Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 45 mins | Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins | Yield: 12 Servings
With layers of meaty goodness and melty cheese, this is indeed the best and ultimate Meat Lasagna you’ll ever make! Loaded with four kinds of cheese, a crazy delish homemade marinara sauce, with a couple of easy tricks, you’ll feel like eating a million-dollar lasagna from your favourite Italian restaurant.
Ingredients
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 tsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
6 c. marinara sauce
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 box lasagna noodles (I use flat no-boil Barilla noodles)
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 lb Provolone cheese, sliced
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
How to make Ultimate Meat Lasagna
Step 1: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Cook the beef in one large piece in a large pot for about 2 to 3 minutes until the bottom s brown, breaking the meat apart into little larger chunks.
Step 3: Add the basil to the browned beef along with the oregano, 2 tsp Kosher salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and fennel seeds. Stir well until you begin to smell the fennel seeds toasting. Drain the excess fat when done before pouring in the marinara sauce.
Step 4: Add the egg to the ricotta container plus half tsp salt. Mix well.
Step 5: To the meat sauce, add the no-boil noodles and toss to coat.
Step 6: In the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, add 1 ½ cups of meat sauce. For this recipe, I used straight sides pan for easy assembly and added heights. Then, in an even layer, add the dried no-boil noodles. I ended up with 5 noodles per layer (4 across the broken one in half lengthwise going down the sides of the pan). Now, add 1/3 of the slices of provolone, 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce, ¼ of the mozzarella, ¼ of the Parmesan, and ⅓ of the ricotta. Repeat the layers one more time. And for the final layer, add the lasagna noodles and top with the rest of the Parmesan and mozzarella.
Step 7: Tent the lasagna with foil. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes. Uncover and resume baking for another 10 minutes until the cheese has browned. Remove from the oven when done and allow the lasagna to cool for at least 20 to 25 minutes before cutting. Serve garnished with parsley. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 1626mg | Potassium: 771mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1115IU | Vitamin C: 8.6mg | Calcium: 444mg | Iron: 3.8mg
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 2 tsp dried basil leaves
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 c. marinara sauce
- 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 box lasagna noodles (I use flat no-boil Barilla noodles)
- 16 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 lb Provolone cheese, sliced
- 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Cook the beef in one large piece in a large pot for about 2 to 3 minutes until the bottom s brown, breaking the meat apart into little larger chunks.
Step 3: Add the basil to the browned beef along with the oregano, 2 tsp Kosher salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and fennel seeds. Stir well until you begin to smell the fennel seeds toasting. Drain the excess fat when done before pouring in the marinara sauce.
Step 4: Add the egg to the ricotta container plus half tsp salt. Mix well.
Step 5: To the meat sauce, add the no-boil noodles and toss to coat.
Step 6: In the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, add 1 ½ cups of meat sauce. For this recipe, I used straight sides pan for easy assembly and added heights. Then, in an even layer, add the dried no-boil noodles. I ended up with 5 noodles per layer (4 across the broken one in half lengthwise going down the sides of the pan). Now, add 1/3 of the slices of provolone, 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce, ¼ of the mozzarella, ¼ of the Parmesan, and ⅓ of the ricotta. Repeat the layers one more time. And for the final layer, add the lasagna noodles and top with the rest of the Parmesan and mozzarella.
Step 7: Tent the lasagna with foil. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes. Uncover and resume baking for another 10 minutes until the cheese has browned. Remove from the oven when done and allow the lasagna to cool for at least 20 to 25 minutes before cutting. Serve garnished with parsley. Enjoy!
