The Best Italian Lasagna Ever

This recipe for Italian Lasagna is a long time family favorite and is truly the best I’ve ever had. A rich meat sauce, with both beef and Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese marry together in this traditional casserole.

Lasagna is a casserole at heart, so if this one earns a spot in your rotation, here’s more ground beef casseroles like this one worth a place on your table.

Why this recipe works

I wish that I could take credit for putting this Italian lasagna recipe together, but I can’t. Many years ago I had followed the recipe on the back of the Creamette lasagna box and was sold. However, each time I wanted to make it, I just looked at the back of the box, always throwing the one away before it.

One day, I was in the grocery store picking up the noodles. I looked on the back of the box and it had a recipe for “Vegetable Lasagna” on the back. Oh no! I checked every box on the grocery store shelf, but alas, no “Italian Lasagna with Meat” recipe. I was lucky enough that I still had one box in my pantry, from which I cut and taped to a piece of paper. While veggie lasagna is tasty in its own right, I am a sucker for lasagna made with meat sauce. I’ve now been making this recipe since 2008, and couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

NOODLES – If you are using regular lasagna noodles, use half of a box. If you are using oven-ready, use the whole box. This is based on using Creamette and the shape of their noodles. The oven-ready noodles are shorter and wider, therefore, I layer them in the pan differently than I do the regular noodles. Watch the video above and you’ll see me making this recipe with the oven-ready noodles. The regular lasagna noodles are long and narrow and fit the full length of a 13×9 baking dish. You basically need about 12 noodles to make lasagna. A regular box of noodles will have about twice that many, while a box of no-boil noodles will have 12-14.

TOMATOES – You’ll need one 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Personally, I like to use the fire roasted tomatoes for the extra punch of flavor.

MEAT – I think what makes this recipe so good is that it uses both ground Italian sausage and ground beef. The flavors really stand out! If you aren’t a fan of Italian sausage, you can use all ground beef. This lasagna recipe builds its depth from a long-simmered meat sauce, but if you want the meat itself to taste even deeper, learning how to brown ground beef the right way is the single biggest upgrade you can make to any ground beef recipe.

How to Make Italian Lasagna

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large skillet, combine Italian sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook until sausage is no longer pink and onion is tender; drain. Stir in next 7 ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes.
3. Fill a baking pan with hot tap water and place the uncooked noodles into the water (we also use this method for our Pizza Lasagna recipe). Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, blend ricotta, egg, parsley, and salt.
5. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce into 13×9 inch baking dish. Layer one-third each lasagna, meat sauce, ricotta mixture, Mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers two more times.
6. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
7. Uncover, bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes longer.
8. If top is not browned enough, you can turn the temperature of the oven up to 500 F and baked for a few more minutes. Be sure to WATCH and check every couple of minutes as it will brown quickly!
9. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

Over the years I have tried different types of noodles. Creamette and other brands have come out with oven-ready noodles, also known as no-boil noodles. People still wonder if they can or should boil them. There’s no need to boil oven-ready noodles. You can just layer them right into the recipe. However, I like to soak them first, just to soften them up and make them pliable so they are easier to handle and work with.
This simple noodle soaking trick works for regular lasagna noodles too. Hence no more boiling at all if you don’t feel like it! Easy. Simply fill a pan with hot tap water. Place the noodles into the water about ten minutes before you assemble your casserole. Remember, this can be done with both types of noodles. Just don’t soak them too long, especially if there are a lot in the pan. They can stick together and be difficult to separate.

Yes, absolutely. Here’s this recipe as a Crockpot lasagna. You can also prepare it in a pressure cooker using our Instant Pot Lasagna recipe.

Store any cooled leftovers in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave.

Recipe Change from Box

My family prefers I leave the olives out of my lasagna, so I’ve never included them. The recipe from the back of the box is below PLUS 1 cup sliced pitted ripe black olives. If you decide to use them, just layer them in with all the other lasagna ingredients.

Serving Suggestions

Many people have come to this blog post and commented that they too lost this Creamette lasagna recipe, so I’m happy to share it here with you.

We’ve been loving this recipe for two decades. I hope you love it too! Serve your Italian lasagna with sliced homemade Italian bread, garlic bread, breadsticks, or a leafy green salad. Enjoy warm from the oven. For a finger food recipe with that Italian vibe, try our biscuits stuffed with meatballs and dip them in marinara!

Looking for more ground beef ideas? See our collection of 90 best ground beef recipes here.

If time is a factor for you, you’ll want to bookmark these fast ground beef dinners for busy nights!

More Related Recipes

• Lasagna Soup
• Seafood Lasagna
• Mexican Lasagna
• Crockpot Lasagna
• Lasagna Roll Ups
• More ground beef meals for a family

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This post originally appeared here on September 28, 2008 and has since been updated with new photos and tips.