Easy Homemade Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese
Easy homemade lasagna with ricotta is one of those classic comfort foods. I’ve used this recipe for years, only I usually make with it with cottage cheese, instead of ricotta. My husband has been requesting that I substitute the cottage cheese for the ricotta, for quite some time. Well, I finally relented and guess what?…He was right!
While I still love lasagna made with the cottage cheese, I have to say this was as good, if not better, with the ricotta. The consistency was definitely better, as the ricotta holds it together perfectly.
I’ll have to give him this one. He was right. This recipe is winner and would make a great meal for any holiday or special occasion. Of course, it’s great any other time of the year as well.
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easy homemade lasagna with ricotta
As you can see, there’s not too terribly many ingredients. I forgot to add the ground beef in the above pic.
In a large skillet or pot, crumble and cook the meat and onion until it’s no longer pink. Drain, then add the 24 oz can of pasta sauce, tomato sauce and water.
In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, egg and Italian seasoning together until blended.
Put a cup of sauce on the bottom of the casserole, then layer 4 noodles, 1/3 of the cheese mixture and sauce and then repeat two more times. End with sauce and the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan. Go ahead and add extra cheese if you prefer. I always do. :)))
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let stand for about 5-10 minutes.
I served it with the Simple Avocado Tomato Salad and garlic toast and it was awesome! This lasagna also freezes well.
I hope you enjoy it and if you make it, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know how it turned out in the comments, below!
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- 1 lb ground chuck/beef
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 24 oz jar pasta sauce (I used Del Monte chunky)
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (divided in half)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup water
- 12 lasagna noodles ( I used oven ready. No boiling required)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Scramble the ground chuck/beef with the chopped onion until browned. Add some salt, pepper and garlic powder, if desired. Drain grease off, if needed.
- Add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, a cup of water and stir.
- Mix ricotta, 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup of parmesan, the beaten egg and Italian seasoning until blended.
- Take a cup of the sauce and spread it on the bottom of a 13x9 casserole pan. Lay down the 3 lasagna noodles and add a fourth, at the bottom of the pan (if needed.). You may have to break a small portion off to get it to fit.
- Take ⅓ of the cheese mixture and spread it over the noodles.
- Repeat layers of sauce, noodles, the cheese mixture 2 more times, ending with the sauce.
- Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
- Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover and bake for 45 minutes.
- Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.
Can I mix ricotta cheese with cottage cheese for a richer taste?
Hi Sheila! I don’t see why you couldn’t.Maybe try alternating with the layers. I love both so if you try it, let me know how it turns out!
I mixed half ricotta cheese and half cottage cheese and put that in each layer, along with the egg, mozzarella and parmesan cheese and seasoning. I
made this ahead of time and put in the freezer. I thawed it and baked it last Saturday night and my family absolutely loved it! There’s only one piece left. Thanks for the recipe!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Sheila! I’m going to try it your way, too! My husband loves ricotta and I love cottage cheese. This would give us the best of both worlds! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out! 🙂
What size dish did you use? More if a squared shape than my 9 + 13 glass dish.
I use a 9 x 13, Luan.
it doesn’t say what size can of tomato sauce to use,
Hi Becca! Use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.
Do I or don’t I cook the noodles first?
Hi Shannon! It depends on the noodles you use. I used “oven ready” lasagna noodles (on the recipe card at the bottom of the post). They require no boiling before use. Skinner & Barilla make those particular noodles. Just check on the package before you buy. If they don’t say ‘oven ready’, then yes…you will need to cook before putting the lasagna together. Hope this helps. 🙂