JB’s Homemade Lasagna

Enjoy delicious homemade lasagna (serves 12), with Italian sausage, ground beef, mozzarella, ricotta & Parmesan cheese, tomatoes & Italian spices.

About 40 years ago as a young bride I started making homemade lasagna from an old recipe I had been given. I made quite a few changes to the original classic Italian recipe, loved the results, and have been making lasagna this way ever since!

JB’s homemade lasagna is comfort food at its best. Layers of pasta, meat sauce, spices and lots of ooey gooey cheese make this a well loved meal in our home.

Many people think lasagna is too complicated to make, but truthfully, it is fairly easy. There are several steps involved to get the ingredients “ready”, but once that’s done, it’s just a matter of layering and baking! Here’s how to make this dish:

Scroll Down For A Printable recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prep #1: Prepare The Meat Sauce

The first thing to do is to prepare the meat sauce, because it needs to cook for awhile to develop great flavor. In a large skillet, sauté onions and garlic powder in hot oil (medium heat) until the onions become tender (3-4 minutes).

Add crumbled Italian sausage, ground beef and salt to the skillet. Stir, and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through and browned. Discard any grease that accumulated, and then put the skillet back on the heat.

Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning to the lasagna meat sauce, and stir, to combine. Cook the meat sauce on medium heat for about 50 minutes (stirring occasionally), to help develop the wonderful Italian flavor of the sauce. When done, remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.

Prep #2: Prepare The Ricotta Cheese Filling

While the meat sauce is cooking, I make the ricotta cheese filling. It’s EASY, and only takes a minute! Place ricotta cheese, garlic powder, dried parsley, and Italian seasoning in a medium bowl, and stir well, until fully incorporated. Set the ricotta filling aside.

Prep #3: Cook The Lasagna Noodles

Now it’s time to cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to package directions until al dente. Once done, drain the water, and place hot pasta into a strainer/colander, and rinse with cold water.

Once rinsed, lay the cooked pasta on paper towels to slightly dry, making sure each sheet of pasta doesn’t stick to the others.

Time To Assemble JB’s Homemade Lasagna

Now it’s time to create your homemade lasagna, by layering on the ingredients! Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking pan. Place a layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce to cover (about 5).

Place dollops of the ricotta filling (half of the ricotta filling) over the pasta, as shown in the photo below.

Gently spread out the ricotta filling with a spoon or spatula, to cover most of the lasagna noodles. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the top of the ricotta filling to cover. This is shown in the second photo below.

Repeat Layers Then Bake

Spread another 1/3 of the meat sauce on top of the shredded cheeses. Add pasta noodles to cover, then add the remaining ricotta filling to cover. Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan cheese, and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese (saving remaining 1/3 of mozzarella cheese for final topping).

The final “to do” is a layer of meat sauce (use it all up). Top the meat sauce with the remaining mozzarella cheese, and now your homemade lasagna is finished and ready to bake!

Bake JB’s homemade lasagna at 350°F for 50 minutes. When done, the top should be golden brown, the cheese melted, and the lasagna should be bubbling around the edges.

Getting Homemade Lasagna Ready To Serve

Once done, remove the HOT lasagna from the oven. Let it rest for 5 minutes, to let the hot gooey cheese firm up a bit, which will make cutting it a LOT easier.

While you wait, take a good sniff of that lasagna. YUMMO… it sure smells good! Once the lasagna has “cooled” slightly, cut it into 12 portions, and serve.

Time To Eat Some Homemade Lasagna

We really enjoy this delicious homemade lasagna, and it is full of flavor! There is a lot of sauce, cheese and meat, and it truly is a great meal. The leftovers are delicious, too!

Leftovers can be stored (tightly covered) in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Just pop a piece of leftover lasagna in the microwave to reheat, and you’ve got yourself a quick meal.

Our favorite way to enjoy my homemade lasagna is with garlic bread and a mixed green salad on the side. This scrumptious recipe has stood the test of time in our home, and I’m glad I finally got around to posting the recipe. Hope you enjoy it, too.

Thank you for spending some of your valuable time stopping by today. Hope you will consider trying this delicious recipe in your home, and trust you will enjoy it as much as we do.

It’s a wonderful way to serve a large family, or have quite a few servings, if made for a smaller group. Take care, and have a great day.

Looking For More ITALIAN recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. We love Italian food, so there are quite a few Italian recipes there, including:

• Florentine Lasagna Roll
• Homemade Beef Ravioli
• Shrimp Scampi
• Easy Spaghetti Sauce with Italian Sausage
• Rigatoni Sausage Mushroom Ragu

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Original recipe source: unknown (been making lasagna this way for over 40 years)

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JB's Homemade Lasagna

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

50 mins

Total Time

1 hr 50 mins

 

Enjoy delicious homemade lasagna (serves 12), with Italian sausage, ground beef, mozzarella, ricotta & Parmesan cheese, tomatoes & Italian spices.

Category: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: homemade lasagna

Servings: 12

Calories Per Serving: 619 kcal

Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Ingredients

For Meat Sauce:

• ¼ cup oil
• 1½ cups brown onion , chopped
• ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pound Italian sausage , crumbled
• ½ pound ground beef , crumbled
• 29 ounces canned whole tomatoes
• 32 ounces canned tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1½ Tablespoons Italian seasoning

For Ricotta Cheese Mixture:

• 24 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon parsley (fresh or dried)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

For Rest Of The Lasagna:

• 1 pound lasagna noodles , cooked/drained per pkg. directions
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese , shredded

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. MAKE MEAT SAUCE- In a large skillet, sauté onions and garlic powder in hot oil (medium heat) until they become tender. Add crumbled Italian sausage, ground beef and salt to skillet; continue cooking until meat is cooked through and browned. Discard any accumulated grease. Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning, and stir to combine. Cook sauce on medium heat for 50 minutes (stirring occasionally), Remove from heat; set aside.

2. MAKE RICOTTA FILLING- Place ricotta cheese, garlic powder, dried parsley, and Italian seasoning in medium bowl, and stir well, until fully incorporated. Set aside.

3. COOK PASTA- Cook lasagna noodles according to directions until al dente. Once done, drain water, and place pasta in a strainer, and rinse with cold water. Lay pasta on paper towels to dry slightly, making sure pasta sheets don't stick together .

4. ASSEMBLE LASAGNA- Layer #1: Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan. Place a layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce. Place dollops of ricotta (half of ricotta) over pasta. Gently spread ricotta filling to cover lasagna noodles. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over ricotta to cover.

   Layer #2: Spread another 1/3 of the meat sauce on top of shredded cheeses. Add lasagna noodles, then remaining ricotta filling. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, and another 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese (save remaining 1/3 of mozzarella cheese for final topping).

   Layer #3: Add layer of remaining meat sauce. Top sauce with the rest of the mozzarella cheese. Now lasagna is ready to bake. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Bake lasagna at 350°F for 50 minutes. When done, the top should be golden brown, cheese topping is melted, and lasagna should be bubbling around edges. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes to let cheese firm up a bit (makes cutting easier). Cut into 12 portions, and serve. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

JB's Homemade Lasagna

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 619 Calories from Fat 324

% Daily Value*

Fat 36g55%

Saturated Fat 19g119%

Cholesterol 100mg33%

Sodium 1589mg69%

Potassium 751mg21%

Carbohydrates 41g14%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 34g68%

Vitamin A 917IU18%

Vitamin C 14mg17%

Calcium 576mg58%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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