Name: Lasagna
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 pound (454 g) ground beef; 2-3 cloves garlic - minced; 1 cup mushrooms, chopped; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 tablespoon dried basil; 1 can (796 mL, 26.9 fl oz) diced tomatoes; 2 cans (156 mL, 5.5 fl oz) tomato paste; 10 oz (275 g) lasagna noodles (8-10 noodles); 3 cups cottage cheese; 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated; 2 tablespoons dried parsley; 2 large eggs, beaten; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 pound (454 g) mozzarella cheese, grated

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Homemade lasagna is one of my family’s favourite meals. A thick and chunky meat sauce and lots of cheese, layered with tender pasta – perfect comfort food!

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Barilla Canada, and I have been provided with product and compensated for my time. All opinions are, as always, my own.

It’s World Pasta Day today – so I am bringing you my all-time favourite pasta recipe!

This homemade lasagna is my mom’s recipe, and it was always a treat when I was growing up. A thick and chunky meat sauce, lots of cheese, and tender noodles are layered together to make a big pan of cheesy comfort food.

It is fast becoming one of my kid’s favourite meals too!

My six year old ate his plate of lasagna so fast we were a little bit concerned he might make himself sick. I’m fairly certain he ate more then anyone else at the table (he’s the youngest!). He even requested it for lunch at school the next day. He was disappointed when it was all gone and he couldn’t have more the day after that!

Yeah – he’s a fan.

One of the things I love about lasagna is it’s versatility. It’s perfect as a weeknight family meal. And it’s just as great for a Sunday dinner with company. You can also freeze this lasagna for an easy meal in the future.

I’ve tried many different brands of lasagna noodles, but this is the first time I’ve made it with Barilla’s noodles. Barilla is known around the world for its high quality pasta. I am fast becoming a big fan.

These noodles always cook perfectly al dente, and the lasagna noodles fit perfectly in a 9×13 inch baking dish! No cutting or breaking noodles to try and cover the dish. Just three noodles for each layer. Exactly. That made me really happy.

I may need to get out more.

If you’ve never made homemade lasagna before, you should definitely try this recipe! It receives rave reviews from everyone who tries it. It takes a little time to prepare, but it isn’t difficult. It’s completely worth the time!

Celebrate World Pasta Day with me with some lasagna. Or head to Barilla.ca to find many more pasta recipes you’ll love.

How to make perfect homemade Lasagna:

If you want your meat sauce to be a bit smoother, you can use an immersion blender to break down the diced tomatoes or use crushed tomatoes instead.
If you don’t like the texture of cottage cheese, you can make it smoother with an immersion blender.
To freeze this lasagna, simply layer it in the pan as directed and then cover it tightly. When you’re ready to bake let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then bake as directed. If it’s still a bit frozen it may take a little more time. Just bake it until it is hot and bubbling. You can cover the lasagna with foil if the cheese is browning too much.
If you don’t want your baking dish staying in the freezer, you can line the dish with a double layer of aluminum foil before layering the ingredients in it. Once it’s frozen you can pop the frozen lasagna out of the pan. Remove the foil before placing it back in the dish to defrost and bake.
I use my standard pyrex 9x13x2 inch dish for this but it is slightly too shallow and does spill over just a bit. I place the pan on a baking sheet to bake it, and would recommend this. If you have a deeper 9x13x2.5 inch dish, use that instead so you don’t have to worry about it spilling over,
There are step by step photos of the layering below the recipe card if you would like a visual.

Here are a few more cheesy pasta dishes for you:

Yield: serves 8-10 (one 9x13 inch pan)

Lasagna

Homemade lasagna is one of my family's favourite meals. A thick and chunky meat sauce and lots of cheese, layered with tender pasta - perfect comfort food!

