Italian Baked Lasagna

Submitted by Marla in California

"I found this recipe just by chance on www.cooking-italian-food.com. I tried it for a dinner party that I had this evening and everyone really raved about it. The original recipe just said two jars of a meatless sauce. I tried the Newman's Mushroom Marinara sauce and found it to be quite good. I am known for making a very good spaghetti sauce, so I am always a skeptic about trying a "canned sauce". Much to my surprise, this one is really good."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 45mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 10-12

ingredients

• 1 lb lasagna noodle, cooked
• 2 (26 ounce) jars of newman mushroom marinara sauce
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1⁄2 - 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced thin or shredded (I prefer shredded cheese for this rather than sliced.)
• 3⁄4 cup chopped onion
• 1 -2 clove garlic, chopped or minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2 teaspoons italian seasoning

directions

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
2. (Sometime I will try it without cooking the noodles first, but I am a bit of a coward.) Meanwhile, saute the ground beef, garlic and onion in a large skillet or saucepan until the beef is done.
3. Add sauce, salt and Italian seasoning and mix well.
4. Simmer on low heat 12 to 15 minutes.
5. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, and beaten eggs.
6. Grease a 9x13 or larger baking pan (larger is much better, otherwise you won't have enough room for everything).
7. Arrange a first layer of noodles so the ends hang over the sides of the pan.
8. (The ends will be laid back over the top for the final layer).
9. Then add a layer of the sauce, half of the ricotta mixture, and mozzarella cheese.
10. Add a second alternating layer of pasta, meat sauce, the rest of the ricotta mixture, and mozzarella cheese.
11. Repeat with another layer of pasta, then fold over the ends of the first layer of noodles and top with the rest of the sauce.
12. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or till cheese is bubbly.
13. Allow to set for 10 minutes before cutting.

Reviews

[Debbie 5]

Yes do be brave Marla,I ditto what Breez said in that this is basically the same excellent recipe I do also except I make my own tomato sauce and never add water to it even though I also never pre-cook my lasagna noodles and it always comes out great.not having to pre-cook the noodles is a fantastic time saver not to mention not having to play around with hot slippery noodles is a bonus!! I must admit that when my mom told me about not having to cook the noodles beforhand,I was a bit sceptical and nervous too but as usual mom was right,,I never looked back and never pre-cooked noodles since!!! Take the leap of faith Marla,,you wont regret it!! Debbie :)

 

[LizP5885]

My husband's Italian gramma taught me to make lasagna. We always thought hers was the best. Nope....this one is the best. I used Barilla tomato basil sauce and followed the directions exactly, except for two small changes. I added only 1 tsp. of salt (maybe the jarred sauce I used was saltier and did not need the additional tsp.), and used 1/2 tsp oregano and 1/2 tsp. basil, since Italian Seasoning has rosemary in it and I don't care for the taste of rosemary. The lasagna took a bit longer to bake than the instructions said, but that may have been my oven. Temps vary. The flavor was a perfect balance and when sliced after the 10 minute rest period, the lasagna squares stayed together perfectly. No oozing all over the plate. I won't make another lasagna after this.

 

[Breez]

Be brave Marla! This recipe is a winner. It's basically the same recipe I've been using for about 20 years. I never pre-cook the pasta, BUT the recipe lists adding 1 1/2 cups water to the sauce, which is absorbed by the pasta. Such a time saver. Oh... I split this into two 9 x 13 pans, so I don't have a headache or a mess in the oven.

 

[citaly chavira]

I tried this recipe for my family, whom is mexican; not very familiar with pasta dishes; and they loved it! It was very easy to make, not to mention it was my very first time attemppting to make lasagna. Thank you!