Learn How To Make A Traditional Italian Lasagna

Every year during the holidays I love to serve up a rich, cheesy, meaty, traditional Italian lasagna. It is the perfect dish to serve when you are entertaining a large group because it can be made in advance. With a little preplanning, all that is needed on the day you are serving it, is to pop it in the oven at the right time. It pairs so well with a succulent prime rib. I never get any complaints when I serve up this dynamic duo!

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Learn how to cook up a perfectly tender and juicy prime rib roast to serve alongside this classic Italian Lasagna for a truly special meal. What a perfect way to ring in the new year! It’s easier than you think to make it. How To Cook The Perfect Holiday Prime Rib Roast.

I adapted this lasagna recipe from one I found on Allrecipes.com for World’s Best Lasagna submitted by John Chandler. It has over 19,000 positive reviews. It won’t disappoint, I promise! My nephew John loves this lasagna so much he’s been known to sneak a big square, or two, in the middle of the night. That explains the appearance of dirty dishes in the sink the next morning…LOL!

I’m not gonna lie, making lasagna is a process. You could make it in one day but you will be cooking all day. It’s so much easier and much less intimidating to make, if you break it into easy to do manageable steps over the course of a couple of days. This lasagna is with the effort, it’s absolutely delicious!

Let’s walk through the process step by step.

Day 1: Make the sauce.

Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you off. There is nothing exotic here, just basic ingredients that you are probably used to cooking with and have in your kitchen.

Start by browning a chopped onion, a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground sweet Italian sausage over medium heat in a large stock pot. You could also use a mild Italian sausage. I have tried both in the past and we prefer the sweet over the mild, but both are delicious. The sweet Italian sausage has a milder flavor and it adds a lovely Italian goodness.

Once the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, drain off any excess fat.

Add an entire head of minced garlic to the pot and cook for another minute or so until fragrant.

What does it mean to cook garlic till fragrant? When you add garlic to the pan and heat it, it will release its garlic goodness after about a minute or so. When that wonderful garlic smell wafts up out of the pan and hits your nose that’s when you have cooked it until fragrant.

Yes it’s a lot of garlic, but we are making a large 13X9 inch casserole. We love garlic so an entire head is just right for us. If you are not a fan of garlic like we are you could certainly use less. Trust me, this amount is just right!

Slow Cooker Method: If you want to simmer the sauce in a slow cooker instead of n the stovetop, now would be the time to transfer the cooked meat mixture to your slow cooker. Remove the pot from the heat and transfer contents to a large crockpot.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.

Next add the wine, coffee, and water.

Stir in sugar, fennel seeds, basil, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley.

You may be wondering about the addition of sugar and black coffee to the sauce. Adding the sugar and black coffee helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes in the sauce. I learned the trick of adding the coffee to tomato sauce from my dad. He always added it to his spaghetti sauce. You won’t taste the coffee but it mellows out the acidity and improves the overall flavor of the sauce. The addition of a little bit of sugar helps enhance the flavor of the sauce as well. My mother always added just a pinch of sugar to her tomato sauces.

You may be more familiar using diced tomatoes in Italian sauces instead of crushed tomatoes. Crushed tomatoes are smoother in texture than diced tomatoes but not as smooth as tomato sauce. Using crushed tomatoes will result in a smoother textured saucier sauce without any noticeable chunks of tomato in your lasagna.

Stir all the ingredients together until well combined. Cook on low in a crockpot for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally, or simmer on low, on your stovetop for a couple hours. The house is going to smell divine as the sauce cooks! You want all the flavors to combine and cook together. The longer it cooks the better the flavor. Once the sauce has cooked for several hours, turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate sauce overnight.

Cook the sauce on the stove over low heat. Be sure to keep an eye on it and stir it frequently so it doesn’t burn.

Make the cheese filling.

While the sauce is simmering, make the cheese filling. In a large mixing bowl combine Ricotta cheese, egg, and garlic powder.

Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, salt and nutmeg. Stir to combine ingredients.

Refrigerate the cheese filling overnight if you are not assembling the lasagna right away.

Day 2: Assemble Lasagna.

When you are ready to assemble the lasagna you will want to start by getting the noodles ready. You can boil the noodles according to the package directions or try the soaking method.

Soaking Method: Soak noodles in the hot water for 20-30 minutes. Swish them around a bit every few minutes to make sure they aren’t sticking together and ensure the entire surface of each noodle comes in contact with the hot water. Use tongs so you don’t burn your fingers.

To assemble the lasagna get all the ingredients together, the sauce, the cheese filling, the softened/cooked noodles and shredded cheeses.

Start by spreading about 1½ cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a deep 13×9 inch baking dish.

Arrange a layer of noodles over the meat sauce.

Spread a third of the ricotta cheese mixture onto the noodles.

Top with a third of the shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Spoon 1½ cups meat sauce over the mozzarella cheese.

Arrange another layer of noodles lengthwise over the meat sauce/cheese mixture.

Spread a third of the ricotta cheese mixture onto the noodles.

Top with a third of the mozzarella cheese.

Sprinkle ¼ cup Parmesan cheese evenly over the grated Mozzarella cheese.

Repeat layers once last time; a layer of meat sauce, a layer of noodles, a layer of ricotta cheese, a layer of mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.

Finish with a final layer of noodles, a layer of grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Cover pan with foil.

TIP: To prevent the foil from sticking to the cheese, spray the foil with cooking spray.

Bake immediately or refrigerate overnight.

TIP: Use any leftover marinara sauce with your favorite pasta. Delicious with spaghetti noodles.

Day 3: Bake Lasagna.

Remove lasagna from fridge and allow to come to room temperature for an hour on the counter.

TIP: Place lasagna on a baking sheet to catch any spills as it cooks.

Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Lasagna is done when it’s hot and bubbly with lightly browned edges.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting into serving sized squares.

TIP: Allowing the lasagna to cool will allow it to set up so you can serve it in nice squares. It’s a much prettier presentation than cutting into it too soon which can result in a runny dish. It will still taste awesome, it just won’t look as pretty.

Just look at those cheesy, creamy layers with that lovely homemade marinara sauce. I can honestly say this is one of the very best lasagnas you will ever eat! Leftovers reheat beautifully, covered and reheated in the oven. The noodles soak up the flavors and the leftovers are even better the next day.

Yes this lasagna is quite a bit of work, but it’s the perfect meal when you want to serve up something really special and utterly delicious for those special family meals. It really is worth all the effort it takes to make this tasty lasagna!

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