World’s Best Lasagna Recipe (Made Easy with Sweet Italian sausage)

Lasagna is one of my favorite Italian dishes! Although It is considered Italian cuisine, I twist it with soul food. My mother would frequently make Lasagna for my sister and me when we were young, and I’ve loved it ever since.

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As I’ve said many times before, I love pasta, cheese, and sauce, so it’s not a surprise that Lasagna is one of my favorite things to eat. I uniquely make Lasagna because I add a few ingredients that aren’t commonly used but you’ll love the spin I put on it, trust me.

This lasagna recipe is a keeper! Whether you know how to make lasagna and want to try something new or have never made it before, this recipe will definitely satisfy your tastebuds, so give it a shot! I’m confident you’ll love my version.

This Lasagna recipe has been updated since the classic 2014 video

I posted a video on my YouTube channel around 2014 or so, showing you how I make and prepare lasagna. It’s become a fan favorite since then and one of my most viewed videos. And although I made a few adjustments, it’s still delicious.

World’s Best Lasagna Recipe Video

Pam Miles-Hubbard’s Lasagna

My mom made lasagna quite often when I was young, and this recipe is a modification of how she used to make it. When she made it, she used ground turkey because she’s sort of a healthy eater.

She didn’t eat red meat very often, but I like to use ground beef and sweet Italian sausage. The sweet Italian sausage separates my lasagna from others. It just makes the dish pop in my opinion!

My mom was introduced to Lasagna by a coworker of hers, Pam Miles/Hubbard, who became a longtime friend of hers and who is like a play auntie to me! My mom would chill at her house a lot, even before I was born.

Pam Miles/Hubbard would often cook for them both. My mom learned how to cook later on after having me and my sister. I remember being in the kitchen and hearing my nana Alice Mae instruct my mom as she would help her prepare dinner for us.

Eventually, my mom would master a couple of dozen dishes and get a feel for cooking. She became an experienced cook and very comfortable and confident in the kitchen and when she did, she’d make Lasagna!

Childhood memories of Lasagna in the 90s

As a kid, the one thing I remembered about my mom’s lasagna was the Ricotta. I would always refer to it as the “White stuff.” I didn’t really care for Ricotta at the time… it has to grow on me.

I remember the long noodles with ridges on the ends and how she would always buy a super long aluminum pan whenever she made it. I was enthused by all the ingredients she used and the layering of the cheese noodles and sauce.

It was fascinating to me, so much so that I asked to help her one time, and she obliged. I was so happy and always excited when she made it because she had done a good job with it.

I remember my aunt even asking her to make a pan for them. But yeah, Lasagna was definitely something I grew up on and one of my favorite casserole dishes, so you know I had to show you how I make mine.

My mom absolutely loves my Lasagna and doesn’t bother making it anymore. If she wants some, she’d just ask me to make it. However, she did ask me to create a recipe for it so she could sometimes make it herself for herself and her husband.

Anyway, those are my childhood memories of Lasagna from when I was a kid in the 90s. Now it’s time for me to talk about the ingredients and how I make my Lasagna, which I know y’all will love.

Cookware & utensils you’ll need:

• Large Skillet: To brown the meat and saute the veggies in.
• Knife: To chop the vegetables.
• Large Pot: To boil the lasagna in.
• Colander: To strain the lasagna.
• 2 Spatulas: To break the meat up.
• Big Spoon: To scoop the meat sauce. 
• Casserole Dish: To bake the lasagna in.

Ingredients you’ll need:

Here are the ingredients I use and that you’ll need for my Lasagna recipe. To simplify the preparation process, I’m not just listing the ingredients; I’m breaking them up into categories of what you need them for and when to use them.

