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The Best Homemade Classic Lasagna with Ricotta

A generous slice of homemade lasagna showing rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta, and melted cheese topping.
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This recipe delivers the World’s Best Lasagna, featuring rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta cheese layers, and perfectly melted mozzarella. It is a classic, hearty Italian comfort food that is surprisingly simple to make for your family dinner.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 (24 ounce) jar quality marinara sauce
  • 1 (15 ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 12 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain off any excess fat.
  3. Stir the marinara sauce into the cooked ground beef. Let the meat sauce simmer gently while you prepare the cheese mixture.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, beaten egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is well combined. This creates your creamy ricotta layers.
  5. Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
  6. Arrange four cooked lasagna noodles over the sauce, slightly overlapping if necessary.
  7. Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.
  8. Sprinkle one-third of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.
  9. Spoon half of the remaining meat sauce over the mozzarella.
  10. Repeat the layers: four more noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, one-third of the mozzarella, and the rest of the meat sauce.
  11. Top with the final four noodles. Spread any remaining sauce lightly over the top noodles.
  12. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and a light dusting of Parmesan cheese over the top layer.
  13. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
  14. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly browned.
  15. Let the lasagna rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This step helps the layers set for clean servings.

Notes

  • For a richer meat sauce, brown 1/2 pound of ground beef with 1/2 pound of mild Italian sausage.
  • To make this a make ahead lasagna, assemble the entire dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered baking time if baking directly from the refrigerator.
  • Use oven-ready noodles if you want an easier weeknight lasagna, but you may need to add a few extra tablespoons of water to your sauce to ensure they cook fully.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://cookingbyfelix.com/best-homemade-lasagna-creamy-layers/