Description
This Lasagna al Forno Recipe is layered with flavor and is simple to make too! This easy lasagna recipe is stuffed full of cheesy goodness and hearty Italian Sausage and Beef.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 homemade marinara sauce recipe or 32 ounce jarred marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced fine
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 16 ounce ground Italian Sausage
- 16 ounce Ground Beef (85/15 or 80/20)
- 1 lb, lasagna dry pasta noodle *do NOT buy no bake*
- 32 ounce ricotta cheese, whole milk
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1/8 cup fresh chopped basil
- 8 ounce mozzarella block, shredded
- 1 cup parmigiano reggiano, shredded
Instructions
- If you are making my homemade pasta sauce, start with that recipe or continue to the steps below if using a jarred sauce.
- Into a dutch oven over medium low heat, pour in the olive oil and allow to heat for 2 minutes. Add in the onions and sprinkle in salt and pepper. Cook until softened and translucent, about 4 to 6 minutes.
- Toss in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 60 seconds.
- Increase the stove top heat to Medium. Add in the italian sausage and ground beef. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon into smaller pieces. Continue to break up the meat and cook until it is no longer pink.
- Turn the heat to low and add in 1 and 1/2 cups of marinara sauce. Cover and continue to cook until assembling the lasagna.
- Into a large pot, boil the lasagna noodles, according to the package instructions, until al dente, which means still firm when bitten. You want to pasta to be cooked enough to be pliable, but still very firm.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Into a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, both eggs, fresh basil and about 2/3 of both the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. (Save the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan for topping the lasagna)
- Assemble the Lasagna: Pour about 1/2 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Layer in 4 to 5 noodles into the bottom of the pan. Spread on the ricotta cheese mixture with a spoon. Top with Meat Sauce. Repeat this 3 times and top the last meat mixture with pasta. Note: You should have 4 layers of pasta, with 3 layers of meat and cheese in between.
- Spread on another couple ladles of sauce (about a cup) and top with remaining cheese.
- Cover the top with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Allow the lasagna to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Enjoy! Serve with additional marinara sauce if desired.
Notes
- Cook the onions and garlic for the meat sauce/ragu on Medium low heat. We are looking for a softened, translucency with the onions with no browning. If the onions or garlic start to brown, drop the heat to low.
- When cooking the lasagna noodles, make sure to use a tall, large pot with plenty of water to cover the entire noodle when added, or at least close to it. This will help the pasta to cook evenly. You can also add a teaspoon of olive oil and salt to avoid the pasta sticking to one another. Cook only until al dente, meaning still firm.
- Be delicate with the pasta noodles when assembling, so they don't tear. If you've cooked them al dente, this should be pretty easy to avoid.
- If you use a 80/20 ground beef, you may have some extra fat in the dutch oven. You can drain some, if needed, before adding the marinara sauce.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cooling Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: italian