The best thing about home-made lasagna is that it is really easy to modify and adapt to your own preferences and this recipe contains some suggestions about how to change it up a bit. When you join Mama Caruso’s cooking club, you are connected with a community of everyday cooks who are offering their own suggestions and ideas about how to change up a recipe – and this lasagna recipe has some great ideas about changing it up, making it veggie and gluten-free. So enjoy – from my table to yours.
Homemade Lasagna Recipe
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Mama Caruso
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 6-8 generous
Ingredients
- 1 large box (1 lb.) Lasagna noodles
- 1½ lbs. Italian sausage
- 16 oz. block of mozzarella
- 2 15 ounce containers of ricotta cheese
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons salt (1 tsp for the boiling water, 1 tsp for cheese mixture)
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper more to taste
- 24 oz. spaghetti sauce
Instructions
- Pre- heat oven to 375º F
- Grease or spray non-stick oil a 13 x 9 baking pan
- Cook and Prep the Noodles, Meat & Shred the Mozzarella
- In a large pot cook the entire box of lasagna noodles as directed on the package
- Once the noodles are cooked, immediately drain them in a colander and run cold water over them – rinsing them thoroughly
- After rinsing the noodles, spray them with the cooking spray and toss them thoroughly to cover with a tiny (1 teaspoon max) of vegetable oil or melted butter.
- Stack the noodles lengthwise on a baking sheet
- While the noodles are cooking, place the meat (if using) into a sauté pan and cook until brown.
- When the meat is cooked, take it off the burner and let it rest (sit in its juices for a few minutes)
- While the noodles and meat are cooking, shred the mozzarella cheese and divide into 3rds]
- To make the filling
- Place the ricotta cheese into a large mixing bowl
- Add the eggs, parsley, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, remaining salt and pepper
- With a large spoon, stir the ingredients until they are well mixed and you can see the seasonings evenly distributed
- Assemble the lasagna
- In the greased 9 x 13 pan spread ½ cup of the spaghetti sauce so that the sauce is lightly covering the entire bottom
- On top of the sauce, lay 3 full lasagna noodles side by side so that they form one continuous layer
- Spoon 2 cups (about half of the ricotta cheese mixture) on top of the lasagna and spread evenly with a spatula or large butter knife
- Sprinkle half of the sausage or meat on top of the cheese mixture
- Pour 1 ½ cups of the spaghetti sauce on top of this layer
- Sprinkle one of the ⅓ portions of cheese over this entire layer, distributing the cheese as evenly as possible
- Repeat steps 11 – 15 layering noodles, ricotta mixture (use all of the remaining mixture), meat (use the remaining meat), spaghetti sauce and then shredded cheese
- Place the final layer of noodles on top of the lasagna, pressing lightly over the top to create an even density
- Using the remaining spaghetti sauce, cover the top noodle layer
- Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the top layer
- Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 375º
- Look at the sheet of lasagna at 45 minutes to check for the cheese on top melting – I like to take the foil off with 15 minutes left of cooking
- Take the lasagna out of the oven when done and let rest (sit without cutting) for 15 minutes (this will let the cheeses set and gives you a nice firm lasagna when you cut into it)
- Serve and enjoy