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Welcome to the recipe for the World’s Best and Easiest Lasagna. I’m about to make all your Lasagna dreams come true!
Sadly, however, I am about to fall from grace, in the eyes of some of you.
However, let me just go ahead and ‘fess up, right off the bat: the World’s Best (and Easiest) Lasagna has store-bought pasta sauce in it. Yup. I use Prego Pasta Sauce in this recipe.
(Cue dramatic music: Dunh duhn dunh.)
The Recipe that Won My Husband’s Heart
This is the recipe that won my husband’s heart, before we got married. I have tried and tried (I promise you) even now that I’m a better, more experienced cook, substituting my own homemade tomato sauce. But when I did so, I left my husband bitterly disappointed, and asking why I couldn’t just use Prego.
You know how when you have warm, loving memories associated with a certain dish, and nothing else will do? Well, that’s how he feels about my lasagna recipe. I’ve made peace with his preferences, and with my own weakness in using something that’s pretty processed, and now that I have, I also recognize that it sure is a time-saver to open a jar of tomato sauce, rather than make my own!
How to Put Italian Lipstick on an American Pig
To make that Prego really taste delicious, though, I add a secret ingredient: one pound of Italian Sausage. (I use the Mild variety, not the Hot.) I brown it in a sauté pan, breaking it up into chunks, and then draining the cooked sausage on a plate that’s been covered with paper towels. Something about that Italian Sausage works MAGIC on the Prego, and suddenly, you’ve turned something kind of boring into the Food of the Gods!
YOU can feel free to doll it up further: sauté some garlic in olive oil for a minute and throw that in. Rip up some fresh basil leaves and throw those in. Maybe add a 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano and throw that in. Any of those additions will add more lovely flavor
OR: if you already have YOUR favorite Italian red sauce in the freezer that your family loves, and nothing else will do, use that.
And if you’re THAT kind of cook, you might want to check out my recipe on how to make your own Homemade Ricotta Cheese.
But for my husband, a simple jar of Prego with the addition of fried Italian sausage is what he loves. And, frankly, I do too.
So here it is: and it truly is the Best Lasagna Recipe I’ve ever tasted. So good, in fact, that I dare to call it the:
World’s Best, and Easiest, Lasagna Recipe
World's Best (and Easiest) Lasagna
This recipe, which I've adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook, relies on jarred Prego Pasta sauce, and no-boil lasagna noodles to save me a few steps. It's still the best lasagna I've ever had, anywhere..
Ingredients
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 1/2 large jars of Prego Pasta sauce, (the large jars are 67 oz.)
- 1 lb. browned, drained Italian Sausage
- 15 Lasagna noodles: I'm finding the no-boil lasagna noodles from Barilla or Trader Joe's work great - and it saves me a step.
- FOR THE FILLING
- 2 c. ricotta cheese, mixed with
- 2 beaten eggs,
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
- ADDITIONAL CHEESES
- 1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Pamagiano Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Mix together the ingredients for the filling: the ricotta, beaten eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Then it's time to assemble the lasagna.
- Spread a little sauce over bottom of pan.
- Cover with a layer of noodles (1/3 of the noodles)
- Put a blotch of filling here and there. Use 1/2 of the filling
- Sauce (1/3 the remaining sauce)
- 1/2 the mozzarella, hither and thither
- Another 1/3 of the noodles
- Remaining filling, followed by
- Sauce - another 1/3 - which gets followed by
- Remaining mozzarella
- Every last noodle
- Ultimate dosage of sauce
- The parmesan
- Bake 45 minutes covered by foil at 375º; uncover for last 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Make your own tomato sauce if you must, but I'm telling you this because I care about you: Prego is delicious, when you add in that browned Italian sausage, and you'll be thrilled with the results and the time savings.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 492Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 895mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 30g
I’ve got lots of other great pasta recipes, if Italian Food is what floats your boat, as it is mine. Why not try Beggar’s Linguine? It’s a recipe you can probably make from ingredients you’ve got buried in your pantry! You’ll beg for more! Or Butternut Squash Pasta: oh, that browned butter, pine nuts, and sage!
Pasta is My Favorite
Because pasta is my favorite, I'm always on the lookout for my favorite pastas. Each one of these is a winner! If pasta is YOUR favorite, too, I encourage you to check these out. Every one of them!
You can make this with venison or beef. Either works well. But this one I designed for the ones in my life who, like me, eat a lot of venison.
So simple. Kind of like having bacon and eggs for dinner. But sooo much better. Do NOT skip the toasted bread crumbs.
I never knew loving parsnips could be a thing, till this recipe. OMGeee, so good!
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This recipe comes straight from the Sunshine Sweet Corn Website. It is a perfect pasta salad for brunch or a light lunch. Packed with all the vitamins and nutrients of fresh sweet corn and other spring veggies, this pasta salad celebrates the season’s best sweet corn! I added the bacon, but it's completely optional.
Another Susan
Sunday 26th of December 2021
This year for Christmas we decided we should have Lasagna for lunch. I hadn't made it very often, but I knew where I could find a good recipe. So, I tried your recipe and it was delicious! We all loved it! Thanks!
Susan Williams
Saturday 1st of January 2022
I'm so glad you all enjoyed it, Susan! Thanks for letting me know!
Kim Fitzpatrick
Sunday 20th of January 2019
Hi! So I just made this. I am super excited to try it. You may want to re read your recipe. It reads like the pound of mozzarella and Parmesan are to be mixed in with the filling. So I think I messed this up. I’m sure it will still be good. Thanks for the recipe!
Susan Williams
Monday 21st of January 2019
I will read back over the recipe and clarify it, if it needs it. I'm sure it was great, anyway. Thanks for letting me know, Kim.