Mom’s Lasagna is one of my go to, all-time favorite comfort foods!
Is these anything more wonderful than a bubbling dish of pasta baked with cheese and sauce? It’s definitely one of my happy places. My mom has been making this dish for as long as I can remember and it’s one of my favorites! Easy to put together, and we always get to all the leftovers. I guess it does help that I started making a half batch since only Mike & I are eating it, but no leftovers at the end of the week = good food around here.
The only I have with this dish at my house is how much ricotta to use. Mike’s not a big fan, and I could dip just about anything in ricotta and be a very happy girl. I go a little lighter on the ricotta layer when I make this, but I totally recommend using as much as you like!
The one change I’ve started making, purely to streamline things, is the use of oven-ready lasagna noodles. They’re awesome and save me SO much time. Before I would boil the noodles and have to cut them down to size. Now I preheat the oven, cook the meat, and assemble. Love it! This pasta is a must make. It may not be like the one an Italian grandmother makes, but it’s my mom’s recipe and around here it’s the jam.
Mom's Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 36 ounces of your favorite pasta sauce or around that amount of sauce
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Oven ready lasagna noodles or regular lasagna noodles cooked, and drained
- Dried parsley or chopped fresh basil for garnish (if desired)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour about 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Turn the dish so the sauce evenly coats the bottom of the dish in a thin layer, adding more sauce as needed.
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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook ground beef until browned and no pink remains, 6 to 8 minutes, breaking the meat into small chunks as it cooks. Drain the grease.
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Return the skillet to the stove. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add in all but 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
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In a medium mixing bowl, stir together sour cream and ricotta until smooth and well combined. Add basil, nutmeg, parsley, salt, and pepper; stir to combine. (Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste. I like a lot of nutmeg and go heavy on it when I make this dish.)
Assembly:
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Line the bottom of the baking dish with lasagna noodles in a single layer.
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Pour half the ricotta mixture over the pasta, and spread it into an even layer. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella evenly over the ricotta. Pour half the meat sauce over the mozzarella and spread into an even layer.
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Place a single layer of noodles over the meat sauce and repeat the layers: remaining ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, remaining meat sauce. Make another layer of past on top of the meat sauce. Pour the reserved 1/2 cup pasta sauce over the noodles and spread the sauce evenly (to keep the noodles moist). Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella evenly over the top of the dish.
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Cover the baking dish loosely with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes to let the cheese brown a little. (If the cheese doesn't bubble and brown like you want, turn your broiler to high for a minute or two until you get the cheese the way you like it.)
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Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
I usually make a half batch in a 9-inch by 9-inch baking dish for me and Mike. The cooking time stays the same, but half the ingredients. (Use pasta as needed to fill the dish.)
The oven ready lasagna noodles are my new favorite cheat. I don't burn my hands cutting the cooked noodles to size and I can put any noodles I didn't use away for next time. LOVE it!
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