✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (2024)

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Julie Clark

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Learn our easy lasagna recipe with no boil noodles! This classic recipe uses two meats and three cheeses for amazing flavor. Your favorite store-bought spaghetti sauce keeps it simple.

About two years ago we shared our family’sbest lasagna recipe. It is 100% homemade (ok not the pasta, but the rest is homemade). It takes a little work, but it is so good and so worth it.

What happens if you’re short on time and still craving that classic homemade lasagna flavor? Lasagna shortcuts likeravioli lasagna bake,lasagna roll upsorskillet lasagnaare always options, but this easy oven ready lasagna recipe is an easy solution. By using your favoritespaghetti sauceour no boil noodle trick, you can make this quickly!

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (2)

What readers are saying about this easy lasagna recipe:

Jeff says, “I’m a guy that just does not like to cook! I love to eat but just don’t have an enough of an imagination to make something good. But after making this simple lasagna recipe, everybody loved it. The taste was awesome but also just to look at it after it was done in the oven looked amazing! Believe me I never talk about something I’ve made like this but it truly was perfect.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Pat says, “I made this homemade lasagna recipe today and it was a terrific hit! My mother-in-law said it was the best lasagna she has ever tasted! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Lasagna with Ricotta or Cottage Cheese?

When I was growing up, I always had lasagna with cottage cheese. I didn’t love the texture of ricotta so my mom always put cottage cheese in lasagna instead.

These days I’m more tolerant of ricotta in lasagna. You canuse either cottage cheese OR ricottain this recipe. Use the same amount for either cheese you choose. You can even mix cottage cheese and ricotta cheese together. Both are delicious, but ricotta is more authentic.

Ingredients for Lasagna

This lasagna has simple ingredients, most of which are pantry staples.

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (3)

A few notes:

  • Ground beef and Italian sausage. A combination of these two meats give the best flavor. You can season ground pork with ourhomemade Italian sausage seasoningif you prefer.
  • Spaghetti sauce. This is excellent with a store-bought sauce such as Rao’s marinara or try ourhomemade spaghetti sauce.
  • Lasagna noodles. We don’t specifically use oven-ready lasagna noodles. Just use regular lasagna noodles and they should cook just fine if you follow our instructions.

See therecipe cardfor the full ingredient list.

How to Make this Easy Lasagna

To prepare, preheat the oven to 350ºF andspray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray.

  • In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef and sausage together. Drain off and discard any fat. Add the minced garlic and spaghetti sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (4)
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the cheese mixture: ricotta, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper. Mix well.
✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (5)
  1. To assemble, spread ¾ cup of sauce on the bottom of the baking pan. Cover the bottom with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Top with ⅓ of the cheese mixture and ¼ of the sauce. Repeat layers (noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce).
  2. For the top layer, add 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (6)
  1. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Cover with the pan with aluminum foil (sprayed side down). This prevents the cheese from sticking. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
  2. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pro tip

If your sauce is a thick, hearty sauce, add ½ cup water to the edges of the pan. If your sauce is runnier like Old World Style Ragu or even Rao’s marinara, you won’t need as much water.

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (7)

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (8)

Make it a meal.

Try this easy lasagna recipe with ourhomemade garlic breadand anItalian salad.

Italian green beans and roasted potatoes are always great options, too!

How to Reheat Lasagna

If you are wanting to heat leftover lasagna that is in a pan, cover it with foil and bake it in an oven that you’ve preheated to 350º Fahrenheit. Bake it until the internal temperature reaches 165º F. This will take at least 30 minutes, but depending on how much is left, could take up to 50 minutes.

You can also reheat individual slices on a plate in the microwave.

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (9)

Can you freeze lasagna?

