The Ultimate Simple Lasagna Recipe

This simple lasagna recipe has it all: creamy ricotta, melty mozzarella, savory ground beef, tender lasagna noodles, all encompassed in a yummy tomato sauce. 

This simple lasagna recipe can be made with homemade pasta sauce or jarred sauce. I’ve made it both ways for numerous crowds including my family, friends and in-laws, and it’s always a hit either way!

With a few simple steps, you’ll have a delicious dish of melty, saucy, cheesy, yummy lasagna that’s going to have your crowd saying, more, please! 

As you may know if you’ve explored any of my other recipes, I’m always looking to simplify the meal-making process, because let’s be real, life is so busy! 

So, I’ve narrowed down this recipe to the most essential ingredients and steps so you can get this lasagna into the oven and onto the dinner table as quickly as possible without ever compromising on flavor.

I go over my tried and true steps below to get you the best lasagna ever so let’s get to it!

This post is about how to make the best simple lasagna recipe.

The Ultimate Simple Lasagna Recipe

What do I need to make this homemade lasagna?

To make this easy lasagna, you will need:

• Lasagna noodles: Sets the base for each layer.
• Ground beef: Adds the savory and chunks of protein.
• Ricotta cheese: Adds smoothness and creaminess.
• Mozzarella cheese: Adds the gooey, cheesy goodness.
• Pasta sauce: Melds the entire dish together.
• Oregano: Adds herbal notes.
• Garlic salt: Enhances the overall flavor profile.
• Parsley: For garnish.

Do I need to boil my lasagna noodles first?

In my opinion, yes, but only halfway. This is because it tastes better and ensures the texture of the noodle is al dente by the end of the cooking process.

Although it is an extra step, it’s a very easy step. I have made lasagna both ways but whenever I’ve made lasagna without boiling the noodles first, the noodle has a stickier texture and doesn’t taste all the way cooked. 

How do you layer lasagna?

Firstly, you want to spread pasta sauce as the base. Next, you layer the noodles, cheeses, ground beef, spices, then sauce. You repeat this process for the second layer. The third and final layer looks a bit different but I go over each step in detail in the following section.

How do I make this easy lasagna recipe?

First, bring a large pot of water to a boil. As you wait for that to boil, start the next steps.

Set a large saucepan on high heat and saute the ground beef with oregano, salt and pepper. Once it is all browned, set it aside.

Once the water boils, boil 9 pieces of lasagna noodles or half of the box. A typical box of lasagna comes with 18 lasagna noodles.

You want to boil the lasagna noodles for about half of the time it says on the box because we do not want to fully cook the noodles. We just want them pliable but uncooked in the center because they will do the rest of their cooking in the oven.

Next, lay out all of your ingredients so they are ready to layer.

Get a 9×13 inch oven-safe casserole dish and let’s begin layering!

There are three layers to this recipe.

Firstly, spread about one cup of sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish. Then layer three lasagna noodles on top.

LAYER 1:

This begins the first layer.

Spread half of the ricotta cheese onto the three lasagna noodles. *Note: I dump the ricotta cheese into a ziplock bag or reusable silicone piping bag and use a piping method to “spread” the cheese.

Then sprinkle half a cup of mozzarella cheese on the ricotta.

Then, sprinkle some ground beef on top and lightly sprinkle garlic salt and oregano onto each row.

Add another cup or two of sauce on top. The next layer of lasagna noodles will rest atop this sauce.

LAYER 2:

Place three noodles atop the sauce and gently press down.

Now, repeat the exact layering process from the previous step. Spread the remaining half of ricotta onto the noodles, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese and ground beef. Lightly sprinkle the oregano and garlic salt, then top off with some more pasta sauce.

LAYER 3/Top and Final Layer:

In this layer, you will place the final three noodles atop the sauce and gently press down.

Pour the remaining sauce on top of the noodles. 

Then add the rest of the ground beef and season lightly with the oregano and garlic salt.

Finally, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese atop the ground beef.

Next, cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and cook it at 350°F for 30 minutes. Then, take the cover off and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Add chopped parsley for garnish, and voila!

🖤 Let me know in the comments if you plan on making this or if you did. I love hearing from you!

🖤 Sharing is caring! Please pin or share this so others can enjoy the recipe too 😀

🖤 Thank you for visiting and happy cooking! 🙂

This post was about how to make the best and most simple lasagna recipe.

