Lasagna Like You Mean It

Lasagna layered with meaty flavor, perfect pasta texture, and stringy, melted cheese. Oh, and crispy edges and bottom crust! This is the stuff of comfort food heaven, and we created the ultimate recipe to infuse all that melty goodness with serious flavor.

Do not forget to check out my Chefs Tips and Wine Pairings sections below!

Stop making lasagna like it’s “just” comfort food.

Start making it like it is the melty, meaty, tasty perfection that it really is. This recipe takes no shortcuts.

You’ll be building a Michelin-star-worthy sauce like a great chef, an insanely good cheese layer, and trying out a few new tricks to make every detail just right.

Every element pulls its weight—even the ricotta is seasoned. It’s bold, balanced, and deeply savory—the kind of lasagna you bake when you want to impress or feed people you love the very best way you can.

A little history

Lasagna may be the poster child for Italian comfort food, but its roots run deep and wide. The earliest version dates all the way back to Ancient Greece and Rome, where layered pasta-like dishes were cooked with meats and sauces. The name itself likely comes from lasanon, a Greek word for chamber pot (yep), later adopted by the Romans as lasanum, meaning cooking pot.

By the Middle Ages, Italians were layering boiled sheets of dough with cheese and spices—no tomatoes yet, since those wouldn’t arrive until after the Americas were colonized. But once they did? Game changer. In Naples, tomato-sauced lasagna became the hallmark of celebration, often filled with meatballs, ricotta, and hard-boiled eggs. In the north, like Emilia-Romagna, it evolved with béchamel, ragù, and sheets of spinach pasta—rich, creamy, refined. Our béchamel is based on a foundational French sauce—get the deep dive here

Lasagna as we know it in the U.S. is pure Italian-American brilliance. Immigrants took what they had-canned tomatoes, mozzarella, ground beef-and made magic. Over time, it became layered, hearty, cheesy perfection. Today, it’s as much about tradition as it is about reinvention. The American Culinary Federation has played a major role in elevating the professional image of chefs and culinary standards in the United States

From ancient ovens to your kitchen—it’s layered history, literally.

For a deeper dive into culinary traditions and global food culture, explore Serious Eats essays on world cuisines

How to make Lasagna Like You Mean It

Step 1: Make the Sauce and Ricotta Mixture

1. Brown the Meats: Sear Italian sausage and ground beef in olive oil. Remove and set aside, leaving the rendered fat.
2. Build the Sauce: Sauté onion and grated carrot in the meat fat. Add garlic, anchovy paste, and tomato paste; cook until deep and fragrant. Deglaze with red wine, reduce, then stir in beef stock, crushed tomatoes, sugar, herbs, and Parmesan rind. Return meat to pot and simmer uncovered 45–60 minutes. Finish with basil, parsley, and a splash of sherry.
3. Mix the Ricotta Layer: Combine ricotta, fontina, egg + yolk, Parmesan, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth.

Step 2: Boil Noodles and Assemble

1. Cook the Noodles: Boil lasagna noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and lay flat on parchment.
2. Layer the Lasagna: In a deep 9×13 dish, layer in this order—meat sauce → noodles → ricotta mix → mozzarella + Parmesan. Repeat 2–3 times, finishing with noodles, sauce, and cheese on top.

Step 3: Bake and Serve

1. Cover and Bake: Stick 9–12 toothpicks in the lasagna to tent foil. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Remove foil and toothpicks.
2. Broil (Optional): Broil 3–5 minutes until golden and bubbly. Watch carefully.
3. Rest and Slice: Let it rest 20–30 minutes. Slice clean, serve bold, and don’t forget the basil.

Take It to the Next Level

• Use a Mix of Sausage Styles: Sweet sausage brings its own balance, but hot adds a slow-building heat that cuts through the richness. Experiment with blends to get the exact results you prefer.
• Grate Your Own Cheese: Pre-shredded cheese is coated with chemicals to prevent clumping. So it never melts quite right. Freshly grated cheese ensures the creamiest, bubbliest, most golden magic lasagna.
• Layer Meat Sauce Thinly—but Often: It’s tempting to pile it on, but thin, even layers help the lasagna hold together better and keep every bite balanced.
• Use Fresh Pasta If You Can: It’s easier to work with and gives you that soft-yet-structured bite that feels restaurant-level. Worth the trip to the Italian market.
• Infuse Your Ricotta: Though ricotta has a lot to offer in terms of texture, it lacks in flavor. So you can add in roasted garlic, lemon zest, or chopped herbs. Even a little grated onion goes a long way.
• Bake in a Cast Iron or Metal Pan: Glass can make the bottom soggy. Metal or enameled cast iron gives you more even heat, crisp edges, and a bottom crust.
• Let It Rest Covered with a Towel: After you remove the foil, rest it with a clean towel draped over the pan to protect and keep in moisture while everything sets.
• Serve It with Lemon-Dressed Arugula: Peppery arugula will stand up to the massive richness of the lasagna. A super-simple lemon vinaigrette with shaved Parm balances the plate and makes everything feel lighter and breaks up the monumental bites of the main dish.

Chefs tips

• Sear Hard, Stir Less: Give the meat time undisturbed on the pan to really sear. The more color you see, the more flavor you’ll taste. So don’t rush it, wait for the crusty edge to develop before stirring.
• Grate the Carrot on a Microplane: It melts into the sauce and adds sweetness without creating those inconsistent vegetable chunks.
• Bloom the Tomato Paste: Cook it until it sticks and turns brick red. It should smell like it’s about to burn—that’s when it’s ready.
• Use a Wide Pot for the Sauce: More surface area allows the sauce to reduce faster and caramelize more evenly than in a deep stockpot.
• Keep the Pasta from Sticking: After boiling, lay noodles flat on parchment or wax paper—not stacked or overlapping. If they do overlap at all, they will absolutely glue together.

