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Never get stuck wondering about dinner again with this easy and utterly delicious Italian Sausage Lasagna Recipe! It freezes well, so you can make it ahead of time and store it for later, ready to delight your family with a fantastic and easy meal.
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Meat Lasagna Recipe
In all of my memories of lasagna, one central theme runs through them all: everyone loves lasagna. Be it a big steaming tray brought to a party, a dinner feast to look forward to all day, or a favorite weekday meal my kids would stare at the oven waiting for, it's always a food tied to sharing, family, and friends.
It's only when I grew up and had a family of my own did I realize how perfect lasagna is for so many situations! It's the best for freezing for later, sizing up for any crowd and, even better, this is the best meat lasagna recipe for making ahead.
Try it out, and share a warm, hearty meal with your family- or make this recipe in a loaf pan and have the perfect lasagna with sausage dinner for two! What makes this traditional lasagna recipe easy is how you can prep it any time!
Lasagna with Italian Sausage Ingredients
- No-boil lasagna sheets
- Italian sausage
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Crushed tomatoes
- Water
- Italian seasoning
- Crushed red pepper
- Egg
- Ricotta cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Lasagna Easy
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat, and add the sausage, diced yellow onion and olive oil. Cook, stirring often, until the sausage browns and the onion is soft, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic, crushed tomatoes, water, and Italian seasoning, and stir well. Add in salt and pepper to taste, then bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. While it's heating, combine the egg and ricotta in a mixing bowl.
- Remove the meat sauce from the heat, and use it to cover the bottom of a deep baking dish with a thin layer.
- Top the layer of sauce with a 1-sheet-thick layer of lasagna, then ⅓ of the ricotta and egg mixture, then a layer of Mozzarella. Repeat three more times.
- Cover the lasagna pan with foil, then bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, bake another 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!
Traditional Lasagna Recipe Tips
- This recipe is sized for two people using a single loaf pan, but it can easily be doubled for a meal for four!
- Make sure you're using no-boil or oven-ready lasagna sheets. You can also use standard lasagna sheets, but they need to be boiled before the lasagna is assembled.
- This recipe makes a classic meat sauce lasagna, and it's perfect for customizing! I love adding mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, and even finely diced carrots!
Make-Ahead Lasagna
- Freezing Lasagna: To freeze lasagna, fully cook the dish and let it cool. Then wrap the pan with foil or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To heat this dish from frozen, bake for the regular time plus 30 minutes.
- Make Ahead Lasagna: To make this lasagna ahead of time for baking later, cook the sauce and fully assemble the lasagna in the pan, then cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bake as normal right before dinner, and enjoy!
Lasagna is great for many things, and chief among them is how perfect it is as a make-ahead recipe! Having a hearty and delicious lasagna ready in the freezer is the best way to have a satisfying dinner on a busy night- if you can resist eating it right away! Or, prep the meal in the morning so all you need to do for dinner is start the oven.
Lasagna with Sausage FAQs
Lasagna is classically made with either ricotta or cottage cheese, and both will work well in this lasagna recipe with sausage! If I can find it at the store, I prefer to use ricotta for its smoother, less clumpy texture, but cottage cheese is delicious too.
The first layer for nearly any pasta dish cooked in the oven should be sauce! A layer of sauce at the bottom of the pan will keep the other ingredients from burning. After the sauce, you can add pasta, then cheese and your other favorite ingredients.
For this meat lasagna recipe with ricotta cheese, the layers are all in the name: meat, cheese, lasagna noodles, and sauce! However, another great layer to add is a layer of sauteed vegetables of your choice. I love lasagna with sausage and spinach, and you can't go wrong with zucchini and mushrooms!
Recipes with Sausage
- Stuffed Squash Recipe
- Spaghetti with Sausage
- Kielbasa and Potatoes
- Air Fryer Italian Sausage
- Creamy Pasta with Sausage
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Italian Sausage Lasagna
Equipment
- Large sauce pan
- Loaf tin or deep baking dish
Ingredients
- 3 sheets Lasagna no-boil or oven-ready
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- ½ lb. Italian sausage
- ½ cup Yellow onion diced
- ½ teaspoon Garlic minced
- 14.5 oz. Crushed tomatoes canned
- ⅓ cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 1 Egg
- 15 oz. Ricotta cheese
- 1¾ cups Mozzarella
- pinch Salt and pepper
See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!
Instructions
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat, and add the sausage, diced yellow onion and olive oil. Cook, stirring often, until the sausage browns and the onion is soft, about 5-8 minutes.2 Tablespoons Olive oil, ½ lb. Italian sausage, ½ cup Yellow onion
- Add the minced garlic, crushed tomatoes, water, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning, and stir well. Add in salt and pepper to taste, then bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.½ teaspoon Garlic, 14.5 oz. Crushed tomatoes, ⅓ cup Water, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes, pinch Salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. While it's heating, combine the egg and ricotta in a mixing bowl.1 Egg, 15 oz. Ricotta cheese
- Remove the meat sauce from the heat, and use it to cover the bottom of a deep baking dish with a thin layer.
- Top the layer of sauce with a 1-sheet-thick layer of lasagna, then ⅓ of the ricotta and egg mixture, then a layer of Mozzarella. Repeat three more times.1¾ cups Mozzarella, 3 sheets Lasagna
- Cover the lasagna pan with foil, then bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, bake another 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe is sized for two people using a single loaf pan, but it can easily be doubled for a meal for four!
- Make sure you're using no-boil or oven-ready lasagna sheets. You can also use standard lasagna sheets, but they need to be boiled before the lasagna is assembled.
- This recipe makes a classic meat sauce lasagna, and it's perfect for customizing! I love adding mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, and even finely diced carrots!
Nutrition
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