need.
• Ricotta – mixed with Parmesan and herbs, this is the creamy layer between the noodles.
• Parmesan – some goes into the ricotta mixture and the rest over the top for the browned finish.
• Lasagna noodles – pre-cooked noodles are the default here, but no-boil work too if you’d rather not boil a pot.
• Fresh basil and Italian seasoning – the fresh basil goes in at the end and the dried seasoning through the sauce, so you get herb flavor in two forms.

How to Make Lasagna

A full printable version with US and metric measurements is in the recipe card below. Here’s how it comes together.

Cook the meat sauce

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and minced garlic and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, and cook until it’s fully browned. Stir in the canned diced tomatoes, fresh basil, salt, and pepper, then let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes. This step determines whether your lasagna turns out soupy or sliceable, so let the sauce reduce until it’s thick and no longer watery before stopping.

Layer the lasagna

While the sauce simmers, stir together the ricotta, grated Parmesan, Italian seasoning, a little more basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Heat the oven to 350°F. In a baking dish, layer the noodles, meat sauce, and ricotta mixture, repeating the layers until everything is used. Finish with a top layer of sauce and grated cheese. Keeping the noodles fully covered with sauce helps them soften as the lasagna bakes. The same layering carries over to a chicken Alfredo lasagna if you’d rather build it on a white sauce instead.

Bake and rest

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese on top is golden and bubbling. If you used no-boil noodles instead, cover the dish with foil for the first 20 minutes and bake 20 more minutes uncovered so they cook through. Ground beef needs to reach 160°F to be safe to eat, so check the center if you’re unsure. Then let the lasagna rest for ten to fifteen minutes before you cut it, or the layers will slide apart on the plate.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

• Season as you go. I put salt and pepper into the sauce and into the ricotta both, because a lasagna seasoned in only one layer tastes flat.
• Reduce the sauce further than feels necessary. Watery lasagna almost always comes from sauce that went in too loose, so I cook mine down until it mounds on the spoon.
• Rest before cutting. Ten to fifteen minutes lets the layers set, so each slice holds its shape instead of sliding.
• Grate your own Parmesan. A block grated at home costs less than the pre-shredded tubs and melts more smoothly into the top.

Recipe Variations

• Ground turkey or Italian sausage stands in for the beef without changing the timing; it’s a well-supported swap.
• Stirring one egg into the ricotta gives you a firmer, creamier set that slices more neatly; it’s backed by the recipe’s own notes.
• A pinch of red pepper flakes in the meat sauce adds heat and changes nothing else, so it’s a supported option.
• No-boil noodles work in place of pre-cooked; it’s a supported swap, but you’ll cover the dish with foil for the first twenty minutes so they soften.

How to Store Leftovers

Get the lasagna into the fridge within two hours of baking. There’s no need to let it cool to room temperature first, and leaving cooked food out longer than two hours isn’t safe. Covered in an airtight container, leftovers keep for 3 to 4 days. To freeze, wrap portions tightly in plastic and then foil, where they hold their quality for two to three months, and thaw a frozen piece in the fridge overnight rather than on the counter. Reheat until the center reaches 165°F, either in a 350°F oven or the microwave.

To make it ahead, assemble the lasagna without baking it, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to a day. When you’re ready to bake it, add a few extra minutes to the baking time since it will be going into the oven cold.

What to Serve With Lasagna

Lasagna is filling on its own, so I like to keep the sides light. A green salad with a sharp, lemony dressing cuts through the richness of the cheese and beef, while my seven layer salad works well if you want something a little heartier. Warm garlic bread earns its place for mopping up sauce, and a tray of simple roasted vegetables rounds the plate out without competing with the pasta.

FAQs

More Pasta Recipes to Make

If tonight’s lasagna goes over well, here are a few more pasta dinners worth putting on the list:

• Spaghetti Bolognese – a slow-simmered beef ragu for a night you want the sauce without building the layers.
• Pasta Carbonara – a fast Roman pasta built on eggs and cheese, with no tomato in sight.
• Creamy Tuscan Pasta – spinach and sun-dried tomato in a creamy sauce that comes together quickly.
• Olive Garden Ravioli Carbonara – a copycat of the chain’s cheese ravioli in a garlicky white sauce.
• Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta – chicken and vegetables in a chipotle sauce for a night you want some heat.