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

The Ultimate Simple Lasagna Recipe

This amazing simple lasagna recipe has it all: creamy ricotta, melty mozzarella, savory ground beef, tender lasagna noodles, all encompassed in a yummy tomato sauce! Yum!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword simple lasagna recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rihana

Ingredients

• 1 box lasagna noodles will use half of the box or 9 noodles exactly
• 1 ½ pounds ground beef
• 2 teaspoons oregano for ground beef
• ½ teaspoon salt for ground beef
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper for ground beef
• Ricotta cheese 15 ounce container
• 2 ½ cups Mozzarella cheese shredded
• 6-8 cups pasta sauce homemade or jarred
• oregano
• garlic salt
• ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley chopped

Instructions

• First, bring a large pot of water to a boil. As you wait for that to boil, start the next steps.
• Set a large saucepan on high heat and saute the ground beef with the oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to ensure all of the ground beef gets browned. Set it aside.
• Next, lay out all of your ingredients so they are ready to layer. This includes the ground beef, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, pasta sauce, oregano and garlic salt.

  *Tip: You can use a spoon to spread the ricotta or plop the ricotta into a reusable silicone piping bag or ziplock baggie with the corner cut, and pipe it out in rows (refer to the pics above).
• Once the water boils, boil 9 pieces of lasagna noodles only halfway through!

  You want to boil the lasagna noodles for about half of the time it says on the box because we do not want to fully cook the noodles. We just want them pliable but uncooked in the center because they will do the rest of their cooking in the oven.
• Get a 9x13 inch oven-safe casserole dish and let's begin layering!

  There are three layers to this recipe.

  Before we start layering, spread about 1-2 cups of sauce to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.
• LAYER 1:

  Layer three lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. This begins the first layer.

  Spread half of the ricotta cheese onto the three lasagna noodles (using the spoon or piping method).

  Then sprinkle a ½ cup of mozzarella cheese on the ricotta.

  Then sprinkle some ground beef on top of the cheese.

  Lightly sprinkle garlic salt and oregano onto each row.

  Add another 1-2 cups of sauce on top. The next layer of lasagna noodles will rest atop this sauce.
• LAYER 2:

  Place three noodles atop the sauce and gently press down.

  Now, repeat the exact layering process from the previous step:

  Spread the remaining half of ricotta onto the noodles, sprinkle a ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and some ground beef. Sprinkle the oregano and garlic salt. Then, top off with another 1-2 cups of tomato sauce.
• LAYER 3/Top and Final Layer:

  In this layer, you will place the final three noodles atop the sauce and press gently.

  Pour the remaining sauce on top of the noodles. 

  Then, add the rest of the ground beef and season lightly with the oregano and garlic salt.

  Finally, sprinkle the remaining 1 ½ cups of mozzarella cheese atop the ground beef.
• Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and cook it at 350°F for 30 minutes. Then, take the cover off and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
• Add chopped parsley for garnish.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• The first step I do is boil the water. This way, I can prep all the ingredients so I’m not wasting any time waiting for water to boil.
• Use a 9x13 inch baking pan or casserole dish as it fits the lasagna noodles perfectly.
• You can use homemade pasta sauce for this or jarred pasta sauce. I have a very easy homemade pasta sauce recipe that I use for this lasagna. I also use jarred pasta sauce when I’m in a pinch, and both taste great in this lasagna recipe. There is definitely a minium to how much sauce you need to use, but you can always add more sauce to suit your preference. I personally like my lasagna somewhat saucy so I will usually add an extra cup or two of pasta sauce.
• I sprinkle some of the ground beef in the first two layers but I usually save a majority of it for the top layer.
• One box of lasagna usually has 18 pasta noodles. This recipe uses half. Usually, when I make lasagna, I will double up the ingredients (except for the lasagna noodles), and make 2 batches of lasagna. One for dinner that night, and one in a freezer-safe dish that I can freeze for another night.
  • I just layer it but I don’t bake it. That way, I have a batch of lasagna that is ready to cook whenever we’re craving lasagna (while saving me the prep work).
  • I freeze it unbaked, then just pull it out of the freezer and cook it in the oven with an aluminum foil cover at 350 for about an hour before removing the foil to check if the center is unfrozen. If it is unfrozen, remove the cover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.