Homemade lasagna is a hardy meal that is perfect for these cool winter days, but really any time of year! It’s easy and inexpensive to make, and is a great meal to prep ahead of time to make on busy nights!
When I moved out of the house at the ripe old age of 19 to finish my last two years of college, my mom sent me with a book full of my favorite recipes. Although I wasn’t totally new to cooking, I definitely wasn’t seasoned. One of the recipes in that book was my mom’s lasagna recipe. It was probably my favorite dish that she made growing up, so I had to learn how to make it! There’s just something comforting about a super cheesy and meaty noodle dish.
Over the years I have tweaked the recipe a bit, but it remains easy and absolutely delicious! It’s also super customizable and tastes great with lots of different add-ins. Homemade lasagna only takes a handful of inexpensive ingredients to make, is a great make ahead meal and is always a crowd pleaser!
PIN FOR LATER!
HOW TO MAKE EASY HOMEMADE LASAGNA
TOOLS YOU MAY NEED
- Large pot
- Cast iron skillet
- Spatula
- Medium mixing bowl
- Mixing spoon
- Measuring spoons
- 9 x 13 casserole dish
INGREDIENTS
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 1 lb hamburger
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves of grated garlic
- 1 jar pasta sauce
- 22 oz container of cottage cheese
- 3 cups of mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbs Italian seasoning
OPTIONAL ADD-INS
- Substitute ground Italian sausage for half or all of the ground hamburger.
- Try using ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese.
- Add in chopped peppers, mushrooms and/or diced tomatoes with the meat sauce.
- Try incorporating a little
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING HOMEMADE LASAGNA
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles to al dente, then drain and set aside.
Preheat a cast iron skillet and brown the hamburger and onion. When the hamburger is almost finished cooking, add in the garlic.
Add the pasta sauce to the ground hamburger mixture, turn to medium, low and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and the Italian seasoning and set aside.
Once the meat sauce has thickened slightly, add a small spoon full to the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Layer on three cooked lasagna noodles.
Then add a few large spoonful of the meat sauce and spread over the noodles.
Top the meat sauce with spoonfuls of the cottage cheese mixture and spread around.
Repeat this process until all ingredients have been used.
Sprinkle on the remaining two cups of mozzarella cheese.
Bake the lasagna at 375°F for 20 minutes. Then turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to bake the cheese further. Be sure to keep an eye on it!
Allow the lasagna to cool slightly before slicing and serving!
NOTES
- I like to cook the lasagna noodles and the meat sauce simultaneously to save time.
- To make it easier, try mixing together the cottage cheese mixture with the meat sauce.
- This lasagna is even better the next day, trust me!
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
HOW DO I MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME?
- To prep this lasagna ahead of time, simply assemble it, allow it to cool, then store it in the refrigerator for up to three days before baking it.
- If your casserole dish has a lid, that should suffice, otherwise cover it tightly with plastic wrap or a beeswax wrap, then with tin foil.
- To freeze this lasagna, assemble it, but don’t bake it. Then cover it with plastic wrap, then tin foil and freeze for up to two months!
- Bake the frozen lasagna at 350°F for 2 hours or until it’s fully cooked and bubbly.
Easy Homemade Lasagna
Homemade lasagna is a hardy meal that is perfect for these cool winter days, but really any time of year! It's easy and inexpensive to make, and is a great meal to prep ahead of time to make on busy nights!
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 1 lb hamburger
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves of grated garlic
- 1 jar pasta sauce
- 22 oz container of cottage cheese
- 3 cups of mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbs Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles to al dente, then drain and set aside.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet and brown the hamburger and onion. When the hamburger is almost finished cooking, add in the garlic.
- Add the pasta sauce to the ground hamburger mixture, turn to medium, low and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and the Italian seasoning and set aside.
- Once the meat sauce has thickened slightly, add a small spoon full to the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Layer on three cooked lasagna noodles.
- Then add a few large spoonful of the meat sauce and spread over the noodles.
- Top the meat sauce with spoonfuls of the cottage cheese mixture and spread around.
- Repeat this process until all ingredients have been used.
- Sprinkle on the remaining two cups of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the lasagna at 375°F for 20 minutes. Then turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to bake the cheese further. Be sure to keep an eye on it!
Notes
I like to cook the lasagna noodles and the meat sauce simultaneously to save time.
To make it easier, try mixing together the cottage cheese mixture with the meat sauce!
This lasagna is even better the next day, trust me!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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Did you make this homemade lasagna? If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate if you came back and gave the recipe a five star rating! Tag me on Instagram (@thesimplehomeplace) to show me your own recreation of this recipe!
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