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!

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 requested it for lunch at school the next day, and then 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, but just as great for a Sunday dinner with company.  It can also be made ahead of time and frozen for an easy meal in the future.

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

These noodles always cook perfectly al dente, never mushy, and the lasagna noodles fit perfectly in a 9×13 inch baking dish!  No cutting or breaking noodles to try and cover the dish, it’s 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 has been given rave reviews from everyone who tries it.  It takes a little time to prepare, but it isn’t difficult – and is 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.

Tips for making perfect Lasagna:

• if you want your meat sauce to be a bit smoother, you can use an immersion blender to break down the diced tomatoes a bit before adding them, or use crushed tomatoes instead
• if you don’t like the texture of cottage cheese, you can make it smoother with an immersion blender as well before mixing it in
• 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, and if the cheese is getting too browned cover it with tin foil until it is finished
• 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 – then once it’s frozen you can pop the frozen lasagna out to leave in the freezer – 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, so 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
• here are a few more cheesy pasta dishes for you: Ravioli Lasagna, Mexican One Pan Pasta, and Baked Shrimp Pasta with Mushroom Alfredo Sauce

Lasagna

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Bake.Eat.Repeat.

Yield: serves 8-10

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!

45 minPrep Time

60 minCook Time

1 hr, 45 Total Time

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Ingredients

1 pound (454 g) ground beef

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup button mushrooms, chopped (3-4 medium)

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

9 Barilla lasagna noodles (half of a 454g box)

3 cups (750g) cottage cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound (454 g) mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

1. 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.
2. In a large pot, boil the lasagna noodles for 8 minutes until al dente, then drain and lay them on a parchment lined (or lightly sprayed) baking sheet so they don’t stick together.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper, and beaten eggs.
4. In a 9x13 inch baking pan, layer the lasagna. Put a couple spoonfuls of the sauce on the bottom of the pan (not a lot of sauce, just enough that the noodles don’t stick). Place three noodles on top of the sauce and spread half the cottage cheese mixture on the noodles. Sprinkle with one third of the mozzarella cheese and then about half the meat sauce. Repeat with another layer of noodles, the rest of the cottage cheese mixture, a third of the mozzarella cheese and most of the remaining meat sauce (leave a few spoonfuls). Add the last layer of noodles, spread the last bit of meat sauce on top, and then finish with the remaining mozzarella cheese. *See below the recipe for a visual of the layers.
5. Place the lasagna dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills and 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 10-20 minutes to set up before cutting into squares and serving. If you try to cut into it right away it will be runny so make sure you don’t skip this step!

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 - just make sure to bake until it is hot and bubbling.

You can blend the diced tomatoes a bit before adding them to the meat sauce for a smoother sauce, or use crushed tomatoes instead. You can also blend the cottage cheese a bit if you don’t like the chunky texture of it in your lasagna.

I make this in my standard 9x13 inch cake pan, which is just a tiny bit too shallow, so it always spills over a little. Make sure to place the pan on a baking sheet to catch any spills, and if you have a deeper 9x13 pan use that instead.

7.6.8

250

https://bake-eat-repeat.com/lasagna-recipe/

Bake.Eat.Repeat.