Easy Homemade Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese

Homemade Lasagna on a white plate with a green salad.

5 from 5 votes

Easy Homemade Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese is a loved dish enjoyed for generations. This hearty Italian pasta dish features layers of pasta, savory meat sauce, and a rich and creamy ricotta cheese filling. It's comforting, satisfying, and perfect for feeding a crowd or a cozy family dinner.

Prep Time30

Cook Time55

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 427kcal

Author: Gina Abernathy

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles
1 pound ground beef
1 pound pork sausage or Italian sausage
1 onion diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
24 ounce pasta sauce
1 cup water
15 ounce ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1 cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

Soak Lasagna Noodles (see notes below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown beef, sausage, onion, and garlic until no longer pink. Drain fat.
Stir in the pasta sauce and water. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
In a medium bowl, make the cheese mixture. Mix and combine ricotta cheese, 1 ½ cups mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan cheese.
Layer: First layer- Spread 1 cup of meat sauce in the prepared casserole dish. Top it with 4 lasagna noodles, breaking to fit if needed—layer with ⅓ of the ricotta cheese mixture, spreading to cover noodles. Repeat layers twice more- meat, noodles, cheese. Finish with remaining sauce.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Allow lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Soaking lasagna noodles is super easy. Place the noodles in a baking dish and fill the dish with hot tap water. That's it! Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes while preparing other lasagna ingredients.

I bought a 16-ounce box of lasagna noodles. These were the regular lasagna noodles. You will only need some of them. Save the rest for another dish.

Nutrition