For the Pasta

• Lasagna
• Water
• Oil
• Salt

For the meat

• Ground beef
• Sweet Italian sausage
• Onions
• Mushrooms
• Seasoning salt
• Adobo seasoning
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Italian seasonings
• Black pepper

For the sauce

• Prego sauce
• Dice tomatoes
• Tomato paste
• Sugar

Sour cream Ricotta mixture

• Spinach
• Sour cream
• Ricotta
• Mozzarella cheese
• Seasoning salt
• Adobo seasoning

Cheeses for layering and very top

• Mozzarella cheese
• Cheddar cheese

Okay, so now I’m going to dive into each ingredient, explain why I use some, and offer suggestions of substitutions you can make for the ingredients that another can replace.

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Common questions about the Lasagna

• What brand of Lasagna do you use? A good name brand like Barilla, De Cecco or San Giorgio. Any name brand of pasta would be good. A good quality of pasta just enhances the integrity of the dish.
• Should you boil the Lasagna with oil? Most definitely. Lasagna has a tendency to stick, and if you don’t use oil, you will have to pull it apart, which will cause it to break. So yes, use a nice amount of oil.
• Why do you add salt to pasta water: Yes I use a nice amount of salt because salt adds flavor to the lasagna. So yes, add salt because you want even the pasta to have taste otherwise it’ll be bland.
• When is Lasagna done enough? Whenever you’re boiling Lasagna, no matter which kind, you want to cook it until it’s al dente. Which means cooked til tender but firm. You don’t want it to be soggy, bloated, and limp!
• Should you rinse the Lasagna with cool water? I received a few comments under my Italian Pasta Salad YouTube video asking if chilling the pasta with a rinse of cool water was necessary.
  
  You definitely want to remove it from the hot water and pot so it doesn’t continue cooking and become soggy, white, and bloated. Some say it can continue to cook in the colander as it sits.

About the ground beef and sweet Italian sausage

Ground beef –When it comes to ground beef, make sure you purchase 80/20 ground beef. It’s the ideal choice of ground beef because this ratio of meat and fat provides the perfect amount of flavor and moisture.

• Ground Turkey: Ground turkey is a healthy substitute for ground beef and sweet Italian sausage in this recipe. My mother loves using ground turkey because she’s a healthy eater.

Sweet Italian sausage –This is an Italian dish, so it’s no surprise I’m using sweet Italian sausage here. Although it’s not commonly used for Lasagna, it takes the recipe up a notch, and I won’t make Lasagna without it.

I use a 50/50 ground beef sweet Italian sausage ratio. I’ve found that an equal amount of both meats works best. Using both provides depth of flavor and gives the dish balance.

• Spicy Italian sausage: Spicy or mild Italian sausage is a great replacement for sweet italian sausage because it taste similar it’s just spicy and would be a good alternative if you like your lasagna slightly spicy.
• Breakfast sausage: Breakfast sausage, which is pretty much the same, would probably work and give you a taste similar to sweet Italian sausage. It’s perhaps the closest thing in taste.

About the red saucy ingredients

• Tomato paste: Okay, so with the tomato paste, it is a must! Does it taste good? No! It has a funny, rich tomato taste, lol! But once you stir it in with the tomato sauce and meat, you won’t taste it.
  
  But it’s necessary because it not only thickens the sauce, which is essential because you don’t want runny, soupy Lasagna, but it also darkens the sauce and gives it a rich, dark, traditional Lasagna sauce color.
• Diced Tomatoes: Diced tomatoes add a hint of sweetness to the sauce because they do have a hint of sweetness and add chunkiness to the sauce. If you don’t like chunks of tomatoes in the sauce, omit it.
• Traditional Sauce: Prego is the best brand of tomato sauce to me outside of Ragu. I use traditional sauce, but if I don’t have mushrooms, I’ll use Prego’s mushroom sauce, although there are barely any giant mushrooms in it.

Why sugar?

Now, with the sauce, I like to add a nice amount of sugar to it, and people always ask me why. Some folks don’t like to… I know Italians didn’t do so traditionally but I like to, again this is the black soulful twist I was talking about. Lol!

