How to make Lasagna

How to make Lasagna

Lasagna – a deliciously cheesy layered noodle dish. I’d bet most people in the US have had it at least once in their life. If you haven’t, go make yourself some asap. 

Today, I will give you some tips and tricks on how to make lasagna. Or maybe how to make it for the first time successfully. People tend to think lasagna is challenging to make, but it isn’t. Perhaps a little more thought than just an easy weeknight meal, but it’s worth it! 

Lasagna is made of three different components: the noodles, the sauce, and the cheese filling. The fun thing about lasagna is that it’s customizable! If you want different kinds of meat in the sauce or even none, it’s up to you! 

What I want you to get from this is to use your cooking instincts. When you break down the lasagna steps, it’s very basic: a tomato sauce, cheese mixture, and noodles. Don’t overthink it; go step by step to what’s logical to you. Everyone has cooking instincts! 

Now, here are some tips and tricks on how you can succeed in making lasagna!

Not pre-cooking the noodles:

This might sound a little crazy, but you don’t need to pre-cook your noodles. It’ll take a little longer to cook, but it takes out a whole step. You’ll need to make the sauce a bit saucier so the noodles can soak in it. Letting the noodles sit will soften, and the sauce will cook the noodles. You will need to assemble it 2-3 hours before and let it sit.

Flip-flopping the noodles:

Lasagna can be a bit sloppy when you’re serving it. That’s why when assembling, flip-flopping the noodles will hold them together better! 

Cheese Filling:

A lot of people use ricotta cheese for their filling. Once, I made it with cottage and ricotta cheese; most other times, I’ve made it with just cottage. The ricotta definitely gives it a creamy bit, which is nice if that’s what you’re going for. It makes the dish quite a bit heavier, though. Adding some parmesan or mozzarella would also be good!

Sauce add-ins:

The sauce is the most customizable part of lasagna. There are so many different things you can do with it! Adding onions, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, or yellow squash are great additions to the sauce!

Beef and ground sausage are two of my new favorite combination for lasagna—classic lasagna with a bit of something extra. I’ve always had it with ground beef, but adding sausage makes it tastier! Now writing this, I wonder what chorizo would be like in this dish. I’ll need to experiment and report back! 

To make your sauce go further and a bit thinner, especially if you’re not pre-cooking your noodles is to rinse out your jars with a bit of water! You could even use broth instead of water.

Toothpicks:

I saw this little trick elsewhere and couldn’t but share! Since you need to cover the lasagna, use toothpicks, so the cheese doesn’t stick to the covering. Stick 4-6 of them in and gently pat the cover onto them. 

How I make my lasagna:

I assemble mine in the morning, stick it in the fridge till dinner, and cook it at 350 for 50-60 minutes. I cover it for the first 40 minutes, then let the cheese crisp up. After it’s out, I let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Letting it sit will also help serving not to be too sloppy.

I start with my sauce, onions, garlic, and sometimes spinach. I add the beef and sausage, then add the tomato sauce. Rinse the jar out with a bit of water, and stir. I season with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic pepper at every step. I add a little paprika when I’m cooking the meats. I’ll let that simmer while I do the other steps.

I combine the cottage cheese and add an egg or two, depends how much I’m making. I season it with salt and pepper, then set it aside. 

I usually use a pan that’s a bit bigger than a 9×13. Start with a good amount of sauce on the bottom of the pan, so the noodles can start soaking it up. Then:

• The first layer of noodles
• Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Sauce

• The second layer of noodles
• Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Sauce

• The third layer of noodles
• Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Sauce

Final top: 

• Shredded Cheese

I hope you’ve found this hopeful! What things do you like to do when making lasagna? Comment down below!

~Becky 🙂