Meat Lasagna

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.

Baked pasta dishes are hard to beat - from baked rigatoni with prosciutto to baked ricotta gnocchi. But probably the most well known is good old lasagna.

I mean 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.

It was a few months back that a friend of mind brought her lasagna to a potluck party. After just one bite, I knew this was the recipe to try. I will admit I put my own spin on it, but it is centered around her original recipe.

Since making this homemade lasagna for the first time, I might have made it two or three or four more times. I honestly can't count. It really is the perfect party dish as you can make ahead of time and just bring when ready.

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. Oh and if you are craving a multi-cultural version, try this pierogi lasagna.

Jump to:

• Recipe Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• How to Make Homemade Pasta
• How to Make Homemade Ricotta
• Lasagna Variations
• Why Does My Lasagna Fall Apart?
• Can You Freeze Homemade Lasagna?
• Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
• Other Pasta Recipes
• Meat Lasagna

Recipe Ingredients

• Olive oil - used to cook the produce and meat.
• White onion, garlic, Italian parsley - the base for the meat sauce.
• Ground chuck/pork - using a combination gives great flavor but the right amount of fat.
• San Marzano tomatoes - no sauce is complete without them.
• Tomato sauce - helps thin out the lasagna sauce slightly.
• Tomato paste - adds a richer tomato flavor.
• Granulated sugar - just a touch of sweetness.
• Oregano, basil, salt, black pepper - enhances the flavor of the sauce.
• Lasagna noodles - store-bought or homemade works.
• Ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese - you can't have a lasagna recipe without good quality cheese.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 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.
2. Add chuck and pork and sauté meat, stirring occasionally until it is well browned, about 5 minutes. Drain the fat from the meat.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Repeat layering twice, beginning with sauce and ending with Parmesan.
6. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Cut into lasagna strips and use for this lasagna.

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 recipe.

1. Pour the milk and cream into large pot and stir in salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.

Lasagna Variations

The great thing about this lasagna recipe is you can customize it to your liking. Some of the ways you can change it include:

• Use different meat: ground turkey or chicken will work or you could even use Italian sausage or a combination.
• Add some veggies: it never hurts to add some veggies like mushrooms, peppers or even spinach.
• Make it vegetarian: while this is a meat recipe, you can make it vegetarian by replacing the meat with chopped veggies like mushrooms, zucchini and carrots among some options. But be sure to cook off the extra juice from the veggies or the lasagna will be watery.
• More herbs: the meat is the star in this recipe for me, but feel free to add additional herbs like thyme, sage, basil or rosemary.
• More cheese: I mean there is quite a bit of cheese but you could always add another flavor profile like goat cheese which never hurts.
• Spice it up: more crushed red pepper never hurts or using spicy sausage makes a difference.
• Make it spicy: Feel free to double or triple the amount of crushed red pepper flakes to make your lasagna recipe a bit spicy.
• Zucchini noodles: you can thinly slice zucchini or even eggplant to replace the lasagna noodles. You'll just need to drain them for at least 30 minutes so the lasagna isn't too watery.

Why Does My Lasagna Fall Apart?

When the homemade 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 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 lasagna right out of the freezer, but will need to add an extra 45 minutes to the cooking time with it being covered.

You can also freeze after baking. Just let cool to room temperature and then cover tightly in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.

Pro Tips/Recipe 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.

Other Pasta Recipes

• Weeknight Bolognese
• Mediterranean Lasagna
• Tortellini Bolognese
• Almond Pesto Fettuccine
• Beef Ragu

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.