I don’t just add it for flavor; I add it to balance the dish. It doesn’t make the lasagna sweet, but it reduces the acidity level of the sauce. I don’t like bitter tomato sauce, and the sugar neutralizes the bitterness of the sauce.

About the seasonings and alternatives

Seasoning salt and Adobo seasoning – I used my favorite two seasonings to season my meat: seasoning salt and Adobo seasoning. If you don’t have either, here are some excellent alternatives. 

• Badia Sazon Complete seasoning: Badia sazon complete seasoning is THE BOMB and easily my favorite complete seasoning after seasoning salt and Adobo seasoning.
• Salt: You can’t go wrong with salt; it’s the original seasoning for taste. But if you use Salt, be mindful that it’s saltier than seasoning salt and Adobo, so use half the amount.

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The sour cream/ricotta mixture

Another ingredient I use that most people don’t is sour cream. Most folks use Ricotta, but I AM NOT A BIG FAN OF RICOTTA CHEESE, ALTHOUGH I’ve GROWN TO LIKE IT A LITTLE MORE AS I’ve gotten older!!

It’s bland to me, so I never use much of it. Some people love it, so if Riccotta’s your thing, feel free to add as much as you like. But because I’m not a fan of it, I replace it with sour cream.

Sour cream takes this recipe to another level. I replaced half of the Ricotta I used to use with sour cream. Now, I use a 75/25 ratio of sour cream and ricotta, and I always add a little cheese to the mixture along with a few seasonings to spice things up.

Fresh Spinach vs Frozen Spinach

Spinach – I use fresh spinach! My mom, aka Ms. Healthy Lady, suggested adding Spinach. All I do is chop the spinach up. There’s no need to cook it, it cooks as it bakes a long with the Lasagna.

• Frozen Spinach: By the way, if you don’t have fresh spinach, you can use frozen spinach. Just make sure it’s not frozen! If it is, steam it a little bit and then add it to the mixture.

Seasoning every layer

Speaking of seasonings, I like to season every layer of my Lasagna so that the Lasagna isn’t bland. I add sugar to the sauce, I obviously season the meat, and add seasonings to the sour cream/Ricotta mixture.

As I said earlier, I even add salt to the Lasagna to infuse it with flavor. I’ve had Lasagna before where the meat was seasoned well but nothing else, and it lacked balance. We’re using a lot of ingredients and layering, so it’s vital that every part is seasoned.

The specifics of the layering process

Okay, so let’s get into the specifics of layering because a lot of people are always asking me how to layer Lasagna. It’s crucial not to layer the same ingredients too closely.

The reason is you want to taste every part of the Lasagna in every bite. You don’t want more cheese at the bottom than the top or more noodles at the top and barely any at the bottom. Yuck!

This is why even layers are essential for balance. So let me explain here precisely how I layer my lasagna, okay? So the layers go as follows meat sauce, Lasagna, Sour cream-Ricotta mixture, then cover with the shredded cheddar and Mozzarella cheese.

You repeat this step one more time; then you cover the cheese with meat sauce, lasagna, the remaining meat sauce, and the remaining cheese + the 2 cups of cheddar and Mozzarella cheese.

Then garnish with Parsley flakes. Now, let me list these steps using numbers so it’s easy for people like me to understand, even with subpar reading comprehension! Haha! 

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How to layer Lasagna the right way

