How to make the best lasagna with a delicious homemade tomato sauce, sausage, and beef. Our readers have said this is the best meat lasagna recipe they’ve ever made, and we agree!
For this incredible lasagna, we start by browning flavorful sausage and ground beef. Then, we simmer them with tomatoes and herbs to create a thick, delicious sauce. Next, we layer the sauce with lasagna noodles, a creamy cheese mixture, and extra cheese on top.
Trust me, this homemade lasagna is SO good and worth the effort! But if you’re looking for a quicker weeknight option, check out this easy lasagna recipe.
Key Ingredients
- Lasagna Noodles: Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with no-boil noodles, which I use today. Our photos and video show traditional lasagna noodles, which work well, too. When using them, I boil traditional noodles before assembling this meat lasagna.
- Cheese Filling: We combine creamy ricotta cheese with parmesan cheese and an egg for this classic lasagna. Cottage cheese is an excellent substitute if you don’t have ricotta cheese. I also use mozzarella cheese when assembling.
- Homemade Meat Sauce: We make the sauce from scratch for this lasagna. It takes 1 ½ hours, which sounds like a long time, but I promise that extra time is rewarded with how flavorful this lasagna turns out. I use ground beef, sausage, onion, carrot, garlic, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and spices to make it. If you are short on time, I have included a shortcut using store-bought sauce in the recipe below. If you’d prefer a vegetable sauce, try our vegetable lasagna!
How to Make the Best Lasagna
First, make the homemade meat sauce. It takes a little time, but it’s easy and worth it, I promise! Like homemade bolognese, slowly cooking our sauce gives it an incredibly rich flavor compared to quicker meat sauces (like this easy weeknight spaghetti sauce).
Since I LOVE this sauce so much, the recipe shared below makes enough for 2 lasagnas or 1 lasagna with leftover meat sauce similar to this spaghetti recipe.
I start by cooking the meat until I see browned, crispy bits. Then, I add some onion and carrot and continue cooking until they soften. And finally, aromatics like garlic, herbs, tomato paste, water, and canned tomatoes. Then it’s all about low and slow cooking for 1 to 2 hours.
When your homemade sauce is ready, you can assemble your lasagna. To layer lasagna, remember this: sauce, noodles, cheese, repeat. Then, finish with more sauce and cheese on top before baking until hot and bubbly.
I bake lasagna at 375°F for 50 minutes, covering it with foil for the first 30 minutes, then uncovering it and baking for another 20 minutes, or until the top is a little crispy and golden brown.
After taking it out of the oven, allow your lasagna to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing so that the cheese layer sets up a little. Otherwise, everything will slide out onto your plate!
What to Serve with Lasagna
Lasagna works well with so many side dishes! Try a classic Caesar salad, peppery arugula salad, or a Caprese salad with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil for something light and fresh.
Want a veggie side? Sautéed spinach or roasted broccolini is always a winner. And you can’t go wrong with warm, crusty garlic bread, perfect for soaking up all that yummy sauce!
Incredible Lasagna Recipe
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is the best lasagna with the most delicious homemade meat sauce. Our homemade sauce takes about 2 hours to make. It’s so worth it for the flavor you develop (highly recommended). The recipe below makes enough for 2 lasagnas, so you can save half the meat sauce to use another day (it freezes for 3 months).
As a shortcut, you can use store-bought sauce, which saves 1 ½ hours.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Meat Sauce1 pound (450g) sweet Italian sausage
1 pound (450g) lean ground beef
1 cup (15g) finely diced onion
1/2 cup (75g) finely diced carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup (75g) tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 ½ cups water
2 large (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes, 56 ounces total
1 to 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, optional, see notes
Assembling Lasagna1 tablespoon olive oil
12 unbroken lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
Directions
- Make Meat Sauce
1If your sausage has casings, slice them lengthwise and peel them off. If you bought ground sausage, skip this step.
2Place a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and beef, breaking them into crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned (about 10 minutes).
3Stir in the onion and carrots. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown.
4Add garlic, basil, oregano, and the tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, and the tomato paste turns more orange.
5Pour in 1 ½ cups water and use your wooden spoon to scrape up all the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
6Stir in the canned tomatoes and bring to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and a touch of sugar if needed.
7Slowly simmer uncovered for 1 ½ hours, skimming off any excess fat. Taste and adjust seasonings.
8Make-ahead: This meat sauce keeps in the fridge for 3 days or freezes for up to 3 months. The recipe makes 9 cups – you’ll need 4 ½ cups for your lasagna. Use the rest for a second lasagna or with spaghetti!
- Prepare Lasagna
1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 13×9 inch baking dish, or use non-stick cooking spray.
2Cook noodles (if needed). If using traditional noodles, boil them according to package directions (about 10 minutes) in a large pot of salted water with a tablespoon of olive oil. Drain well. Skip this step for no-boil noodles.
3Combine ricotta, parmesan, and the beaten egg in a bowl.
4Set aside 4 to 4 ½ cups of the prepared meat sauce.
5Spread about 3/4 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish.
6Arrange noodles lengthwise, overlapping slightly to cover the sauce. If needed, cut extra noodles to fill any gaps.
7Spread half the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with a third of the mozzarella cheese and 1 ¼ cups of meat sauce.
8Add another noodle layer and repeat with more ricotta mixture, mozzarella cheese, and sauce.
9Top with a final layer of noodles and the remaining meat sauce, and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake Lasagna
1Cover the lasagna loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover it and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is crusty around the edges. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing unbaked lasagna: You can assemble it and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Tip: Put parchment or wax paper between the lasagna and any aluminum foil to prevent reactions with the tomatoes.
- Storing leftovers: Leftover lasagna lasts in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or stored in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat gently for the best results.
- How to reheat lasagna: The best way to reheat lasagna is in the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F, cover your lasagna with foil, and bake until heated through. If you’re in a hurry, the microwave is your quickest option. (I cover smaller portions with a plate or paper towel and microwave until hot.)
- Shortcut meat sauce with store-bought sauce: Cook the sausage, beef, onions, and carrots as directed in the recipe above. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in two (28-oz) jars of jarred sauce and scrape up any browned bits from the pot. Return the meat to the pan and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the carrots are tender. Skim off any excess fat and adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Sugar in the sauce: If your sauce tastes too acidic, add a pinch or so of sugar to balance it out.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made this for my family this evening, and everyone loved it. I pretty much stuck to your recipe, but I snuck in maybe 4 – 5 shacks of italian seasoning into the sauce mix. I also used almost all the sauce in just 1 pan. I was worried it would be too much, but the family really enjoyed all the extra meat and sauce. Thanks again! I would highly recommend this to anyone!
It was good. Added a green pepper to meat sauce towards end to keep crispy in slices. Added spinach and Italian parsley to ricotta with a dash of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Added half regular container of regular cottage cheese because that sounded good. This combo is exceptional, will never go without again. Delectable! Neutral lasagna, wouldn’t go without a little cottage cheese, makes it more savory. Maybe should’ve done a little more spinach. Recipe would be interesting with mushrooms as well.
Thank you for this recipe, which I am hoping to try. Italian sausage are not easily found in my little island. Then it will be expensive. So I may have to reduce the quantity or use turkey sausage.
This recipe is so good, and really easy (just takes a little time). And it plates up so beautifully! Instant favorite.
My “sista-cuz” makes the best meat sauce and recently brought me some. I took it out of freezer and added it to yours with some cab sauv instead of water. I also added blanched, chopped baby spinach to ricotta sauce. Gave half batch to my neighbor. So delicious and “veggie packed” we cheated with a frozen Raspberry pie for dessert. Thank you for helping out.