Yes! You can freeze this easy lasagna both before and/or after you cook it. Here are a few tips:

  • Use a disposable aluminum pan to make your lasagna in. Then you can easily wrap the unbaked lasagna and freeze it.
  • If you are baking the lasagna before freezing it, allow the lasagna to cool completely before wrapping it.
  • Wrap the lasagna twice in plastic wrap and once in foil.
  • Remove the frozen lasagna from the freezer the day before you want to bake it. This will help it bake more quickly in the oven.
  • Freeze for 2-3 months.

How to Cook Frozen Lasagna

Lasagna will cook the most evenly and have the best results if you remove the lasagna from the freezer the day before you want to cook it. This will help it to mostly defrost and bake more easily.

  • Remove the wrappings, then cover with just one layer of foil.
  • Bake in a 350º F oven covered for about 50 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
  • **If the lasagna was previously baked, you won’t need to bake it as long. Start at 30 minutes covered, then uncover and bake until heated through and bubbly on the edges.

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (10)

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (11)

Easy Lasagna Recipe (No Boil Noodles)

4.70 from 2044 votes

Learn our easy lasagna recipe with no boil noodles! This classic recipe uses two meats and three cheeses for amazing flavor. Your favorite store-bought spaghetti sauce keeps it simple.

Servings 15

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Resting Time 10 minutes minutes

Print RecipeSave Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • ½ pound sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 48 ounces spaghetti sauce (your favorite sauce)
  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley or 4 tablespoons freshly snipped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 12 lasagna noodles
  • ¼ cup water**

Instructions

  • To prepare, preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray.

  • In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef and sausage together. Drain off and discard any fat. Add the minced garlic and spaghetti sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. 1 pound ground beef, ½ pound sweet Italian sausage, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 48 ounces spaghetti sauce

  • In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper. Mix well. 15 ounces ricotta cheese, 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 large eggs, ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons dried parsley, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

  • To assemble, spread ¾ cup of sauce on the bottom of the baking pan. Cover the bottom with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Top with ⅓ of the cheese mixture and ¼ of the sauce. 12 lasagna noodles

  • Repeat layers (noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce).

  • Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. If your sauce is a thick, hearty sauce, add ½ cup water to the edges of the pan. If your sauce is runnier like Old World Style Ragu or even Rao’s marinara, you won’t need as much water. ¼ cup water**

  • Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Cover with the baking dish with aluminum foil (sprayed side down). This prevents the cheese from sticking. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

  • Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Video

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (12)

Notes

  • The liquids from the spaghetti sauce should be enough that the noodles will cook beautifully in the oven as the lasagna bakes.
  • You don’t need oven-ready lasagna noodles. Regular lasagna noodles should cook just fine.
  • If you prefer, you can boil lasagna noodles as the box instructions suggest and then make the lasagna as described. Don’t add any extra water if you choose this method.
  • Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
  • The calories shown are based on the lasagna being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 piece of lasagna. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **

Nutrition

Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 522mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 750IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 244mg | Iron: 2mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Italian

Calories 358

Keyword best lasagna, easy lasagna recipe, how to make lasagna, lasagna recipe, no boil noodles

Have you tried this recipe?

Share a review below or share on Instagram with the tag #tastesoflizzyt.

Other Lasagna Recipes

  • White Chicken Lasagna
  • Lasagna Casserole
  • Lasagna Skillet
  • Lasagna Burgers
✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (14)

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Lori

10 days ago

Hi! Can I make this a day a head of time before putting it in the oven and just have it assembled?

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Kimberly Todd

13 days ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (19)
Can I make this 48hours ahead without cooking the noodles first and keep in the refrigerator until I cook it?

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Deb Jax

21 days ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (20)
This is the best lasagna I have ever made. My husband and I both loved this recipe. I didn’t have all of the ingredients but learned I could substitute cream cheese for the recommended cheeses. That was a huge plus for me…I used 2lbs of hamburger because I didn’t have any Italian sausage. I also boiled the noodles first and added 2-8oz packages of softened cream cheese. Definitely will be using this recipe again and again. Thank you!

