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.
Traditional Lasagna
This post may contain affiliate links. We make a small commission if you buy the products from these links (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But we only recommend products we would use ourselves. For more information, click here to see our disclosures.
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!
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
Note: If you wanted to store the lasagna for future use, you can cover it and put it in the freezer at this point. Just thaw and add an extra 15 minutes of baking time when you are ready to eat it.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 gCalories: 335 kcalCarbohydrates: 26.4 gProtein: 25.9 gFat: 13.5 gCholesterol: 68.1 mgSodium: 595.8 mgSugar: 6.1 g
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Have comments or questions about Traditional Lasagna? Tell us in the section below
This post was originally published on September 17, 2015 but was updated with new content on February 1, 2021.