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound (454 g) ground beef
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 can (796 mL, 26.9 fl oz) diced tomatoes
2 cans (156 mL, 5.5 fl oz) tomato paste
10 oz (275 g) lasagna noodles (8-10 noodles)
3 cups cottage cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound (454 g) mozzarella cheese, grated

Instructions

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Drain off the fat, and then add the garlic, mushrooms, onion and basil to the pan.
Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the onions are softened slightly.
Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to combine.
Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a large pot, boil the lasagna noodles until al dente, about 10 minutes (I use whole wheat noodles, the time may be a bit less for white noodles) and drain.
In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper, and beaten eggs.
In a 9x13 inch baking pan, spread 2-3 spoonfuls of the meat sauce on the bottom, and then layer the lasagna on top.
Place three noodles on top of the bit of sauce to cover the baking pan (if you're using a different brand of lasagna noodle, you may need another noodle, or piece of a noodle to cover the pan).
Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Spread 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of this. Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce on top of the mozzarella cheese.
Repeat these layers again - 3 noodles, 1/2 the cottage cheese, 1/3 the mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 the meat sauce.
Place the remaining 3 noodles on top, spread the remaining 1/3 of the meat sauce on these noodles, and top with the remaining 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until the cheese has started to brown and the filling is hot and bubbling.
Let it stand for at least 10 minutes to set up before cutting into squares and serving.

Notes

This recipe is easily doubled if you need two pans, or want to freeze or gift one. You can also make half a recipe and use an 8x8 inch pan. It can be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated before baking, or even frozen. If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator the day before baking, or if baking from frozen, increase the baking time by about 30 minutes and cover it with foil for the first half hour.

There are step by step pictures below the recipe card if you would like a visual of the layering.

Source: my mom! No idea where she originally got this recipe, it was on one of those handwritten recipe cards!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 302Total Fat: 7.7gSaturated Fat: 3.6gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 498mgCarbohydrates: 28.3gFiber: 2.4gSugar: 6.3gProtein: 30.7g

Sam

Sunday 16th of February 2025

In Step 7, it says "Place half the noodles in the pan" Isn't that like 4 to 5 noodles all at the bottom of the pan? Also it doesn't say to put any sauce first at the bottom, is that correct? It's almost like a 2 layer lasagna per the instructions which differs from the pictures.

Reason I mention this is that your pictures show a different method with 3 layers of noodles instead of the 2 in the directions. The pictures even show sauce on the bottom, but doesn't say in Step 7.

Thanks in advance for any help

Stacey

Thursday 20th of February 2025

I do usually put just a couple of spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of the pan so the noodles don't stick, but there isn't a full layer of sauce at the bottom. And yes, there are three layers of noodles, with three noodles in each layer. So sorry about the confusion, I'll fix that in the recipe card right away. I used to make this with just two layers of noodles, but have switched to using three as that's what my mom said she always did, and clearly I didn't adjust the recipe that I had written up with the old method.

Kimmy

Wednesday 14th of September 2022

Hi there! Two quick questions:

1. The tomato paste: is it 11oz total or 5.5oz total

2. I’m using no boil noodles - do you think I need to bake longer or use additional sauce?

Thank you! I’m so excited to make this for my husband tonight!

Yes, the tomato paste is 11 fl oz total for the recipe, it's 2, 5.5 oz cans. I haven't made this with no boil noodles, but I think the sauce amounts and bake times should be fine with no boil noodles too. Hope you enjoy it!

Julie

Saturday 10th of October 2020

Excited to try this for a surprise birthday party/girls weekend getaway. I plan to make it the day before, then we’ll just have to pop it in the oven! I have two questions:

1. Do you drain the diced tomatoes, or throw in the whole can? 2. Have you ever made it without the mushrooms/ Does the lasagna taste like mushrooms?

Thank you SO MUCH!

Sunday 11th of October 2020

Nope, do not drain the tomatoes, add the liquid along with the diced tomatoes. I have made it without mushrooms when I didn’t have any. It’s good either way, although I do prefer it with them. I don’t think it tastes like mushrooms but if you’re not a fan of them you may disagree! If you prefer to leave them out it’ll be totally fine that way too! Hope you enjoy it!

Des @ Life's Ambrosia

Monday 30th of October 2017

Lasagna is always classic! A family favorite for sure!

Krista

Thursday 26th of October 2017

I love a good lasagna! I am going to have to try yours out!