Servings: 10
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
Ultimate Hearty Beef Lasagna: A 5-Star Recipe Without the Fuss
The Secret to a Hearty Lasagna
Lasagna is a dish loved for its comforting layers of meat, cheese, and pasta, but traditional recipes often demand hours of preparation. This version of lasagna earns its 5-star rating by delivering bold, hearty flavors in a fraction of the time. With a simplified approach to both the meat sauce and cheese filling, this recipe is your go-to for weeknight indulgence or impressing dinner guests.
What Makes This Recipe Special
Most lasagna recipes rely heavily on stovetop preparation, but here, the oven does the heavy lifting. By allowing the meat sauce to finish cooking during the baking process, you cut down on prep time without sacrificing depth of flavor. The cheese filling skips unnecessary steps, utilizing a quick, no-cook method that blends creamy Pecorino Romano with cottage cheese for a rich and velvety layer.
The Perfect Noodles for the Job
Using dried curly-edged lasagna noodles ensures the dish retains its authentic texture. These noodles hold up beautifully to the hearty meat sauce and creamy cheese layers. No-boil noodles, while convenient, simply can’t compete with the robust structure and satisfying bite of traditional dried pasta.
Pro Tips for Assembly
When assembling your lasagna, consider the size of your baking dish. If it fits four noodles across rather than three, you’ll need to eliminate one layer to avoid an overflowing pan. This small adjustment ensures every bite is perfectly proportioned and neatly contained.
Make-Ahead Magic
Hosting a gathering or planning ahead for a busy weeknight? This lasagna is perfect for prepping in advance. Once assembled, cover the dish with greased aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to serve, bake as directed, allowing for an extra 10 minutes of covered baking time to ensure it’s heated through.
Flavor Balance: The Key to Success
This recipe’s meat sauce is the star of the dish, crafted to balance the sweetness of crushed tomatoes with the savory depth of browned ground beef. Infused with aromatic onion, garlic, and a hint of red pepper flakes for a subtle kick, this sauce ensures that every forkful delivers a robust, meaty flavor.
Cheese Done Right
Cheese lovers rejoice! This lasagna doesn’t skimp on the good stuff. The creamy filling combines Pecorino Romano for its sharp, nutty notes with cottage cheese for a luscious texture. Mozzarella tops the dish, creating that golden, bubbly finish everyone loves.
Why This Recipe Works
By focusing on efficiency without compromising flavor, this lasagna strikes the perfect balance between tradition and convenience. From its hearty meat sauce to its creamy cheese filling, every element is fine-tuned to deliver a dish that’s rich, satisfying, and undeniably indulgent.
Ready to enjoy a lasagna that’s as simple as it is delicious? Gather your ingredients and get baking!
Lasagna:
Pam cooking spray
17 noodles lasagna noodles, curly-edged
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon salt
Meat Sauce:
2 slices white sandwich bread, hearty, torn into small
pieces
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 90% lean meat
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 each onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
Cream Sauce:
8 ounces cottage cheese
2 cups Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated
1 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions:
FOR THE LASAGNA (25 minutes):
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375° F
Spray rimmed baking sheet and 13 by 9-inch baking dish with oil spray.
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven.
Add noodles and salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente.
Drain noodles and transfer them to prepared sheet. Using tongs, gently turn noodles to coat lightly with oil spray. Cut 2 noodles in half crosswise (if the noodles are not long enough to fit baking pan).
FOR THE MEAT SAUCE (20 minutes):
Mash bread and milk in bowl until smooth. Add beef, salt, and pepper and knead with your hands until well combined; set aside.
Heat oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add beef mixture, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, and cook until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors have melded, about 5 minutes.
WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE SUCCESSFUL: Traditional meat lasagna recipes often require an entire day to prepare. However, we’ve simplified the process by creating a speedy, no-cook cheesy filling and reducing the time needed for meat sauce preparation. By letting the sauce cook in the oven as the lasagna bakes, we’ve eliminated the typically lengthy stovetop simmer. We also fine-tuned the ingredient ratios until we achieved a lasagna with a distinctively meaty flavor profile, moving away from the typical dominance of tomatoes and cheese.
TIP: We created this recipe with the use of dried curly-edged lasagna noodles, so please avoid using no-boil noodles. You’ll find approximately 20 individual noodles in a 1-pound box of lasagna noodles, which is a good amount for this dish.