World’s Best Lasagna
Delicious layers of noodles, cheese, ricotta, and a luscious rich meat sauce, steeped in deep Italian flavors all come together to create the Family Best Lasagna Recipe!
I’m super excited to share with you…THE World’s Best Lasagna! Well…it’s the World’s Best at this Nest!
I know someone has already claimed that ” name to fame”, and we shall quietly mourn for them for mistakenly thinking theirs was the best! They need not know. Shhhh… we have taken the title away from them! It can be our secret!
There’s good lasagna, there’s great lasagna, there’s fantastic lasagna, and then there is “THE BEST”! This is the BEST! I know because my friend told me so! Lol (Never underestimate the compliment of a friend!)
You’re looking at the pictures (and drooling… I hope you’re drooling?!) and you’re thinking to yourself…okay what makes your lasagna so much better than that other guys? I’ll tell you…two things…in my humble opinion.
Sauce, sauce, sauce! (That’s just one thing totally overstated!)
The second, and I mean no offense when I say this…is NOT cottage cheese! When making lasagna please, save me from having a heart attack, and only use Ricotta! (Gasp! Did she really just say that? How could she!)
You’re saying, “NORINE! Lasagna is an expensive dish to make. I’m just trying to save money.”
I get that. However, some dishes you just don’t skimp on. Homemade Lasagna is one of them! You can’t cut costs and have a “GREAT” pan of lasagna. You can have an “okay” dish of lasagna, but it won’t be “the best”!
How To Make GREAT Lasagna Meat Sauce
Let’s talk sauce. I’m going to share with you the secret to a really, really GREAT meat sauce. Are you ready?… You have to let it simmer for several hours!
You know those Italian movies where you see with the Italian Momma slaving over that pot of sauce all day long. There’s a reason for that!
As the sauce simmers and cooks down, it becomes thicker and richer, the sugars break down and caramelize and holy yum…you are on a whole new level of sauce of making! Bonus…your house smells like Italian Heaven!
This sauce is pretty simple. Begin by browning your ground beef with your mild Italian sausage.
Add canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, sugar, fresh chopped or dried onions, seasonings and garlic.
Turn the heat down to simmer and allow it to cook down for about 2–3 hours. Stirring occasionally.
How To Make a Great Family Lasagna
When the meat sauce is done, it’s just a matter of precooking your lasagna noodles and putting it all together.
TIP: I know some people don’t cook their lasagna noodles. I’ve done it both ways. There is a difference. I recommend cooking your noodles.
You will need 9 lasagna noodles for a 9 x 13 pan of lasagna, cook a couple extra to be safe. One or two always seem to tear during cooking.
Begin by laying 3 lasagna noodles side by side on the bottom of your baking dish. My pan was a little narrow, so I overlapped them a tad.
Using a teaspoon dab the ricotta cheese over the noodles. A few rows is perfect.
Next, add a layer of cheese. Don’t go super heavy on the cheese. Just enough to cover the ricotta and noodles.
After the cheese, add a layer of sauce. (I forgot the picture. Sorry folks! I just get too excited in the kitchen mid-project! I really have to work on that! Yikes!)
Repeat Layers 3 times
Repeat with another layer of noodles, another dabbing of the ricotta cheese, more mozzarella and more sauce.
One more layer of noodles, ricotta, cheese, and sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. You can use fresh grated Parmesan or the Sprinkle blend. Either will work. It’s about personal taste.
Baking and Serving Lasagna
Pop it into the oven for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Remove. Let rest 10 minutes. Cut into 12 squares .
Can you see all the layers of deliciousness?! It has the perfect amount of cheese. The ricotta is so creamy. I love the texture and flavor with the meat sauce. It blends beautifully together.
I seriously wouldn’t make lasagna any other way. This lasagna has been my go-to recipe for over 30 years, and it never disappoints. Your Family will love this version of the classic Lasagna dish.
Serve this World’s Best Lasagna with a big tossed green salad and my favorite Cheesy Garlic Bread!
Homemade Lasagna is even better the next day! Best Leftovers EVER! Be sure to make extra! It’s like a fine wine, not that I know because I don’t drink, but it gets better with age! (Don’t we all!… Oh, dear… I just realized my “food twin” is lasagna!)
Easy Additional Pasta Recipes
- Leftover BBQ Pulled Pork and Mac-n-Cheese
- Easy Home Beef Stroganoff
- Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
- Meat lovers Baked Spaghetti
- Spinach Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Fresh Stewed Tomatoes with Pasta from Julia’s Simply Southern
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you love this lasagna! It’s truly a classic dish.
Happy Nesting My Friends!
