Is lasagna the ultimate make-ahead meal? We think so. Double this recipe to make two trays, and go ahead and freeze one for the next time you’re not sure what’s for dinner.
Ragu Lasagna
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Category
Entrée
Cuisine
Italian
Author:
Chef Jamie Teigen
Servings
8-10
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 15 minutes
If you've always used ground beef in your lasagnas, this might be your chance to switch it up. The ragu sauce recipe is excellent, and cooks up well whether you use ground chicken, turkey, pork, or beef, or even a pork-and-beef or chicken-and-pork mixture.
Ingredients
For the Lasagna:
- 1 lb lasagna noodles
- 24 oz cottage cheese
- 16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 16 oz shredded parmesan
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
-
1 recipe Ragu Sauce
For the Sauce:
-
4 tbsp olive oil
-
2 yellow onions, diced small
-
4 celery stocks, diced small
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup red wine, such as Chianti
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 lbs. ground beef (base meat, can be switched out for short ribs, ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork)
- 56 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (or crushed)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
To Make the Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onions, celery, and carrots to the pot, and sauté until soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and beef, continue to sauté, breaking up the meat with the back of the spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, wine, oregano, thyme and salt and pepper to taste, about 1 tsp each, and boil 2 minutes, stirring often and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Crush the tomatoes with the back of the spoon into small pieces.
- Reduce heat to low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.
To Assemble:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large pot, cook lasagna noodles until al dente, firm but tender, about 7 minutes.
- Remove, drain and set aside.
In a 9 x 13 pan, add 1 ladle of meat sauce to cover the bottom, start layering, your noodles, then spread out the cottage cheese, then another ladle or two of meat sauce, ½ of mozzarella cheese and ½ cup of parmesan cheese.
Continue until you have run out of pan space and the top is finished with meat sauce and cheese.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges are bubbly and the top is slightly browned.
Recipe Note
Note: This can be made ahead of time in a disposable pan, and frozen for up to two months.
If frozen, remove from the freezer, and let thaw for 1 hour on the counter or place in the fridge to let thaw all day until ready to bake.
Too bake, preheat oven to 375°F, and bake for 1.5 hours, until the edges are bubbly, and the top is browned. Garnish with chopped parsley.