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homemade lasagna
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Best Homemade Lasagna

What better way to bring in the holidays than a Homemade Italian Lasagna?! What's even better is we made this with homemade noodles which are easier to make than you would think. Seriously, does it get any better than this?
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 16
Calories 571kcal
Cost 25

Ingredients

  • 12 cup Meat sauce see my recipe for Italian Meat Sauce; you can use more or less but I always like to have more on hand
  • 2 lb lasagna noodles fresh, boxed, oven ready
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano grated
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese shredded

Lasagna Filling

  • 3 lb ricotta
  • 16 oz fresh mozzarella shredded
  • 1 egg
  • 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions

Make Your Sauce (Gravy)

  • Follow my recipe for Italian Meat Sauce (Gravy) to see how to make it. Then remove the meat from the tomato sauce and set aside.

Make the Ricotta Mixture

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, grated parmesan, egg, parsley, and salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add a ladle or two of the sauce to the mixture to allow it to spread easily when layering the lasagna.

Make the Lasagna

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you're boiling your noodles - boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta to al dente. Once cooked, remove and set aside to cool.
    If you're using ready to bake or fresh noodles - grab a lasagna tray and pour a thin layer of sauce just to cover the bottom of the tray. Add some grated parmesan cheese as well.
  • Add one layer of lasagna on top of the sauce.
  • Then add a layer of the ricotta mixture. Spread over the noodles until fully covered.
  • Then another layer of lasagna noodles.
  • Then a layer of the meat. Spread over the noodles until fully covered.
  • Then another layer of lasagna.
  • Keep alternating the lasagna with the ricotta, and then the meat and finish with a layer of lasagna noodles with some meat on top. Add some gravy to keep the top from drying out. Finally add the ½ cup of parmesan cheese and the 8 oz of shredded mozzarella.
    Bake in the oven covered for 20 minutes and then remove the tin foil for the final 10 minutes of cooking. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

Notes

This recipe will make a large tray of lasagna!  Typically you'll get 2 layers of ricotta and 2 layers of meat in this one.  
If you're serving this during the holidays with other food, this one tray should be enough to go around for a large family considering the other food.
Enjoy this family recipe!  Buon appetito!

Nutrition

Calories: 571kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 1459mg | Potassium: 870mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1571IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 539mg | Iron: 3mg