Chef John’s Lasagna

  4.8 – 337 reviews  • Lasagna Recipes

This is a great recipe for salmon patties that can be made with either canned or fresh salmon. This is a product of the Oregon coast.

Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
Additional Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 4 hrs
Servings: 12
Yield: 1 10×15-inch lasagna

Ingredients

  1. 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
  2. 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
  3. 1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  4. 1 teaspoon salt
  5. ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  6. ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (Optional)
  7. ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  8. 6 cups prepared marinara sauce
  9. ¼ cup water, or as needed (Optional)
  10. 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
  11. 2 large eggs
  12. 2 pounds whole-milk ricotta cheese
  13. 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
  14. ⅔ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  15. ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  16. 1 teaspoon salt
  17. ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  18. 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
  19. 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
  20. ½ cup freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

  1. Make the sauce: Cook and stir ground beef and sausage in a large saucepan over medium heat until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and pepper flakes. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until mushrooms have given off their juices and the bottom of the pan is almost dry, 4 to 6 minutes.
  2. Pour marinara sauce into meat mixture. (If using jarred sauce, add a little water to each jar and shake to get all sauce out of the jar; add to meat mixture.) Reduce the heat to low and simmer until meat is extremely tender, about 2 hours; add more water if sauce becomes too thick. Skim fat, then season sauce with salt and black pepper. Turn off the heat.
  3. When the sauce is almost finished, make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse lasagna noodles; set aside in a bowl of cold water.
  4. While the pasta is cooking, make the filling: Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then stir in ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
  5. When the sauce, pasta, and filling are ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  6. Divide sauce into fourths, noodles into thirds, and filling in half for layering. Layer ingredients in a 10×15-inch baking pan, spreading out to fill the pan, as follows: one part sauce, one part noodles, one part filling. Repeat once more. Add one part sauce, then tap the dish lightly on a sturdy work surface to settle the layers. Continue with one part noodles and one part sauce. Sprinkle remaining fresh mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano over top.
  7. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, making sure it doesn’t touch the cheese. Place onto a baking sheet to catch any spills.
  8. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until golden brown and bubbly, 30 to 35 more minutes. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 730 kcal
Carbohydrate 50 g
Cholesterol 159 mg
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 43 g
Saturated Fat 20 g
Sodium 1514 mg
Sugars 14 g
Fat 39 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

James Johnson
I did only two layers of noodles by accident but it was still the best lasagna I ever had!
Lisa Terry
I am not a fan of Italian food but dang this lasagna made with Chef John’s tomato sauce was amazing.
Tony Harris
This is definitely the best lasagna I have ever made. The mushrooms in the sauce provide a wonderful earthiness and it is incredibly savory. The husband prefers all beef so I obliged him but made the rest according to the recipe. I used Chef John’s Ricotta recipe and it turned out so well. I will probably only make a half recipe next time because it is huge! Great for a big gathering. Thanks, Chef John!
Randy Hernandez
The best lasagna hands down!
Joyce Elliott
I have elevated my cooking skills to another level with chef John. Absolutely use the bigger pan. It’s the best lasagne I’ve ever had!
Dr. Emma Griffith
I used basically the same ingredients but instead of ricotta cheese I made a bechamel with about 8 ozs. Of grated mozzarella cheese.And to cut down on work I put that into the meat and sauce .This way every layer had the same proportion.
Mrs. Megan Bailey
For sure go with the large pan. I’ll need to invest in a larger pan and needed a bit more sauce as I probably didn’t divide it out right. Was it delicious?!?! Lets just say that Chef John never disappoints. Even with the sub of using only 90/10 grassed beef it was amazing!
Mr. Troy Mcintyre
I made this Christmas and my father in law loved it. He asked for the leftovers! 30 years having the holidays together and this was a first. I think the mushrooms in the sauce make this dish. Made again for Easter . Said it smelled and tasted like his grandmother’s! BEST recipe! Oh and I don’t cook – so this is an easy one. I used Carbone for the canned sauce!! NICE
Jacqueline Gomez
My family loves this lasagna. I used to make the World’s Best Lasagna recipe until I tried Chef John’s. It’a notch above. The only thing I do differently is purchase 2 (8oz) packages of the soft round ball type mozzarella, one for the ricotta cheese mixture and the other to shred (yes it will shred) for the top. I found 4 oz for the top was just too little.
Danielle Frank
This lasagna was spectacular! I didn’t have any jarred marinara, so I made my own. Lasagna is always a time consuming recipe, but this was so worth the effort.
Garrett Barrett
This was incredibly simple and delicious. I made half the recipe with a pound of Italian seasoned ground turkey , a little more mushroom and a few cups fresh spinach, added to the sauce a few minutes before assembly. My husband and teenage boys devoured, Cheers!
John Pineda
It was perfect and my husband said it was my best lasagna ever. No need to cook all the noodles though. I cooked a 16 oz box per the recipe and used about 1/3. I don’t overlap as much as Chef John. Only change is what I always add: cooked and well-drained spinach is added to the ricotta filling.
Anthony Davenport
Only 3 layers? Come on!
Michael Potter
There is no better recipe for lasagna on the planet! I made the World’s Best Lasagna recipe on this site and Chef John’s is better. I’ve made many lasagnas in my day. One thing that I do is to drain the noodles individually on paper towels. Otherwise the water from the noodles can weaken the flavor of the sauce. You can’t go wrong with this recipe. Thanks Chef John!
Robert Dean
Best Lasagna I ever made. Just the right amount of heat too. Thanks Chef John
Shawna Perry
I actually bought my first lasagna pan to use for this recipe. What a difference. I love it! Also I love that mushrooms were incorporated into this recipe. Yum! I did not use pork sausage (I don’t like it). I used lean ground meat (97% meat 3% fat) with jarred marinara sauce that I doctored up to my taste. If you use tasteless marinara sauce, the taste of your lasagna will reflect this. Also I did not add water. The mushrooms did that for me. This is a great lasagna recipe! Thank you Chef John!
Mr. Joseph Jones
This is the best recipe I’ve ever tried. If you gave it less than five stars then you need to try a better marinara than the one you used or you did something wrong. My family loves this lasagna.
Nathan Smith
This was amazing. Used deep dish lasagna pan and it was filled to the brim. I always round up. 2# ground chuck + 1# spicy Italian sausage. 2/3 c cheese, I had 1+ cup. It was delicious. Highly recommend
Katie Jones
I added 1 tsp fennel, fresh chopped basil, Italian parsley, and 1 cup of wine to the sauce and it gave it a rich depth of flavor. Please use only whole fat Ricotta as the flavor was far superior. Enjoy!
Mrs. Becky Williams DDS
This was a perfect recipe for a Sunday dinner in the fall. Very easy to make and quite flavorful. I think I might have skimmed off too much fat in the process as it was a bit dry. I learned my lesson and will let it go in the future.
Mary Carlson
This turned out delicious. The instructions were great and easy to follow. The video was entertaining. I used my own homemade meat sauce but supplemented it with a jar marinara. Instead of making one big dish, we split the noodles in half and baked it in two smaller casserole dishes so we could freeze one immediately. We didn’t use mushrooms and also eliminated the salt and cayenned in the ricotta.

 

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