Taste the Ricotta Mix Raw: Taste and adjust before it hits the pan. You’ll be adding salt, nutmeg, and maybe a little lemon zest if it feels flat.

• Layer Cheese to the Edges: Go all the way to the sides with each cheese layer. That’s how you get those crispy, browned bits around the edges that everyone fights over.
• Let the Sauce Cool Slightly Before Assembling: Hot sauce will steam the pasta and make it slippery. Cooler sauce means better grip, better layers.
• Toothpicks Are Your Friends: Stick them in the top layer before covering with foil to keep it off your cheese. No one wants their golden, bubbly cheese ripped off with the foil.
• Slice with a Serrated Knife: Clean slices require a knife that can grip those layers without tearing. Bonus points if it’s room temp when you cut.

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Key Ingredients

• Italian Sausage (Sweet or Hot): This meat comes with its own built-in seasoning—garlic, fennel, paprika. It even gives you plenty of fat that melts into the sauce and makes it that much more mouth watering.
• Anchovy Paste: Don’t skip it. It will gently boost the savory complexity of everything. I make a solemn vow that no one will complain about any “fishy” flavor.
• Tomato Paste: This has highly concentrated flavor. You’ll get it even more intense by cooking it down for more natural sweetness and that deep, cooked-all-day taste (without having to actually cook it all day).
• Dry Red Wine: Adds acidity and body that plays perfectly with all the fat in the cheese and meat. Cabernet, Sangiovese, or a bold red blend works best.
• Parmesan Rind: This little chunk does big things. It slow-steeps in the sauce, adding umami and nuttiness.
• Fontina Cheese: Buttery and melty, it levels up the ricotta layer so it’s creamy, not chalky.
• Nutmeg: Just a pinch in the ricotta adds this warmth that makes everything taste a little more… finished and complex.
• Fresh Mozzarella: Melts better, tastes milkier, and gives you those epic cheese pulls. Do yourself a favor and never use pre-shredded mozz for this recipe.
• Fresh Basil & Parsley: Stirred in at the end—not during the simmer—so you get that pop of brightness that cuts through all the richness.
• Pasta Sheets (Fresh or Par-Boiled): This is the best way to avoid mushy pasta. Whether you’re using fresh or dried, it’s all about texture. They should be tender but still hold their shape.

Wine Pairings

Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy)
Why it Works: This high-acid, medium-bodied red is a textbook match for red sauce. The savoury aromatics and firm structure balance the fat from the cheese while amplifying the tomato and herb base. It’s a classic old-world pairing that hits all the right notes.
Tasting Notes: Sour cherry, dried oregano, leather, and crushed herbs.
Suggested Label: Fontodi Chianti Classico

Zinfandel (California, USA)
Why it Works: A bold, fruit-driven wine with enough power and spice to stand up to the deep, meaty lasagna sauce. Zinfandel plays beautifully with fennel, anchovy paste, and slow-cooked tomato, while its lush texture complements the creamy cheese layers.
Tasting Notes: Blackberry jam, clove, cracked pepper, and vanilla.
Suggested Label: Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel (Sonoma)

Syrah (Northern Rhône, France or Washington, USA)
Why it Works: Syrah offers savory depth, black pepper spice, and structured tannins that mirror the intensity of the meat sauce. Its smoky, meaty qualities work with browned sausage and umami-rich tomato paste.
Tasting Notes: Blackberry, charcuterie, olive tapenade, and graphite.
Suggested Label: Guigal Crozes-Hermitage (France) or Gramercy Cellars Syrah (Washington)

Barbera (Piedmont, Italy)
Why it Works: Barbera’s vibrant acidity and low tannins cleanse the palate and highlight the dish’s sweetness from tomato and carrot. It’s easy-drinking and adaptable—great for crowd-pleasing pairings.
Tasting Notes: Black plum, raspberry, licorice, and dried herbs.
Suggested Label: Vietti Barbera d’Alba “Tre Vigne”

Tempranillo (Rioja, Spain)
Why it Works: Rioja offers earthy elegance with enough grip to stand up to hearty lasagna. Oak aging adds a soft, vanilla-spiced frame that works beautifully with melty cheese and herbs.
Tasting Notes: Red cherry, tobacco leaf, vanilla, and dried fig.
Suggested Label: La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva

Faq’s

Equipment Needed for Lasagna Like You Mean It

• Large Heavy-Bottomed Pot: For cooking the sauce. Go wide so it reduces evenly and gets that perfect texture.
• Slotted Spoon: For moving the meat.
• Box Grater or Microplane: For shredding cheese, nutmeg, and carrots.
• Mixing Bowls: For tossing. Optimally, you’ll have three. One for the ricotta layer, one for holding grated cheese, and one just because you’ll always need another bowl.
• Deep 9×13 Lasagna Pan: For baking the lasagna in. Remember, you need at least 3 inches to stack those layers properly without spillover.
• Parchment or Wax Paper: For laying out your noodles after boiling.
• Toothpicks: For keeping the foil off your cheesy top.
• Heavy-Duty Foil: For covering lasagna during the bake-and-steam phase.
• Serrated Knife: For cutting lasagna.
• Metal Spatula or Fish Turner: For handling lasagna slices.
• Broiler (Optional): For toasting the cheesy top and getting those famous toasted cheese edges. Just be sure to watch it like a hawk.