Traditional Lasagna
This is a traditional lasagna recipe that tastes great and isn’t as hard to make as it seems. Everyone I have ever served it to has loved it!
You can also make it with a twist…if you want to reduce the amount of fat and calories, substitute ground chicken or turkey for the ground beef and it still tastes great.
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Traditional Lasagna
Equipment
- Pots:
- Large stock pot for boiling the noodles
- Large stock pot for making the tomato sauce
- 15" x 10" glass baking dish
Ingredients
- 6 lasagna noodles
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small cooking onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 lb ground beef chicken or turkey (making it with ground chicken or turkey still tastes great and has less calories)
- 3 Tbsp parsley
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 12 roma tomatoes chopped, or 2 14.5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 14.5- ounce can of tomato sauce
- ½ lb mozzarella cheese
- 1½ cups of ricotta or cottage cheese
Instructions
Boiling the Noodles:
- Bring water to a boil in the first large stock pot
- Add the lasagna noodles and boil until al dente, usually about 8 minutes (but read the instructions on the package for more details)
- Remove the noodles from the water and set aside.
Making The Sauce:
- Heat the olive oil in the second large stock pot over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion and minced garlic
- Cook until tender and translucent.
- Add the ground meat.
- Cook until the meat is brown.
- Mix in the parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Putting The Traditional Lasagna Together:
- Lasagna ready to go in the oven (or freezer)
- Heat the oven to 375º F.
- Spread half of the meat sauce in the bottom of the glass baking dish.
- Use 3 of the lasagna noodles to create a single layer across the meat sauce.
- Spread half of the ricotta cheese over the noodles.
- Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese over the top.
- Repeat steps 1 to 4 with the rest of the meat sauce, lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese and mozzarella.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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This post was originally published on September 17, 2015 but was updated with new content on February 1, 2021.