This recipe and the photos were updated in September 2025.
If you’re still making lasagna with jarred tomato sauce, you’re missing out on the nuances of flavor that you’ll only ever get from making your own sauce from scratch for this Delicious Homemade Lasagna.
Lasagna night just hits differently. Especially when it’s this ultra-comforting, Classic Lasagna layered with rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta, and plenty of cheese. Pair it with a crisp, tangy Olive Garden-style salad and you’ve got a dinner that’s hearty, satisfying, and totally worth the effort.
Helpful Tips
- Soak, don’t boil: Skip boiling the lasagna noodles and soak them in hot water instead. It saves time and helps prevent them from tearing.
- Layer smart: Make sure to evenly spread the ricotta mixture and sauce on each layer so every bite has a good balance of creamy, cheesy, and savory.
- Let it rest: Give the lasagna at least 10 minutes to cool before slicing. This helps it set up and makes serving so much easier.
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Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1/2 pound (227 g) ground beef
- 1/2 pound (227 g) Italian sausage
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 large carrot finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 28 ounces (794 g) crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) ground black pepper
For the ricotta mixture:
- 15 ounces (248 g) ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
For the lasagna:
- 12 lasagna sheets homemade pasta sheets, fresh pasta sheets, no-boil sheets, or pre-boiled pasta sheets
- 2 cups (224 g) mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 cup Parmigiana-Reggiano grated
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F(190°C). Prepare a 13×9 baking dish by spraying it with cooking oil.
For the tomato meat sauce:
- Brown the ground beef and Italian sausage crumbling it as it cooks in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. When fully cooked, add onions and carrots. Cook for 6 minutes. Add garlic and fennel seeds. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Italian seasoning, salt, oregano, black pepper and sugar.
- Then add the beef broth, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for at least 30 minutes, up to 4 hours, covered
For the ricotta mixture:
- Mix the ricotta, egg, fresh parsley, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl.
To assemble the lasagna:
- Spread a little sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Lay in pasta sheets, making sure not to overlap, and top it with about 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, mozzarella cheese, meat sauce, and Parmesan. Make 3 layers, reserving enough sauce and mozzarella for the top.
- On top of the last layer of pasta, spread on the remaining meat sauce and top with mozzarella. Cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake for 25 minutes, remove the foil and cook for 25 more minutes.
Notes
- Fresh homemade pasta sheets don’t need to be precooked. Neither do “no boil” lasagna sheets.
- If you prefer, you can substitute the ricotta with cottage cheese or a bechamel sauce.
Nutrition
Making Your Own Pasta
If you want to try your hand at making your own pasta, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s not difficult or scary to make your own pasta.
Here is an incredibly easy homemade pasta recipe that only requires you to mix flour with eggs and knead the dough.
- 2 large eggs
- 200g of 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
Make a mound out of the flour (reserving about 20 grams to use only if necessary). Swirl a whole in the middle of the mound with your fingers. Crack the eggs into the center of the mound.
Using a fork, beat the eggs gently, then start to incorporate the surrounding flour, slowly, until fully combined. Add the extra flour only if the dough is too sticky. Then knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.
Rolling the Pasta
There are two ways to roll your fresh pasta. You can knead it and roll it out with a rolling pin. This takes a bit of muscle and time, but it’s not difficult. Or you can use a pasta maker. There are three different types of pasta makers.
A manual pasta roller won’t make the pasta for you; it’ll just help with rolling out or cutting shapes. The second option is an attachment for the KitchenAid that rolls out the dough for you.
There is a third, even easier option. If you’ve ever wanted to make fresh pasta, but didn’t want to do the work, you need this.
How much homemade pasta per person?
I recommend a 2 ounce serving of fresh pasta per person. Once the pasta is cooked it equals around 1 cup of pasta, which is a decent serving. The recipe above makes 4 servings.
Want to Make Your Own Ricotta?
I sometimes like to make my own ricotta, though I only do it when I have enough time and patience for it. It’s very easy, but does take time. The best case for making your own ricotta is when you don’t have any on hand, but you do have milk! Bingo, just make the ricotta. Here’s a recipe to help you make your own if you want.
Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes.
I will surely try this because i love to eat lasagna but until i didn’t know how to make it!
I love lasagna too, Paul. I hope you give it a try!
Hey Laura it looks like you have this Lasagna nailed. I’ve been making Lasagna for over 55 years and I wanted to suggest a couple of more touches that “kicks it up a notch” and adds another depth of flavor. I add some Italian seasonings, either dried or fresh, to the ricotta cheese the day before I “build” the dish and I also add some fresh grated Parmesan atop the Mozzarella layers during the “build” with some extra on top. Give it a try, I think you’ll like it!
That sounds like a very nice extra touch, Laura.
How do I get on your page through
Facebook?
Your recipes look amazing!!
Hi Pam. You can find us on Facebook at A Food Lover’s Kitchen. Everything that we post there has a link that will get you through to the recipe. Enjoy!