Authentic Italian Lasagna

Authentic Italian Lasagna is a family favorite in our Italian-American family and we make it on all the big holidays! This classic Italian dish is made with lasagne, seasoned ricotta, and ragu sauce.

Looking for more baked dishes? Try our Italian Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce and RicottaorRice Dressing with Sausage.

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Making Meat Lasagna

We always have lasagna on Thanksgiving and Christmas, sometimes Easter, and if any of my siblings and I are going on a trip, my mom makes us a frozen one to take with us. We grew up on Authentic Italian Lasagna and watched our mom make it over and over again!

The key to a good lasagna, in my mind, is the meat. You have to use a meat sauce. The meat is what gives the sauce its flavor. The same goes for an Authentic Italian Sunday Sauce. You can use the same base sauce as your Sunday Sauce and just add ground meat like sausage and ground beef, or you could make an Authentic Bolognese, which is a little bit thicker.

I find our recipe to be the perfect combination of saucy and cheesy. The lasagna isn't a complete disaster of messiness, but it also doesn't have any dry pasta edges, which are the worst in lasagna.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Ground Beef and Sausage. I use a 50/50 combination of sweet Italian Sausage and 80/20 ground beef. I always remove the sausage from the casing. You can also buy ground pork and make your own sausage with Homemade Italian Sausage Seasoning. You could also just use all ground beef.
• Ricotta. I use Trader Joe's ricotta. It's probably my favorite outside of BelGioso, but that is about twice as expensive. The Ricotta Filling stores a ton of flavor, and it's a great recipe to have on hand for other recipes like Baked Cheese Manicotti.
• Tomato Puree. I use a tomato puree, or I blend whole plum tomatoes with an immersion blender.
• Tomato Paste. I use tomato paste at the base of my sauce. The key to a deeper tomato flavor is to caramelize the tomato paste.
• Mozzarella. I add a bit of mozzarella to the ricotta mixture. Then I top the lasagna with mozzarella.
• Lasagna. I don't use pre-cooked lasagna noodles. I find them to be...absolutely disgusting. So these are dried lasagna noodles. You'll have to cook them for 5-6 minutes to start. You can also use fresh lasagna if you have the time, which you won't have to pre-boil.

*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.

How to Make Authentic Italian Lasagna

Authentic Italian lasagna takes several steps to make. The good part about it is that certain parts can be prepped in advance, and it doesn't have to be cooked when you finish preparing the lasagna in the baking dish. You can always bake it the next day!

Authentic Italian Baked Ziti can be prepped and made much quicker if you're looking for another baked pasta dish.

Ricotta Mixture

Step 1: Combine the ricotta with parmesan, mozzarella, garlic powder, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper. Once combined, cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.

*Top Tip: Ricotta filling can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge.

Making the Meat Sauce for Lasagna

I typically make a meat sauce for a lasagna, but you can also try it with Authentic Italian Bolognese or Braised Italian Short Ribs with Gnocchi.

Step 2: Bring a large pot to medium-high heat. Add the meat and let it sit for two minutes. Then use a wooden spoon to break apart the meat into pieces. Continue to break apart the meat and stir occasionally until the meat is completely browned. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove any liquid from the pan.

Step 3: Lower the heat to medium and add the olive oil to the pan. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.

Step 4: Add the tomato paste and combine it with the garlic. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes to caramelize the tomato paste. Caramelizing the tomato paste will intensify the tomato flavor and help create a thicker ragu.

Step 5: Add the tomato puree to the pot with the basil and salt. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.

Step 6: Add the meat back in and return the sauce to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 1 hour uncovered.

Preparing Lasagna Noodles

Step 7: While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heavily salt the water. Add your dried lasagna to the water and boil for 5 minutes.

Step 8: Strain the lasagna in a colander and set them on a baking tray greased with olive oil (as shown above). Allow them to cool.

Helpful Hintfor boiling Lasagna: The noodles will start sticking together almost immediately after you strain them. Add a little drizzle of olive oil to them then immediately start laying them flat on a greased tray. You'll need more than one tray!

Layering Lasagna in a Baking Dish

Step 9: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line the bottom of the baking dish with some of the sauce.

Step 10: Add a layer of lasagna, usually 4 pieces are perfect. Spread some of the ricotta mixture over the lasagna, keeping in mind that we are making 4 layers.

Step 11: Ladle some of the meat sauce on top of the ricotta and then start again with the lasagna until you run out of pasta.

Step 12: On the top layer, sprinkle with the mozzarella.

Step 13: Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the lasagna to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. This will let it set.

An authentic Italian Lasagna is hard to beat, but it is somewhat of a time-intensive recipe. If you're looking for the same flavor but with fewer steps, try a One-Pot Lasagna Soup.

Pro-Tips for Authentic Italian Lasagna

1. The sauce needs to simmer for at least 1 hour to thicken. If the sauce is too thin, the lasagna will fall apart when you serve it.
2. When layering the lasagna, make sure to spread the sauce evenly on all the edges of the lasagne so that they don't crisp up.
3. Make the ragu a day or 2 in advance and store it in the refrigerator, or make it in advance and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
4. Let the lasagna cool for at least 15 minutes before serving so that it has time to set and doesn't fall apart.

Make-Ahead and Freezing Instructions

How to make ahead. You can make the ricotta mixture and the sauce a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Or you can make the entire tray of lasagna and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

How to Freeze. You can make the whole tray of authentic Italian lasagna in an aluminum tin half tray. Just don't bake it. Wrap the tray in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Remove the tray from the freezer 24 hours ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. We can do the same make-ahead process with Italian Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce and Ricotta.

When you bake from cold, bake for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil, and then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

What to Serve with Lasagna

Authentic Italian Lasagna is definitely a filling dish, but it's rarely the only dish on the table! Here's what is usually on the table with our Authentic Italian Lasagna.

• Meat. We always have some meat on the table with our lasagna, whether it be Authentic Italian Braciole, Classic Italian Fried Meatballs, or Italian Ring Sausage (Chevalatta).
• Vegetables. Definitely have some greens on the table with a big tray of baked pasta like Sauteed Rapini with Garlic, Italian Cabbage Recipe, or Italian Lacinato Kale Recipe (Tuscan).
• Salad. Serve a big, filling salad like a Caesar salad with Traditional Caesar Dressing and Homemade Italian Parmesan Croutons or just a simple spring mix salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette.
• Poultry. Looking for some classic Italian chicken dishes to serve with lasagna. We usually have some Fennel Chicken Thighs in Red Wine or Restaurant-Style Chicken Francese.
• Dessert. Usually we serve lasagna around the holidays, so we have a dessert we can prepare ahead of time, like Pistachio Torta Caprese or Pignoli Cookies.

Recipe FAQs

Do Italians put ricotta in Lasagna?

It depends on what part of Italy. In the South, yes. This Lasagna recipe is similar to how it would be made in the South. While in the north of Italy, in cities like Bologna, it would be made with a bechamel instead of ricotta.

What is traditional lasagna made of?

Traditional lasagna is made with a layer of lasagna noodles, a seasoned ricotta mixture, a meat sauce, and then another layer of noodles. Once you make 3-4 layers, you top it with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan.

How many layers should lasagna have?

It should be 3-4 layers for it to look nice while serving. 2 layers will look like a pancake and anything more than 4 and it starts to become difficult to remove from the pan.

More Family Style Dishes

• Authentic Italian Sunday Sauce
• Spicy Chicken Riggies
• Creamy Chicken Parmesan Pasta
• Creamy Brie Pasta