Need easy recipe for lasagna?

Question

Can anybody give me a easy recipe for lasagna. I'm not a very good cook, but my whole family loves lasagna. Please help. I've also heard some people say not to cook the noodles before putting them in the dish and some people say to cook them first, which way is better?

Answer 1

An easy recipe for making lasagna is this: it is actually a recipe from a kid's cookbook and is SUPER EASY , fast and way way better than store bought:

12 oz ground beef (cook till browned and then drain with your colander)
2 1/2 cups of jar spaghetti sauce
6 lasagna noodles (plain, everyday noodles DO NOT COOK them as the liquid of the sauce will do that for you)
1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella (6 oz or so)
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese optional

Cook your ground beef until done (I season mine with oregano, little s and pepper, minced onion)
Drain it
Spoon enough sauce into your 13x9 to cover the bottom of the pan.
Pour rest of sauce into the meat. Stir.
Place 2 UNCOOKED noodles into bottom of pan.
Spread about 1/3 of your meat/sauce mix over those.
3/4 cup of cottage cheese over that.
Then sprinkle 1/2 cup of your mozzarella over the cottage cheese you just put on.

Add another 2 uncooked noodles, again 1/3rd of meat mixture, then rest of cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of mozzarella again. Layer remaining uncooked noodles, meat mixture and your cheese.

Cover tightly with foil. Put into your preheated 350 degree oven and allow to cook 1 hour. THEN let cool 15 min on cooling rack if you have one. This makes it slice without running all over the plate.

Do not be intimidate by this recipe it is not time consuming and it is easy! Your family will love this one! And don't buy special no cook noodles or spend time cooking them - total waste as there is no need. I even make manicotti without cooking the noodles! :)

Answer 2

No-Boil Classic Lasagna

1 Pound box No Boil Lasagna noodles
30 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce, (your favorite or homeade)
l lb. Lean ground beef or l lb spicy italian sausage in bulk (or 1/2 lb each kind of meat)
2 - 15 oz. Containers ricotta cheese
8 oz. pkg. (2 cups) Mozzarella cheese divided
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large skillet brown the meat over medium heat, drain. Stir in
spaghetti sauce, set aside.
In a small bowl, lightly whip the eggs then add the basil and 1/2 of the
parmesan cheese, stir together, set aside.
Place 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and spread it even on the bottom of a 9x
13x2 inch pan, cover with 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, placed side by
side, slightly over lap noodles. Layer 1/2 of the cheese mixture on top
of the noodles.
Repeat 1 more layer of 1 1/2 cups of sauce, 4 noodles, 1/2 of the
ricotta cheese mixture Spread each layer evenly. Top with 4 noodles and
the remaining sauce.
Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the noodles
are fork tender. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. (very important step, so the lasagna will not be soupy when served)Makes 8-12
servings.

Answer 3

There is no easy way to make lasagna! ha ha ha

Definitely cook the noodles first but not to the point that they are soggy.

My lasagna normally takes 7 hours to make but I'll try to make this easy for you.

For filling:

Mix 2 pounds of ricotta cheese (low-fat is fine) with 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese (again, low-fat is ok) and 1/2 cup of grated romano or parmesan cheese. To this, add one beaten egg and 3 tablespoons of parsley. Mix well.

Cook noodles.
Pour a little sauce (from a jar I'm asuming) into baking pan - enough to cover the bottom. Put first layer of noodles down and spread cheese mixture evenly across the noodles. Place second layer of noodles on top and repeat pattern if you want another layer.

Cover with more sauce and shredded mozzarella.

Cook for 1 - 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees. When everything is melted and bubbly, turn off heat and remove from oven. Let cool about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Garlic bread is a must with this!

Mangia!

Answer 4

If you want to actually cook the lasagna yourself, it's a process, but well worth the effort. I haven't tried the Stouffer's kind, but my mom always makes her lasagna with the ready-to-cook lasagna noodles. I don't know the recipe off hand, but it saves time because you actually put the noodles straight from the package (dried) on top of the layers, and you don't have to boil them. So most of the time is in mixing the ingredients together and layering the lasagna. It's great!!!