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Kathie

29 days ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (21)
I made your Easy Lasagna Recipe and used no bake Gluten Free noodles. I followed your recipe to the T. OMG, so good and so easy!

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Charlotte Rinderknecht

1 month ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (22)
Love this recipe but I use my canned pasta sauce. It is AMAZING with this combination of meats and cheeses. Thank you. OH, and thank you for the freezer information. This will come in real handing on those days we crave lasagna.

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Kirstie

2 months ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (23)
Made this last night and it was the best homemade lasagna I have ever made! Keep in mind I got all the ingredients from a local Italian grocery store so that definitely helped but wow cannot wait to make again!

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Connie

2 months ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (24)
This was really delicious! I ‘mostly’ followed the directions exactly, except that I got the 3 tbsp of chopped parsley from my garden, then went and tossed it into the meat and sauce while it was simmering! Oh, well, still wonderful, and I’ll put the parsley into the cheese mixture next time. This is going into the rotation file. Thank you!

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Nadia

3 months ago

The store only had oven ready noodles. Will these work?? In the post it says to use regular so I want to be sure before attempting this!

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Renee

3 months ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (25)
Best lasagna ever!!!!

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Sherri

4 months ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (26)
This is a very good recipe. Very good. I had never used oven ready pasta and what a game changer. We will have lasagna much more often now.
I didn’t have jarred sauce so I just made my own….not a snob, just live 20 miles from the store, ha. The cheese mixture makes it so creamy and delicious. My sauce was thick so I poured the 1/ 2 cup of water around the edges and it was absolutely perfect.

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Richard Schappert

5 months ago

I don’t use either. I make a mixture of Velveeta ,mozzarella and marble cheddar. Turns out really smooth.

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Kathy

5 months ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (27)
I made this lasagna for a family in need as my volunteer work for an awesome organization called lasagnalove.org. It was easy to make and the ingredients weren’t expensive. I was able to prepare this in a short amount of time. I especially liked not having to precook the pasta. The family loved this with a loaf of crispy garlic bread

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Malynda

5 months ago

✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (28)
I made this Lasanga yesterday for company we were having. I used Barilla Marinara Sauce, I also added 1tsp of Basil to the cheese mixture and only 2 tsp of Parsley. I also add 1 tsp of sugar to my cheese mixture and 2 tsp of sugar to my sauce. I used a pound of each meat.
Everyone thought is was AMAZING!!!
I cannot tell you how good this recipe is. I cannot wait to have leftovers tonight. I also made a salad a garlic bread. It’s was a Perfect Meal! I will make this every time I make Lasanga.

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✨ The easiest lasagna recipe! Learn our tips and skip boiling the noodles. (2024)

FAQs

Is there a trick to no boil lasagna noodles? ›

Skip Boiling and Soak Noodles Instead to Make Lasagna Prep Quick and Easy. Her genius hack is to briefly soak your regular lasagna sheets in hot water. This softens them slightly, completely omitting the need to boil.

What not to do when making lasagna? ›

Too much between one layer and another will keep you from ever getting a perfect slice. Too little and all you'll taste is pasta. Do not put large pieces of vegetables or meat in lasagna for the same reason as above. To get a perfect lasagna, the filling should be finely sliced or even creamy.

What goes first noodles or meat in lasagna? ›

The bottom layer is pasta noodles. However there should be a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking but not meat. You put a thin layer of sauce then noodles. There are many different types of lasagna and not all have meat but some do.

Should I pre soak no boil lasagna noodles? ›

Soak—Instead of Boil—Lasagna Noodles

And since they're soaked, they'll cook faster in the oven than if you used noodles that were completely dry," writes Prakash. "Plus, the soaking doesn't add any more time to the recipe because it's done while the sauce simmers."

Do you rinse lasagna noodles in cold water after boiling? ›

No, in almost every case, you should not rinse pasta after it's cooked. It's true that rinsing noodles or pasta after cooking halts the cooking process. “This is also known as shocking,” Tiess says. But rinsing also removes the starch water after the noodles are strained, which is what helps adhere sauce to noodles.

How long do you boil the noodles for lasagna? ›

How Long to Cook / Boil Lasagna Noodles? Dried lasagna noodles take between 11 and 15 minutes to cook all the way through. It is best to cut that cooking time in half, so they don't get overly soggy from baking in the oven. Use a pot that can fit your lasagna noodles lengthwise, so they cook evenly.

How many layers should a lasagna have? ›

Betony Kitchen says you could make lasagna with as little as two layers for a quick lasagna that doesn't take long to bake. Many, however, would consider this skimping. Most recipes you'll find for lasagna call for a minimum of three layers, which seems to be the universal standard.

How long should I boil oven ready lasagna noodles? ›

Barilla® Oven-Ready Lasagna does not need to be boiled before cooking. Simply assemble the lasagna dish in an oven-safe dish and then bake. However, if you are making lasagna roll-ups, you can boil Barilla® Oven-Ready Lasagna for 3-5 minutes, so the sheets become more pliable and can be easily rolled.

What makes lasagna taste better? ›

Five Secrets of Building the Ultimate Lasagna
  1. Secret #1: No-Boil Noodles Actually Taste Better. ...
  2. Secret #2: For a Rich Sauce, Use Pork Sausage Instead of Ground Beef. ...
  3. Secret #3: Fresh Mozzarella Actually Makes a Difference.
Jan 6, 2015

Does lasagna cook better in glass or metal? ›

Some acidic bakes (like fruit cobblers) and lasagna or casserole (containing tomatoes, citrus, or other acidic fruit) may bake best in a glass dish, to prevent the metal from reacting to the acidic ingredients.

Should I bake lasagna in glass or metal? ›

Acidic ingredients like tomatoes and citrus can react with aluminum (the most common metal used in bakeware), creating a metallic taste in your food. This is why lasagna and other casseroles with acidic ingredients are often baked in glass.

What is the lasagna noodle trick? ›

The key is to soak the lasagna noodles in the baking dish with hot water rather than boiling them in a large pot. This method helps the noodles cook just enough without having to spend extra time waiting for water to boil.

Do Italians put meat in their lasagna? ›

In southern Italy lasagna is generally made with dried sheets of pasta layered with rich meat ragú, ricotta and mozzarella. In the north, especially in Bologna, the most popular version of lasagna features fresh egg pasta colored green with spinach and layered with ragú, bechamel and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Do you bake lasagna covered or uncovered? ›

In an oven preheated to 375 degrees F, this homemade lasagna should be perfectly baked in about 50 minutes (30-40 minutes covered, 5-10 minutes uncovered).

What happens if you don't boil lasagna? ›

If I don't boil the oven-ready noodles, I notice my lasagna dish is more dried out. Another delicious meal that needs to boil oven-ready lasagna sheets is luscious lasagna rolls stuffed with an herb ricotta cheese mixture. The pasta pieces need to be pliable to make the rolls.

What's the difference between no boil and boil lasagna noodles? ›

[No-boil noodles] are par-cooked for convenience, but because they're pre-boiled, they lose their residual surface starch,” explained recipe writer and blogger Jim Mumford of Jim Cooks Food Good. “When you boil lasagna noodles, they will have a thin layer of starch on the outside from the cooking.

Can I use dry lasagne sheets instead of fresh? ›

Fresh pasta sheets cook faster. If you can't find fresh pasta sheets, you can use dried pasta sheets. To use dried pasta sheets in lasagne, cook the lasagne for 10-15 minutes longer than fresh sheets. If your lasagne is looking too brown on top, you can cover it with foil for this extra cooking time.

Can I assemble lasagna and cook later? ›

You can prepare lasagna up to 24 hours before baking it. To do so, follow these instructions: Assemble the lasagna in an oven-safe container and store it in the refrigerator. The temperature should be at or below 40 degrees.

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