Extra Easy Lasagna Recipe

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What's your favorite thing about lasagna? Is it the cheese? Perhaps it's the delicious sauce, or maybe it's the tender pasta? No matter how you answer this question, my Extra Easy Lasagna recipe covers all of the above!

Serve this hearty lasagna with my Fattoush salad, because it really is ok to mix food from different regions when planning your menu!

If you follow my blog you'll know I always say there are no rules when it comes to cooking, and I really mean it!

My Easy Meat Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients

Pasta Sauce:

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Italian sausages
• 1 medium red or green bell pepper diced
• 1 medium onion minced
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper optional
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 24 oz. jarred spaghetti sauce
• 3 oz. tomato paste
• ½ cup red wine

Ricotta/Cottage Cheese:

• 2 eggs
• 16 oz. cottage or ricotta cheese
• 1 T. dried parsley
• ½ cup asiago cheese shredded

Remaining Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 9 oz Barilla oven-ready lasagna sheets (or make your own)
• 12 slices provolone cheese
• 16 oz. shredded mozzarella
• 12 slices pepperoni

How to Make Pasta Sauce

Heat olive oil in a deep pan. Cook meat, sausage, peppers, onion, and garlic until the meat is no longer pink, and the vegetables are tender.

Pour the spaghetti sauce over the mixture. Add 1-½ cups of water into the jar, swirl around to get any remaining sauce, and pour it into the pan.

Add the remaining ingredients. Stir until incorporated, then simmer on low for 30 minutes.

How Do You Layer A Lasagna?

Mix eggs, cottage cheese (or ricotta), parsley, and asiago cheese in a medium-sized bowl, set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9"x13" lasagna pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add 1 cup of sauce.

Add three pasta sheets, crosswise.

Top with the cottage cheese mixture, followed by 6 slices of provolone cheese, and sauce.

Ladle some sauce over the cheese, and repeat layers.

The goal is to end with a layer of lasagna noodles, followed by the remaining sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with pepperoni.

Bake for 35 minutes. Once 35 minutes are up, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Cook's Tips:

• Spray a sheet of foil with non-stick cooking spray and place carefully over the lasagna pan. Make sure the foil does not touch the cheese so that the cheese does not stick to the foil.
• Cutting lasagna before it sets will cause the lasagna to fall apart. Be sure to allow approximately 15 minutes for the lasagna to set before slicing.
• Grate a small amount of nutmeg either in the sauce or over one of the layers to enhance the flavor further.

FAQ's:

Can You Use Homemade Pasta in Lasagna?

You might have chosen this recipe because of the title, "Extra Easy Lasagna Recipe." However, if you want to take this lasagna to the next level, consider making your own fresh pasta.

My homemade pasta recipe is easy and delicious. In fact, once you've had lasagna made with home-made pasta, you'll never want to eat it any other way!

You will need a pasta maker if you don't already own one. But they're very affordable these days, and fun to use too.

You can get the kids involved too for hours of entertainment! Just make sure they don't use it for their play dough (they will be tempted).

Is Lasagna Easy to Prepare?

My sister, Beni, is known for her legendary lasagna. As a matter of fact, she serves it on most holidays. But guess what? I can make a mean lasagna too.

I think there's a misconception with novice cooks that lasagna is difficult to prepare, so they don't bother.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it's simply not true. In fact, I hope to prove it to you with this Extra Easy Lasagna Recipe.

All it takes is some good sauce (which you can actually prepare in an Instant Pot) and some layering of ingredients. So roll up your sleeves and let's get going!

Do you cook lasagna noodles before baking?

Lasagna noodles can either be cooked prior to layering in the lasagna or not. It also depends on the type of noodles used.

For example, this recipe calls for Barilla oven-ready lasagna sheets that don't require boiling beforehand.

If you plan on making your own fresh pasta, you also don't need to cook the pasta beforehand. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dry pasta.

However, if you use regular pasta noodles, you can either boil them beforehand or use them dry. So in most cases, you do not have to boil the pasta before layering it.

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This recipe was originally published on 8/14/18 and updated on 11/9/19 with detailed photos, cook’s tips, and FAQ’s.

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