BTW - I don't know the name of the package either, but it's in a blue box with white lettering, and it says something about "ready to cook" noodles....good luck!

Answer 5

This recipe is super easy and tasty!

1 pound ground turkey(or beef)
1 pint ricotta cheese(or cottage cheese)
1 tub of shredded parmesean cheese
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar of pasta sauce
1 box of lasagna noodles(I use the kind that you dont have to cook, it will specify on the box)
1 egg
Directions: Mix the egg, ricotta cheese(or cottage cheese), parmesean cheese together. Cook the ground meat. Add most of the jar of pasta sauce to the meat after it is cooked. Put a layer of the cheese mixture on the bottom of the baking pan, add the noodles, then a layer of meat, mozzarella cheese and a layer of the cheese mixture. Keep going until all the meat, cheese mixture, and cheese is gone. Pour the remainder of the pasta sauce on top. Bake at 350 for an hour.

Answer 6

You can buy regular lasagna noodles and not cook them. That is what I do and it comes out great.

Sauce: (At least 3 cups)
I saute garlic, onion. Then add in spicy Italian sausages. Cook until done.

Add one large jar of sauce (whatever kind/brand you like)
and one can of stewed tomatoes.

Filling:
Ricotta (Large container) + Cottage Cheese ( one container)
Parmesan (however much you like)
Eggs (3)
Parsley (few tablespoons)

Mozarella: Shred one ball

Sauce first, then noodles, then filling, cheese, then sauce again . End with Sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

Cover tightly with foil. Bake 50 minutes. Remove foil for last 10-20 minutes. Total cooking time 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Sauce steams noodles. You do not need to buy no-boil noodles.

Answer 7

Easy, Low-fat Chicken Lasagna:

1¼ hours 30 min prep
8 servings

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
8 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 (24 ounce) container fat-free cottage cheese
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 lasagna noodles
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
8 basil leaves, julienned
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (I like Newman's Own)
1 tablespoon coarse garlic salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In 1 T olive oil saute the onion and bell pepper until translucent.
3. Add chicken and set aside.
4. Spray a 9x13" pyrex dish with cooking spray and spoon about a half cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom.
5. Mix the fresh herbs, garlic salt, and cayenne straight into the container of cottage cheese.
6. Layer 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/3 cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 chicken mixture, 1/3 of the remaining sauce, 1/3 mozzerella and 1/3 parmesan.
7. Repeat this process until finished.
8. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Answer 8

SOOO easy and Yummy I made this the first time my inlaws came to dinner, it's all I could cook, lol. It dosn't call for mushrooms but, you could by sauce that already has it in there or add a small can to the meat and sauce mixture. Good Luck! 1 pound lean ground beef 1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce 32 ounces ricotta cheese 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 2 eggs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoons dried parsley salt to taste ground black pepper to taste 9 lasagna noodles 1/2 cup water DIRECTIONS In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper. To assemble, in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish evenly spread 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Cover with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Answer 9

Stouffers easy and cheaper with less time
BUT
you want to do it yourself and easy
First any good jar of prepared spaghetti sauce.
That is the most time consuming.
cook the pasta JUST till it is limp and flexible, your still going to bake it
you already know your going to layer this mess together.
SO grease your dish spread a little sauce to help keep it from sticking
Then layer pasta - - sauce cheese - - wait
Cheese you have the other recipes cottage Ricotta Cheddar Swiss Any mix you like
a little more sauce pasta and so on.
OH you can make it more like you did the whole cooking thing by adding some sliced olives in each layer Or like Juliann bell peppers
I am single,,, to make a 13x9x2 is insane
I get the mini aluminum loaf pans (2 pkgs) bake one in my toaster oven freeze the other 4+

Answer 10

The lasagna noodles are sold both ways. Some are meant to be cooked, some are not.

Recipes are usually found on the noodle box. Check them out in the store.