1. Lightly coat the Lasagna dish with meat sauce.

2. Cover meat sauce with 4 Lasagna noodles slightly overlapping one another.

3. Fully coat the Lasagna with the sour cream-ricotta mixture.

4. Then add some of the cheddar and Mozzarella cheese.

5. Repeat these steps again, and add your meat sauce.

6. Followed by the 4 Lasagna noodles slightly overlapping one another.

7. Fully coat the Lasagna again with the sour cream-ricotta mixture.

8. Then top that with some cheddar and Mozzarella cheese.

Ok, so this part is what I call the top layering process

9. Cover the cheddar and Mozzarella with more meat sauce.

10. Cover with the last 4 Lasagna noodles slightly overlapping one another.

11. Followed by the remaining meat sauce.

12. Add the remaining cheddar and Mozzarella cheese plus the 2 cups of cheddar and Mozzarella.

13. Then garnish the top with Parsley.

About the Mozzarella and Cheddar

• Cheddar for sharpness: Cheddar is a famous cheese because of its sharp taste and intense flavor. You don’t need to add salt or anything to Cheddar. It’s perfect as it is and gives anything you use it for a strong punch of flavor.
• Cheddar for color: Lasagna is known for its red, white, and orange color, so use yellow cheddar cheese. The cheddar cheese adds to the traditional color of Lasagna.
• Mozzarella flavor is traditional: Lasagna isn’t Lasagna without Mozzarella cheese. It gives Lasagna its classic flavor profile. You can add any cheese to it you want, but you have to use some Mozzarella.
• Mozzarella stretches: I also use Mozzarella because it’s stretchy and gives the Lasagna that stretchy cheese it’s supposed to have, like Pizza. Mozzarella cheese, like no other, is elastic and goey.
• Cheese on top: I use an extra cup of Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese so that the Lasagna is nice and cheesey the way a traditional Lasagna looks. Without it the top wont have the traditional lasagna look.

How to make Lasagna

1. Boil the lasagna and place it on the colander.

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2. Combine the sour cream mixture in a medium-sized bowl.

3. Combine the cheddar and mozzarella for the very top of lasagna.

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4. Chop up the onions and mushrooms.

5. Brown the ground beef and sweet Italian sausage.

6. Stir in the onions and mushrooms, and once translucent, stir in the sauce ingredients and sugar.

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6. Preheat oven.

7. Get a large lasagna dish and layer ingredients.

8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes,

9. Remove the aluminum foil and continue cooking for 15 more minutes.

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Tips for best results:

• Reserve some of the fat for the sauce: After I brown my meat, I leave some of the fat in the skillet I don’t remove all of it. The fat adds flavor and gives the sauce a nice silky consistency.
• Separate Lasagna once done: The worst thing you can do is remove Lasagna from the hot water once it’s done, then lay them in the colander on top of each other. I did this as a rookie.
  
  They will stick very quickly. I mean, it’s not like people will see that the lasagna noodles are broken up once it’s covered with the meat sauce and cheese, but to avoid broken lasagna after having to rip them apart.
• Don’t leave Lasagna noodles exposed: Make sure the end of the Lasagna noodles aren’t too close to the edge. This prevents them from drying out, hardening, or burning. Leave a little room between the ends of the Lasagna and the baking pan.
  
  This is why I instruct you to overlap them a little. Make sure there is sauce and cheese in between the ends and the baking pan so they aren’t exposed.
• Cover the top fully with cheese: For a cheesy, traditional-looking Lasagna, the top should be fully covered with cheese. This is why I use an additional cup of both cheddar and Mozzarella cheese.
• Covering with aluminum foil: Cover the Lasagna with aluminum foil to prevent the cheese from burning and drying out. Dry burnt Lasagna is the worst and will make the lasagna look unappetizing.
• Don’t let aluminum touch the cheese: You don’t want the cheese to stick to the aluminum foil, so create a tint. Make sure you use a lot of aluminum foil and make sure there’s some space between the foil and the cheese.
  
  Do this to ensure that the aluminum foil is not laying directly on the cheese because it will stick and pull the cheese from the lasagna and the Lasagna won’t look presentable once it’s done.
• Let the Lasagna rest once done: Let the Lasagna rest a few minutes before digging in. Allow the ingredients to marry and come together while the juices settle and are absorbed by the pasta.
  
