Italian Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles

1 tbsp evoo

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup finely diced carrot

1 cup finely diced red onion

4 large garlic cloves

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

1 lb sweet italian sausage

1 lb lean ground beef

3/4 cup red wine

24 oz marinara

1/2 cup water

15 oz whole milk ricotta

8 oz parmesan cheese, shredded and divided

1 lb mozzarella, shredded and divided

1 large egg 1

1 oz basil

Instructions

Fill a deep 9×12 baking dish with VERY hot water. Gently lay the lasagna noodles in the water one by one making sure they don’t stick together. Let them soak while you prep everything else for the lasagna.

Heat a large skillet with high sides to a medium heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil. Swirl the pan and then add the diced carrot, celery, onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sweat the veggies for 4-5 minutes until they soften. If they start to brown, turn the heat down to medium low. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add in the Italian sausage and ground beef along with another 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat to medium-high. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into very small pieces. Cook stirring often until all the meat is cooked through, this should take about 10 minutes.

While the beef cooks and in between stirring, use this time to shred the cheese if you haven’t already.

When the meat is cooked through, add the red wine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Simmer until slightly reduced. Add in the jarred marinara. Pour 1/2 cup water into the empty jar of sauce, put the lid back on and shake to get any remaining sauce out of the jar. Pour into skillet with the sauce and meat mixture. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let the sauce cook while you make the ricotta mixture.

Add ricotta, 1 cup shredded parmesan, 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1 large egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and finely chopped basil to a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

Drain the water from the baking dish, remove the noodles and dry them on paper towels.

Remove the lid from the sauce turn off the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1 cup parmesan cheese together. Set aside.

Spray the baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Spread 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Layer with three lasagna noodles. Use a fourth noodle to fill in the gap at the bottom if there is one. Cut the nooodles to size. Spread another 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over the layer of noodles. Sprinkle the meat sauce with 1 cup of the mozzarella and parmesan mixture. Dollop half of the ricotta mixture on top of the mozzarella and cheese. Use an off set spatula or back of a spoon to gently spread the ricotta in an even layer. Lay another three noodles on top of the ricotta. Again use a fourth noodle to fill in the gap at the bottom if there is one.

Cut the noodle to size to fill in the gap nicely. Spread another 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over the layer of noodles. Sprinkle the meat sauce with another 1 cup of the mozzarella and parmesan mixture.

Dollop the remaining half of the ricotta mixture on top of the mozzarella and cheese. Use an off set spatula or back of spoon to gently spread the ricotta in an even layer. Lay one last layer of (3) lasagna noodles on top of the ricotta. Use a fourth noodle to fill in the gap at the bottom if there is one. Cut the noodle to size. Spread the remaining meat sauce on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Spray a large piece of foil with non-stick cooking spray. Cover the lasagna and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and increase the temperature in the oven to 375 degrees. Bake until the cheese is golden brown and the lasagna is bubbling.

Let the lasagna sit for AT LEAST 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving,

Calories: 571kcal (29%), Carbohydrates: 30g (10%), Protein: 39g (78%), Fat: 31g (48%), Saturated Fat: 15g (94%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 123mg (41%), Sodium: 1444mg (63%), Potassium: 627mg (18%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 1790IU (36%), Vitamin C: 7mg (8%), Calcium: 633mg (63%), Iron: 3mg (17%)