World’s Best Homemade Lasagna

margin: 8px auto 8px 0; text-align: left; display: block; clear: both;

I’m not kidding when I say this is the world’s best lasagna recipe. It’s delicious, creamy, cheesy, AND super easy to make! PERFECT!!

Ok, I’m gonna be completely honest.  I’m not Italian. (Haha, I know. Big shocker there ;)) But, that doesn’t mean I don’t make a killer lasagna.  This lasagna is seriously so incredibly delicious and creamy!  Also, it’s not crazy difficult to make, which is always a plus!

We’ve all seen those videos of chefs making incredibly difficult dishes and making them look really easy!  Lasagna can definitely be one of those foods.  But, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to make your pasta sheets and marinara sauce from scratch or let your beef marinate for hours before cooking to have a really great lasagna!  Lasagna can be a pretty easy dinner! All you gotta do is tackle its 3 parts:

  • Meat sauce:  This will be a jar of your favorite marinara sauce, some sautéed ground beef or pork, salt, and garlic powder.  Pretty simple!
  • Pasta Sheet:  These are also pretty easy.  I just get this one from the grocery store.  It works great every time! The most important part of these pasta sheets is to not cook them for too long.  If you cook them for more than 4 minutes, they begin to be too squishy and doughy. :/  
  • Béchamel Sauce:  Now its time for the more interesting part!  Fair warning, this is the most difficult part of the dinner.  (But, honestly, it’s still really manageable. :))  In a medium saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour,  and cook that on medium-low heat until the butter/flour mixture has a nutty smell to it. (About 5ish minute) Be sure to continue whisking that whole time so the flour doesn’t clump up! Next, slowly whisk in 4 cups of milk in two parts so it combines without becoming clumpy and weird. Turn the heat up so it simmers and whisk until it the bechamel sauce thickens up. This should take about 5 minutes. Then turn down the heat a little bit and continue cooking until for about 10 minutes. (It should end up the consistency of thin alfredo sauce.) When it’s creamy and velvety, take it off the heat, add a few pinches of salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a quarter cup of shredded parm. (The peppers won’t make it spicy. Those just lift the flavor a bit. :)) And you’re done! It’s so delicious!

I’m not really a budget meals type of blog, but I figured it is interesting to add to this post.  Traditional lasagna is often times loaded with a bunch of cheese.  (That’s what makes it creamy and yummy.) The issue with that is that those fancy cheeses are pretty expensive so the dish ends up being quite an investment.  My recipe is still incredibly creamy, if not creamier, but you don’t have to spend all your money buying some big block of expensive fancy cheese.  Instead, I utilize the ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry! It’s a win-win situation!

World’s Best Homemade Lasagna Recipe

AuthorbasilanddillDifficultyIntermediate

Yields1 Serving
Prep Time15 minsCook Time1 hr 10 minsTotal Time1 hr 25 mins

 1 ½ lbs ground pork or beef
 ¾ tsp salt
 ½ tbsp oil
 24 oz bottle marinara sauce
 6 tbsp butter
 ¼ cup flour + 1 tbsp
 4 cups milk
 ¼ cup parmesan cheese
 1 pinch cayenne pepper
 1 pinch ground black pepper
 3 pinches salt
 10 lasagna pasta sheets (this might vary depending on the size of your pan)
 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1

In a large frying pan, drizzle a little bit of oil, sprinkle a 3/4 tsp of salt, and saute ground pork/beef until it's cooked all the way through. (It doesn't need to gain color, it should just be fully cooked). Add a large jar of marinara sauce and mix.

2

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour, and cook that on medium-low heat until the butter/flour mixture has a nutty smell to it. (About 5ish minute) Be sure to continue whisking that whole time so the flour doesn’t clump up! Next, slowly whisk in 5 cups of milk in two parts so it combines without becoming clumpy and weird. Turn the heat up so it simmers and whisk until it the bechamel sauce thickens up. This should take about 5 minutes. Then turn down the heat a little bit and continue cooking until for about 10 minutes. (It should end up the consistency of thin alfredo sauce.) When it's creamy and velvety, take it off the heat, add a few pinches of salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a quarter cup of shredded parm. (The peppers won't make it spicy. Those just lift the flavor a bit. :))

3

While you are making the bechamel sauce, bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it heavily. When it begins to boil, put in all your lasagna noodles. Mix the sheets around so they don't stick together cook them for 4 minutes.

4

Now that all of our individual parts are ready, it time to assemble! Begin by spreading a thin layer of bechamel sauce. Next layer noodles, bechamel sauce, meat sauce, and a bit of mozzarella cheese. Repeat those steps until you run out of ingredients. (You should end up with about 4 layers.) Lastly, top the lasagna with a healthy layer of mozzarella. Spread a little bit of olive oil on a sheet of aluminum foil and cover the lasagna.

5

Put the lasagna in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. (Let it cool for at least 10 minutes to give it time to set and so you don't burn the roof of your mouth. :)) Plate it and serve. Enjoy! <3

Ingredients

 1 ½ lbs ground pork or beef
 ¾ tsp salt
 ½ tbsp oil
 24 oz bottle marinara sauce
 6 tbsp butter
 ¼ cup flour + 1 tbsp
 4 cups milk
 ¼ cup parmesan cheese
 1 pinch cayenne pepper
 1 pinch ground black pepper
 3 pinches salt
 10 lasagna pasta sheets (this might vary depending on the size of your pan)
 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Directions
1

In a large frying pan, drizzle a little bit of oil, sprinkle a 3/4 tsp of salt, and saute ground pork/beef until it's cooked all the way through. (It doesn't need to gain color, it should just be fully cooked). Add a large jar of marinara sauce and mix.

2

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour, and cook that on medium-low heat until the butter/flour mixture has a nutty smell to it. (About 5ish minute) Be sure to continue whisking that whole time so the flour doesn’t clump up! Next, slowly whisk in 5 cups of milk in two parts so it combines without becoming clumpy and weird. Turn the heat up so it simmers and whisk until it the bechamel sauce thickens up. This should take about 5 minutes. Then turn down the heat a little bit and continue cooking until for about 10 minutes. (It should end up the consistency of thin alfredo sauce.) When it's creamy and velvety, take it off the heat, add a few pinches of salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a quarter cup of shredded parm. (The peppers won't make it spicy. Those just lift the flavor a bit. :))

3

While you are making the bechamel sauce, bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it heavily. When it begins to boil, put in all your lasagna noodles. Mix the sheets around so they don't stick together cook them for 4 minutes.

4

Now that all of our individual parts are ready, it time to assemble! Begin by spreading a thin layer of bechamel sauce. Next layer noodles, bechamel sauce, meat sauce, and a bit of mozzarella cheese. Repeat those steps until you run out of ingredients. (You should end up with about 4 layers.) Lastly, top the lasagna with a healthy layer of mozzarella. Spread a little bit of olive oil on a sheet of aluminum foil and cover the lasagna.

5

Put the lasagna in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. (Let it cool for at least 10 minutes to give it time to set and so you don't burn the roof of your mouth. :)) Plate it and serve. Enjoy! <3

Lasagna

Notes

  • Feel free to either use beef or pork for this recipe.