There is no denying this is the Easiest Lasagna recipe! With only 6 simple ingredients this easy lasagna recipe is a delicious family staple.
One of my favorite things to make for my family is homemade lasagna. I’ll take a Sunday afternoon and make homemade sauce, the whole deal. But that’s the thing… it takes all afternoon. Sometimes we want to eat it on a Tuesday night, and with work and extra curricular activities for Jack, I simply don’t have the time to dedicate a whole afternoon to lasagna.
Enter this simple lasagna recipe! Seriously. Only 6 ingredients! And you don’t even have to boil the lasagna noodles. It all cooks right together. While it does take an hour to bake, the prep is super easy. You can throw it together, pop it in the oven, and forget about it for an hour.
And, don’t let the simplicity fool yall! This lasagna is delicious and super filling! Enjoy!
What is lasagna?
Lasagna is a popular Italian dish, but let’s be honest… There are probably not a whole lot of true Italian roots in this simple lasagna recipe. This is most likely what I would refer to as easy lasagna recipe… simple, filling, flavorful, and, you guessed it, simple! Traditionally, lasagna consists of layers of flat lasagna noodles, a meat and marinara sauce mixture, and a cheesy, ricotta-based mixture. Typically, the final, top layer is a thick spread with shredded mozzarella cheese. Finally, lasagna is usually baked in an oven for a varied amount of time and at a varied temperature, depending on the recipe you choose to follow. A popular dish of choice for a gathering of family and friends, lasagna is usually paired with a simple side salad and breadsticks. Yummy and oh so filling!
How do I store lasagna?
Lasagna is delicious when reheated as leftovers. Here are two ways you can store lasagna:
- Freeze – When tightly wrapped lasagna can be kept in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. You just want to make sure you seal it in an airtight container.
- Refrigerate – You may store cooked lasagna in a tightly sealed container in your refrigerator for up to five days.
How do I reheat lasagna in the oven?
Lasagna makes for great leftovers! Just remember, we can’t put a cold dish in a hot oven. It could shatter. I usually place the cold dish and a cold oven and turn the oven on to 350°F. Allowing the dish to warm gradually with the oven helps to prevent this. Cover your pan with a tightly-sealed layer of aluminum foil. Allow it to heat for about 25-30 minutes or until warmed through. The exact reheating time will depend on the thickness of your layers and how much you have left in your baking dish, but I recommend just checking to see if it is heated through every 5 minutes after about 20 minutes of reheating.
Ingredient FAQ
Lean Ground Beef – You will need one pound of lean ground beef.
Jarred Marinara – Grab a (24 to 26-ounce) jar of your favorite marinara. I’m sure some food bloggers could sit here and tell you what brand is best, but I’m all about ease and accessibility, so I say any brand will do. Whatever works best for you, your tastebuds, and your wallet… is what you should use.
Water – Yes, please! And a cup for the lasagna too! This water will be absorbed by the pasta as it cooks in the oven.
Lasagna Noodles – You need to make sure when you purchase lasagna noodles, you get a 12-ounce pack labeled “no boil” and/or “oven ready.”
Ricotta Cheese – Some folks have strong opinions on brands when it comes to ricotta cheese. I am not one of those folks. Just be sure to get 1 (15-ounce) container. Some folks use cottage cheese here, like this baked spaghetti, and that works, too.
Mozzarella Cheese – This recipe calls for two cups of shredded mozzarella cheese. I always prefer full fat or whole milk mozzarella cheese for the texture and rich flavor, but I’m sure the other kinds will do just fine.
Recipe Card
Easiest Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 (24 to 26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 (12-ounce) package no-boil, oven ready lasagna noodles
- 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and lightly spray an 11×7-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat and drain the excess grease away. Return the meat to the skillet over medium-low heat and add the marinara and 1 cup water. Stir to combine and heat through.
- Layer about 1/4 of the meat sauce evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover with a layer of the uncooked pasta. Add about half of the ricotta cheese and spread evenly. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Top with and 1/4 of the sauce, then more pasta, the remaining ricotta, and 1/3 more of the mozzarella cheese. Add another 1/4 of the sauce, then another layer of pasta. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Wrap the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for a hour or until the pasta is tender. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Jean Eiler
Do you mean 11 x 17 instead of 11x 7?
No. I use an 11×7-inch pan, but a 9×13 should work as well.
Samantha
My town only had the pre boiled pasta. So would I just reduce the cooking time?
I’m not familiar with lasagna that’s been preboiled. If I were to guess, I’d say that reducing the cook time is correct. Check the packaging, too, as it might give you a cooking time and temp recommendation.
Connie Orr
Excellent and easy for
Lasagna!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
Ada Clark
Easy, I doubled the recipe and made a 9X13 and a 8X8, awesome sauce,
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it!!
katty
I made the lasagna. It was good. I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta.
I will make again sometime. This was My first time to make lasagna .
Turned out much better than expected.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!!
Norma Hyde
What if you don’t like ricotta cheese, what other cheese can u use,? Also can you make a shrimp lasagna? If so I need a recipe for a shrimp lasagna please. Thanks for your help.
You could use cottage cheese as well.
Cathie Whelan
Our favorite lasagna! Only change I make is to substitute cottage cheese for ricotta cheese, hubby doesn’t like ricotta. So easy and tastes awesome!!
So glad y’all have enjoyed it!
FRANKIE
This is one of the easiest recipes I’ve found. I freeze half of it after it is cooked because it’s just the two of us.
So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Barbara
Watch you on tv Guy’s Grocery last night! You were great! Love the porcupine balls I make them all the time.
Thank you so, so much!