  Give it time to stiffen so it’s not soupy and easier to cut into, slice, and plate. The lasagna will be very runny and soupy when you take it straight out of the oven. So again, let it rest…

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What to serve with Lasagna

• Garlic bread: Garlic bread is obvious… and easily the most common side for Lasagna. Garlic bread to lasagna is like peanut to jelly. It goes perfectly with lasagna especially garlic bread with cheese on it.
• Tossed salad: Tossed salad is another common thing people love to serve alongside Lasagna. It’s refreshing and taste amazing with italian dressing. They even serve salad as a lasagna side dish olive garden lol!

Frequently asked questions

• How to store Lasagna: Store it tightly in a Tupperware bowl in a refrigerator. If you want to save the lasagna for weeks or months, store it tightly in a tupperware bowl in a freezer. It’ll stay fresh for long.
• How to reheat it: To reheat lasagna you can warm it up in a microwave or wrapped in aluminum foil and place it in the oven and warm it up on 350, especially if you froze it.
• How long does Lasagna last: I try to finish it off within 2 days but it can last for up to a week before it looses it’s integrity. In the freezer it can last for up to 6 to 9 months as long as it’s sealed properly.

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Okay, folks, enough ranting! Give this recipe a shot! One last thing: It can be a bit time-consuming, but it tastes delicious, which makes it worth it, so try it out. Share, like, comment, and subscribe for notifications of new recipes.

Enjoy later!
PBJ~

World’s Best Lasagna Recipe (Made Easy with Sweet Italian sausage)

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5 from 2 reviews

Delicious, homemade, Lasagna recipe! Italian cuisine with a Soul Food twist. The perfect casserole and an American favorite.

• Author: PhillyboyJay
• Prep Time: 30 Mins
• Cook Time: 45 Mins
• Total Time: 1 Hr 15 Mins
• Yield: 10
• Category: Casserole
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Pasta
12 Lasagna
3 Qts Water
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Tbs Salt

Meat
1 Lb (80 Lean/20 Fat) Ground Beef
1 Lb Sweet Italian Sausage
1 Cup Baby Bella Mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 Cup Yellow Onion, finely chopped
2 Tsp Seasoning Salt
2 Tsp Adobo seasoning
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

Sauce
2-1/2 (24oz) Jars of Prego Sauce
1/2 Cup Diced Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
1 Tbs Sugar

Sour Cream-Ricotta Mixture
2 Cups Spinach, chopped
2 Cups Sour Cream
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Tsp Seasoning salt
1 Tsp Adobo seasonings

Cheese for layering 
5 Cups Mozzarella cheese
4 Cups Cheddar cheese

Cheese for the top
1 Cup Mozzarella cheese
1 Cup Cheddar cheese
Parsley (as much as needed)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Place a large pot of cool water over high heat and add in the salt and oil.
2. Meanwhile, to kill two birds with one stone, you can use this time to chop up the spinach. Add it to a medium-sized bowl along with the sour cream, ricotta, Mozzarella, and seasonings, stir well, and set aside.
3. You can also combine the 5 cups of Mozzarella and 4 cups of Cheddar in a big bowl and combine the 1 cup of Mozzarella and Cheddar for the top of the Lasagna in a small bowl.
4. Then, chop up the onions and mushrooms.
5. By this time, the water should have come to a boil. Add the lasagna and let it cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. Once done, remove it and lay it separately on the sides of a colander.
6. Meanwhile, place a skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and sweet Italian sausage, and chop the meat up as finely as possible with two spatulas until it’s no longer pink.
7. Drain some of the fat but keep most. Add the onions, mushrooms, and seasonings and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
8. Then add in the sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar, then stir well and simmer for 5 minutes. 
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
10. Layer the ingredients in a large lasagna pan (A little meat sauce, lasagna, sour cream mixture, Mozzarella and Cheddar, meat sauce, lasagna, sour cream mixture, Mozzarella and Cheddar, meat sauce, lasagna, meat sauce, and then the 2 cups of Mozzarella and Cheddar for the top).
11. Garnish the lasagna with parsley flakes, and cover with aluminum foil.
12. Bake the Lasagna for 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered then remove.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 10