World’s Best Lasagna
Ingredients
Red Meat Sauce
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 pound mild Italian Sausage
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 – 14.5 oz. cans diced petite tomatoes
- 1- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 – small 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 tsp. crushed rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
Lasagna Ingredients
- 15 oz. Ricotta cheese
- 1 package Lasagna Noodles cooked…about 12 noodles
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- grated Parmesan Cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot brown ground beef and Italian Sausage. Saute onions till tender. Drain. Add Tomatoes, Tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, sugar, and all seasonings. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours until reduced down and sauce is thick, rich and caramelized.
- Last 30 minutes of sauce cook time, bring a large pot of water to boil and add lasagna noodles one at a time, so as not to break them. Cook for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain and let set in cool water. Grate cheese.
- In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, layer noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. Repeat layers again, noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. Add one more layer of noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and meat sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.
I tried this sauce recipe yesterday as I had to make 3 pans of lasagna and let me tell you this is the best sauce I’ve ever made!!!!!! Thank you 😊
Hi Tina!
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with us! We love hearing that one of our recipes was a hit! Wishing you a very Happy New Year…filled with wonderful kitchen delights!
Norine
I just found you and all you AMAZING looking recipes!! (I was looking for a soft pretzel recipe) which I will be making today with my granddaughter. First I have to say I love Way you break everything down! We’re you a teacher??? You explain everything so well! Secondly all you recipes sound AMAZING and I can’t wait to start making them for my family!! My question about this recipe is when you put the ricotta on the noddles do you spread it out or do you just dollop on so to speak and let the baking process melt it out. I hope that makes sense 🤔.
Hi Cindy!
Thank you so much for these kind words! I hope you and your granddaughter have fun making the soft pretzels, one of my favorite recipes. I was not a teacher, but I do want every level of cook to be able to make my recipes. The lasagna…I dollop! When I put the meat sauce on top and spread it out…sometimes the ricotta spreads a little with it. However, I’m a proud dollop-er! lol I hope you’ll stop back by and let me know how you like my recipes!
Have a wonderful day!
Norine
When do we add the minced garlic?
Hi Cassia!
Add it after you brown the ground beef. Sorry about that!
Norine
My lasagna recipe is very similar to yours and I have one idea for you to try sometime. I actually use sliced mozzarella rather than shredded but here’s my suggestion. Use half mozzarella and half provolone. I love that extra flavor.
Hi Sandy!
Love your suggestion! I will have to try that next time. Thanks for sharing.
Norine
Could this be put in a slow cooker for the 3 or 4 hours on low
Hi Bunnie!
I’m sure it could be! I have always baked it in the oven, but I’m sure it would work in the slow cooker. Great question. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a Great week and come back soon.
Norine
Dearest Norine, lasagna goddess,
This recipe changed my life this weekend. I doubled the recipe (I live with too many people I mean four teen boys and a husband hahaha!). I almost didn’t want to share. I’ve made lasagna for 15 something years, it never came out right and everyone always pretended to enjoy it. No. This. THIS RECIPE. I got to the ricotta part and was like like wait, what, I don’t have to add egg and five pounds of Parmesan? Your recipe is MUAH KISS THE AIR delicious, exquisite perfection. We have no leftovers for the first time in 15 years. Can’t wait to try your other recipes!!! A champagne toast to you!
Hi Gina!
Oh my goodness!!! I think this may be my favorite post of all time! Course I am being referred to as a “goddess” so that could have a LOT to do with it! lol You truly made my week. Last week was just “one of those weeks” and receiving your message lifted my spirits and brought a huge smile to my face. I’m going to share it with my kids who used to sit at the table on Lasagna nights pouting! That’s right…I may be your lasagna goddess…but my kids did not feel the same way! LOL I may frame this and make them hang it in their homes!
Thanks for making my day and I HOPE you come back again real soon!
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
This sounds AMAZING and exactly what I’m looking for. My question would be… can I add chopped zucchini to this to bulk the veggie factor, or would that ruin this???
I’m going to use this recipe for lasanga roll ups, with homemade noodles, and of course ONLY ricotta. ?
Hi Shauna!
I think you’d be fine to add the squash. I would just be careful not to add too much because of the moisture it will add to the sauce. You want a nice thick sauce with this lasagna. I love your email address too! So cute! Homemade noodles…amazing! I’d love to see a picture or have you write back and let me know how you liked this recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m excited to hear how this goes.
Have a GREAT week.
~Norine
Recipe was great, family love it and first time I made lasagna. That worlds Best Lasagna felt it could had use more sauce
Hi Terri!
I’m so glad your family loved the lasagna. Look at you go making it! Wooo Hooo! That is AWESOME! It can be a bit intimidating so I’m really impressed. The tricky thing with Lasagna is never knowing how much “sauce” those noodles are going to soak up! I always think this dish is so much better on day two or three. However with each passing day it become’s less saucy than the day before. If you want it to have more sauce I suggest adding another small can of tomato sauce or doubling the sauce recipe. You can always use the extra sauce to pour over the top or another pasta dish. Thanks so much for sharing with me. Have a GREAT week and thanks for sharing!
~ Norine