This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
With homemade meat sauce and three different cheeses, this meat lasagna recipe will have you thinking you’ve ordered it at your favorite Italian restaurant.
Who doesn’t love lasagna? Growing up, I’d have Stouffer’s Lasagna, and to this day I would still be perfectly fine eating it. Don’t judge if you haven’t had it. However I’ve always wanted to make my own homemade lasagna and that is where this meat lasagna recipe comes into play.
To me lasagna is Italian comfort food 101. You aren’t trying to be healthy when eating this. You want something that just tastes delicious and this meat lasagna recipe doesn’t disappoint. You can even go a step further and make your own lasagna noodles and ricotta. But don’t worry if you don’t, it will taste delicious either way.
What Ingredients are in this Meat Lasagna Recipe?
- Olive oil
- Produce – white onion, garlic, Italian parsley
- Ground chuck
- Ground Pork
- San Marzano tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Granulated sugar
- Spices – oregano, basil, salt, black pepper
- Lasagna noodles
- Ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
How to Make this Meat Lasagna Recipe
-
In large Dutch oven or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and parsley and cook until onion is tender – about 5 minutes.
-
Add chuck and pork and sauté meat, stirring occasionally until it is well browned, about 5 minutes. Drain the fat from the meat.
-
Add the San Marzano tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, basil, salt and black pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and simmer covered for 3 hours, stirring the sauce occasionally.
-
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13×9 baking dish. Bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Add salt and olive oil and cook lasagna al dente, according to package instructions. To assemble lasagna, spoon a third of meat sauce evenly into the bottom of the prepared dish. Over the sauce, layer a third of the noodles, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan.
-
Repeat layering twice, beginning with sauce and ending with Parmesan.
-
Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the top is browned. Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before cutting to serve.
How to Make Homemade Pasta
I mentioned above, but this isn’t necessary for this meat lasagna recipe. However if you want it to truly be homemade. You should take a stab at it. I used Anne Burrell’s pasta dough.
-
Put the flour on a clean dry work surface. Make a hole in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide. The wall needs to be about 2 inches high. Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, salt and water.
-
Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over the board.
-
When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture where it won’t go everywhere, start to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands.
-
When the mixture has really come together, then you really start kneading. You will half to knead for 10-15 minutes, really putting your weight into it.
-
When the dough is done, it will be smooth and velvety. Once a good consistency, wrap in saran wrap and let sit for 1 hour.
-
Once the filling is ready, set up the pasta machine attachment on the stand mixer. Take a quarter of the dough and flatten it. Dust the dough with flour. Set the pasta machine to 1 and run the dough through.
-
Fold the dough into thirds, making sure you thin in out again. Run through the machine, short end first. Fold into thirds again and run through the machine one more time. Now run through the 1 setting without folding the dough ahead of time. Switch to the 2nd setting and roll the dough through the machine again. Switch to the 3rd setting, run the dough through, then the 4th setting and then the 5th setting. The big thing is to make sure you flour the dough if it gets too sticky.
- Cut into lasagna strips and use for this meat lasagna recipe.
How to Make Homemade Ricotta
Again you do not have to make your own ricotta cheese, but it is surprisingly easy. I use Ina Garten’s homemade ricotta for this meat lasagna recipe.
- Pour the milk and cream into large pot and stir in salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
- Set a large sieve or colander over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the colander with the cheesecloth. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl.
- The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta will get. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and use immediately for the meat lasagna recipe.
Why Does My Lasagna Fall Apart?
When the meat lasagna comes out of the oven, that cheese is piping hot and can fall apart if you slice it too quickly. You need to let the center settle and firm up. That means you need to be patient and wait about 30 minutes before digging in.
Can You Freeze Homemade Lasagna?
Yes just prepare the meat lasagna all the way up to the step before you bake it. Cover tightly in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Once you are ready to make, leave the lasagna in the fridge overnight so it thaws out. You can also bake this meat lasagna recipe right out of the freezer, but will need to add an extra 45 minutes to the cooking time with it being covered.
Tips for Tasty Meat Lasagna
- Take the time to make your own meat sauce and let it cook for three hours so the flavors develop.
- Use a combination of ground chuck and ground pork to give additional flavor.
- Use deli sliced mozzarella as it has less water and makes it perfect to get nice and stretchy when being baked.
- You can prepare the lasagna a day ahead of time. Just cover in the fridge before placing in oven to cook. You will have to cook 5-10 minutes longer.
Other Pasta Recipes
- Baked Ricotta Gnocchi
- Baked Rigatoni with Prosciutto
- Weeknight Bolognese
- Mediterranean Lasagna
- Almond Pesto Fettuccine
If you’ve tried this Meat Lasagna Recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.
Meat Lasagna
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 1 lb ground chuck
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 (28 oz can) San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 (6.5 oz can) tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 oz cans) tomato paste
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Meat Lasagna
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- meat sauce
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 1 lb ricotta cheese
- 1 lb deli mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- In large Dutch oven or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and parsley and cook until onion is tender - about 5 minutes. Add chuck and pork and sauté meat, stirring occasionally until it is well browned, about 5 minutes. Drain the fat from the meat.
- Add the San Marzano tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, basil, salt and black pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and simmer covered for 3 hours, stirring the sauce occasionally.
Meat Lasagna
- Bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Add salt and olive oil and cook lasagna al dente, according to package instructions.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13x9 baking dish.
- To assemble lasagna, spoon a third of meat sauce evenly into the bottom of the prepared dish. Over the sauce, layer a third of the noodles, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat layering twice, beginning with sauce and ending with parmesan.
- Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the top is browned.
- Let lasagna stand for 20-30 minutes before cutting to serve.
Notes
- Take the time to make your own meat sauce and let it cook for three hours so the flavors develop.
- Use a combination of ground chuck and ground pork to give additional flavor.
- Use deli sliced mozzarella as it has less water and makes it perfect to get nice and stretchy when being baked.
- You can prepare the lasagna a day ahead of time. Just cover in the fridge before placing in oven to cook. You will have to cook 5-10 minutes longer.
I didn’t know homemade ricotta was that easy!