Very simple yet very tasty lasagna made with oven ready lasagna noodles
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 lb ground beef cooked and drained
- 1 12 oz package oven ready lasagna
- 2 15 oz containers ricotta cheese
- 3 cups mozarella cheese shredded and divided
- 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese grated and divided
- 2 medium eggs slightly beaten
- 1 67 oz jar spaghetti sauce
- 1/2 lb italian ground sausage browned
- Carbohydrate 59.1249493789474 g
- Cholesterol 164.23097 mg
- Fat 38.8616220578637 g
- Fiber 6.2259709298557 g
- Protein 53.850444461683 g
- Saturated Fat 19.0543090285841 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (460g)
- Sodium 1915.36669 mg
- Sugar 52.8989784490917 g
- Trans Fat 5.36657620927961 g
- Calories 817 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees farenheit.
- Brown hamburger and sausage together.
- In medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 cup parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, and oregano; mix well.
- In another medium bowl, combine the spaghetti sauce and the browned ground beef and sausage; mix well.
- In a 9 x 13 pan, spread 2 cups of meat sauce, place 1/3 of the lasagna over sauce and repeat, layering twice. Top with remaining lasagna then sauce.
- Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Wrap tightly with a double layer of foil.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until the lasagna is fork tender.
- Let stand for 10 minutes sealed in the foil before cutting and serving.
Adapting Batch Sizes for Different Pans
Traditional baked ziti relies on loose tubular pasta shapes that trap sauce differently than flat sheets, but restructuring a multi-layer casserole requires careful proportioning when altering yields. Halving this recipe for a smaller household means shifting from a standard 9x13-inch pan down to an 8x8-inch baking dish while reducing the baking temperature slightly to prevent scorching the edges. When scaling down quantities that use eggs as a binder in the ricotta layer, whisk a single medium egg thoroughly and measure out approximately half by volume rather than guessing. Maintaining the correct ratio of moisture-rich tomato sauce to dry starch ensures the pasta hydrates properly during the initial baking phase without leaving standing liquid upon slicing.
Managing Moisture with Fresh Versus Preserved Ingredients
Swapping jarred spaghetti sauce for fresh plum tomatoes or using handmade pasta sheets instead of commercially dried oven-ready noodles introduces drastically different water content into the assembly. Preserved jarred sauces have been reduced and thickened industrially, whereas fresh purées release significant liquid as cell walls break down under heat. Compensating for fresh components requires simmering them beforehand to drive off excess moisture or adding a tablespoon of semolina flour to the cheese mixture to absorb wandering water. Without these adjustments, high-moisture additions will dilute the binding capability of the eggs and cause the layers to slide apart when portioned.
Timing and Resting Protocols
Covering the pan tightly with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil traps steam effectively, allowing the oven-ready noodles to soften fully at 425 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of sixty minutes. Removing the foil during the final ten minutes allows the top layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses to brown and bubble into a golden crust. Allowing the casserole to rest sealed in its foil for ten minutes after baking lets the internal temperatures stabilize and the melted dairy proteins firm up, making clean squares possible without structural collapse.
