5 Original and Easy Lasagna Recipes You Cannot Afford to Miss Out

Original Lasagna Recipe

There are many debates on which are the authentic original lasagna recipes. I did a research on the Internet and found a few similarities between some of the proclaimed traditional lasagna recipes. Their ingredients mainly consists of cheese, meat and lasagna noodles. The meat could be just plain ham, sausages, chicken or beef. As for the seasoning, there are parsley, salt and garlic. To my surprise, there are a few varieties of sauce ranging from the Bolognese meat sauce to the Béchamel sauce, and I couldn’t pinpoint which is the real traditional sauce. Here are a few of my original lasagna recipes packed with a pinch of creativity.

Cheesy Ground Beef Lasagna

This ground beef lasagna recipe has a good mix of beef and cheese to create one of my favorite lasagna. If you are a fan of cheese, this will satisfy the cravings for your cheesy bites and yet retains some form of the traditional lasagna flavor.

Ingredients: (6 servings)

Beef

• 500 grams of minced beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped garlic
• 1/2 can, 15 ounce, tomatoes (you can use freshly cut ones)
• 1  can, 8 ounce, tomato sauce
• 1 can, 8 ounce, tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoons basil leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

• 6 no boil lasagna noodles
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 12 ounces of provolone cheese, shredded
•  6 ounces of parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions:

Cooking the beef
We will start with the main beef ingredient. Heat a large pot over medium low heat and cook the beef, onions and garlic. When the beef is cooked, add in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and water. Give all the ingredients a good mix until the beef is well mixed with the tomatoes. Now, add the seasoning into the pot, including the sugar, basil, parsley, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper. Mix the seasoning and spices by stirring the whole pot of ingredients. Finally, cover the pot and simmer the meat for an hour over low heat.

Preparing the sauce
For the sauce, crack an egg into a bowl and add in the parsley and provolone cheese. Give the sauce a good mix until the eggs, parsley and cheese are combined.

Layering the lasagna
The meat is done and the cheese is ready. Let’s start by layering the lasagna.

1. Prepare a greased 5″x7″ baking pan and put 1/3 of the handsome meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.
2. Place 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce, you might need to cut the noodles to make sure they cover the pan.
3. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mix on top of the noodles.
4. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the cheese mix.
5. Spread the 1/3 of meat sauce over the cheese.
6. Here comes the noodles again. Place them over the sauce.
7. Spread the remaining cheese mixture over the noodles. Save one cup of cheese for the top layer.
8. Add in some Parmesan cheese.
9. Pour the remaining 1/3 of the meat sauce over the top.
10. Lastly, add the cheese for the top layer, and as usual, sprinkle some parmesan cheese.

Baking the lasagna
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil after 20 minutes and bake in same temperature for another 20 minutes. When the lasagna is done, remove from the oven and let it settle for 10 minutes before serving.

Italian Sausage and Mushroom Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce

This recipe for lasagna makes use of the special Béchamel sauce, hence adding an unique taste to the lasagna. I like the sausage and mushroom combination because it comprises of the traditional ingredients with an extra flair of creativity.

Ingredients: ( 12 servings)

Meat

• 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage

Béchamel Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cheese Mixture

• 1 egg
• 3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Noodles and other Ingredients

• 2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce
• 1 (9 ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles, about 6 noodles
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 3 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

Cooking the sausages
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add in the sausages. Cook the sausages for about 10 minutes until they are browned. Set the sausage aside for later use.

Making the Béchamel Sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Next, add in the flour and whisk the flour with the butter until they are light and creamy for about 3 minutes. