Lasagna is one of those dishes that is a labor of love – making it from scratch like this is time consuming but also very enjoyable. Just make sure you give yourself enough time so that you aren’t in a mad rush as guests start to arrive. And speaking of guests…. this recipe is enough to feed a small army! So as long as you’ve planned and prepped, you have this thing cooking while you are enjoying the company of your guests. Your effort will be well rewarded 🙂
Meaty Lasagna (Lasagna Bolognaise)
A delcious and hearty lasagna that will easily feed a small army. Use my homemade red sauce as a base or any other red sauce recipe you prefer. Lasagna takes some time, but it's so worth it. Enjoy!
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Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 6 cup basic tomato red sauce (marinara), here's my red sauce recipe
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 cup chopped onion
Cheese filling
- 2 lbs ricotta, see notes
- 1 cup chopped fresh mozzarella
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan
- 2 eggs
- 1 handful chopped parsley
- salt & pepper, to taste
Other ingredients
- lasagna sheets
- mozzarella
How I Make It
- Starting in a cold pan, brown the ground beef, sausage and onion. Starting from a cold pan will help the fat in the meats to render. Add the tomato (marinara) sauce and let it cook for 1-2 hours.
- Combine all the cheese filling ingredients and set aside.
- Boil the lasagna noodles following package instructions. I cook it to barely al dente. When the noodles are done, drain and put them in cold water until ready for use.
Assembling & Cooking the Lasagna
- Divide the meat sauce into 4 parts, noodles into 3 parts, and cheese filling into 2 parts.
- Ladle 1/4 of the meat sauce onto the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish or a lasagna pan (10"x15").
- Layer 1/3 of the noodles in an overlapping fashion on top of the meat sauce.
- Spread 1/2 the cheese filling evenly across the noodles. Ladle over another 1/4 of the meat sauce. Add another layer of noodle.
- Repeat the step above.
- After you've topped the lasagna with the final layer of noodle, ladle the last 1/4 portion of meat sauce. Top the lasagne with mozzarella.
- Cover the lasagna with foil (making sure it is not touching the sauce or cheese on top). Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned to your liking.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing an serve!
Notes
- Many store bought ricotta has fillers in it. If possible get the best quality ricotta you can find. If you have a local Italian grocer near you, then you've hit the jackpot!
