Name: Lasagna With Meat Sauce
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 0.75 pound 85-percent lean ground beef; 0.75 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing; 1 medium onion, chopped (1 ½ cups); 2 carrots, peeled and chopped (¾ cup); 2 celery stalks, chopped (¾ cup); Kosher salt; 6 garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons); 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 0.5 teaspoon red-pepper flakes; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes in juice; 24 ounces whole-milk ricotta (3 cups); 1 cup whole milk; 3 large eggs; 4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (1 ¼ cups); 1 pound low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (4 cups); 0.75 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper; 18 dry lasagna noodles

Prep Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 30 mins

Yield:

8 to 10 Serves

This is our ultimate meat lasagna recipe—the one we make often, and to great acclaim. Made with two fillings, the meat sauce is made with both Italian sausage and ground beef simmered in tomato sauce. The second filling is a cheesy mixture of mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmigiano-Reggiano speckled with parsley. Each shines on its own, but together they soar like an aria between layers of lasagna noodles.

Once you have your ingredients and equipment assembled, making this lasagna is a straightforward process. The recipe requires about 45 minutes of prep and 1 hour 10 minutes to bake.

Key Ingredients

Most of the ingredients needed for our lasagna with meat sauce are standard.

Ground beef: We use 85 percent lean ground beef for the right ratio of fat to lean.
Italian sweet sausage: This is the most unusual ingredient in our lasagna. Most recipes call for just ground beef, some incorporate ground pork too, but we prefer the already seasoned pork flavor of sweet Italian sausages removed from their casings.
Canned tomatoes: We prefer to use a can of whole peeled tomatoes and blitz them in a food processor, rather than use store-bought crushed tomatoes.
Dairy: This recipe calls for low-moisture mozzarella, but we use whole milk ricotta and whole milk; together, these dairy ingredients create the rich cheese filling that shines in the lasagna.
No-boil lasagna noodles: Using no-boil noodles speeds up the process (no boiling needed, no extra pan to clean). Our recipe includes covering the lasagna while it bakes, which means there's no need to pre-cook these pasta sheets.

Equipment

You'll need a large saucepan and a wooden spoon to make the meat sauce, a food processor or blender for puréeing the canned tomatoes, and a large mixing bowl for combining the cheeses.

Use a 9 x 13-inch ceramic or enameled cast-iron baking pan for the lasagna. These pans help the lasagna cook evenly and promote crisp, browned edges more than a glass iteration does.

Make Ahead

This lasagna can be assembled and stored in the refrigerator up to a day in advance, then baked for serving.

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ pound 85-percent lean ground beef
¾ pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 medium onion, chopped (1 ½ cups)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (¾ cup)
2 celery stalks, chopped (¾ cup)
Kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes in juice

Cheese Mixture

24 ounces whole-milk ricotta (3 cups)
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (1 ¼ cups)
1 pound low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (4 cups)
¾ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Assembly

18 dry lasagna noodles

Directions

Ingredients for Lasagna with Meat Sauce — Brie Goldman

Preheat oven and make meat sauce:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes.
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Add seasonings and cook:

Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

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Add tomato paste:

Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more.

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Puree tomatoes

Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor

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Add tomatoes to sauce and cook:

Add tomatoes to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

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Make the cheese mixture:

In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

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Assemble lasagna, starting with meat sauce:

Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron.

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Space lasagna noodles over sauce:

Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks).

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Spread a layer of cheese mixture:

Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles.

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Add another layer of noodles:

Top with 3 more noodles.

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Repeat layers:

Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more.

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Spread meat sauce over top layer:

Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles.

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Sprinkle with cheeses, cover with parchment-lined foil:

Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

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Bake:

Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.)

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Cool and serve:

Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve.

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Cook's Notes

Storing Leftovers

You may have some meat sauce leftover after you assemble the lasagna. Save it! Try tossing it with pasta for a quick supper, sandwiching it between potato buns for sloppy Joes, or serving it with fried eggs for breakfast.

Cover any leftover lasagna before refrigerating. If there are only a couple of portions left, wrap them in parchment-lined foil and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for ease of reheating, and to take up less space in your refrigerator.

Freezing

Leftovers also hold up well in the freezer: Package individual slices in parchment-lined foil and store in a freezer bag for up to a month. To reheat, bake, still wrapped in the parchment-lined foil, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does authentic lasagna have ricotta or béchamel?

It depends who you ask. Traditional lasagna from the north of Italy, such as from Bologna, is made with béchamel sauce. Some versions made in the South use a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella rather than béchamel, similar to that used in this Lasagna with Meat Sauce recipe.

Is it better to cover lasagna while baking?

Our recipe calls for covering the lasagna for most of its baking. The parchment-lined foil is removed for the last third of the cook time so that the top of the lasagna has time to brown and develop those delicious crispy edges.

Is it better to cook lasagna in glass or metal pan?

We generally use a ceramic pan for baked pasta dishes like lasagna, or an enameled cast-iron pan. We do not use other types of metal pans for baking lasagna and prefer ceramic or enameled cast-iron over glass for even cooking of lasagna.