Melissa Slayton
Stacey – do you think this could be frozen after it’s made?
I do! Tightly wrapped in in a layer of foil and plastic wrap it should last several months.
Robert Boone
I’m definitely going to make this! The lasagna recipe my other half uses calls for the meat sauce cooking overnight in the slow cooker! I’ll just add Italian herbs to the jarred sauce to give that authentic flavor (so mine would be 7 instead of 6 ingredients)! Thank you for making this dish easier to make!
Sure hope you’ll enjoy it!
Susan Wilder
All these year’s I had been using so many different ingredients & spending time mixing it until I made this quick recipe that turned out even better. I was doubting not using egg, but found it wasn’t necessary.
Thank you for saving me money on ingredients I didn’t need and saving me time plus the best Lasagna I have ever made!
Wonderful, Susan! Glad you found this one delicious!
Judy
Hi Stacey, this will be perfect to make for our son and daughter in law who had their baby boy 3 weeks early! What brand of no boil noodles do you use? Thanks!
It really doesn’t matter. Honestly, I use whatever brand is on sale!
Ronnie
Just wondering if you can make this meatless.
I suppose you can simply leave the meat out.
LaFondia D Freeman
To give it a kick to my taste buds …
Sorry about typos
Good day
LaFondia D Freeman
Hi I am trying your ease Lasagna recipe, now. It’s for my cousin’s birthday; today. I really hope it doesn’t BURN…yikes! Baking as instructed on 425 degrees…
I will contact you later with an update on the turnout and I also added my own favoring or seasoning to give a kick my taste buds love. ????
Hope it turns out great for you! Tell your cousin we said Happy Birthday!
Laura
I’ve made lasagna with regular noodles that haven’t been preboiled. Make your lasagna as usual and carefully pour one cup of water around the edges of the pan before baking. The noodles soak up the extra liquid and cook themselves.
Thanks for the tips, Laura!
Memie
I make a quick “lasagna” using the spinach & ricotta ravioli that I get from Sam’s and Costco. I layer the ravioli instead of lasagna noodles.
That sounds AMAZING!!
Karen
I have never used the NO BOIL Noodles.
Are they as good as the Boil To Prepare Noodles. ?
Appreciate your Site Very Much.
Keep up the GREAT WORK !!!
Thanks so much, Karen! I really like the no-boil pasta. It makes the process so much easier.
Julie Pollitt
I love lasagna and this is such a great recipe!
Thanks!!
Ivy
Can you substitute the ricotta cheese for something else? If so, what do you recommend?
You can always just leave it out. The only substitution I could recommend would be cottage cheese.
NiKay
I was wondering could you mix all of this up and freeze it? Or should you bake it then freeze it? I love to make up a bunch when I do it.
You can do it either way. If you decide to fix it and freeze it before baking, pop it in the fridge overnight the day before you want to bake it to allow it to thaw for best results.
Sandi Pettenger
I have made this several times!! It’s absolutely delicious and the only way my daughter will eat Lasagna. My only issue is it gets watery. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you for sharing.
So glad you’ve enjoyed it! Let’s see… Are you using the no boil pasta?
JoAnn
I just made this and it burned on the bottom ???? I believe 425 is too hot for lasagna. I should have followed my gut feeling and stuck to 350.
Was it on the center rack of your oven?
Karla smith
Can I freeze this before baking?
Sure!
Sarbear
Second time making this! Very delicious and super easy. I always keep a box of no boil lasagna noodles in my cabinet so I can make this recipe at least once a week! It’s my family’s new favorite:) thanks for posting this recipe Stacey! Soooeasy:)
Awesome! So glad you all have enjoyed it!
Michelle
Hi, did I miss it? I don’t see the baking temperature.
It’s 425°F. Enjoy!
Jessica
What would you suggest for the ingredients for this recipe in a larger pan like 9 x 13 or cake pan?
They should stay roughly the same, the lasagna just might be a bit thinner.
Heather
Can I use regular lasagna noodles?? Husband didnt buy the no boil ones
You can, but you run the risk of them not cooking all the way through and the dish drying out.
Esther
Have you ever put this together the night before then bake it when u get home the next day? Just wondering if it would be ok after sitting all night & day.
I haven’t, but I would imagine it would be just fine.
Vonne
Hi Stacey,
Which marinara sauce do you recommend?
I really like Prego and the Classico brand.
Patsy
Hi Stacey – love this lasagna method…I’ve used it for years but I don’t buy the “no boil” noodles (they used to be really hard to find!). I use the regular lasagna noodles and just add a little bit of extra water to the sauce (basically rinse out the jar). It comes out perfect every time!!! Thanks so much for sharing your version.
You are so welcome! The no boil noodles are certainly easier to find these days.
Rose
We enjoyed this at Wednesday night Bible Study
So happy y’all enjoyed it!!
Laurel McGilvery
I usually cook the noodles while browning the meat but this is easier and saves some trouble.
Every little bit helps in my world! Enjoy!
Aileen
I have a similar easy lasagna recipe, Stacey, but yours looks better and easier! I’m going to try it!
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
kay fowler
What kind of spices do you use?
I don’t use anything additional.
Kari
I had no idea that no boil pasta strips were a thing!
Kari
https://sweetteasweetie.com/passion-fruit-colada/
Sandy
I’ve never tried them, in fact, haven’t seen them in the grocery store, but I’ve not looked either.
Totally! They just save an extra step.
Nana
I think this is similar to a lasagna recipe made in the same manner and cooked in the slow cooker/crock pot. so great to come home and find supper ready.
That is SO true! There’s nothing quite like coming home to supper being ready!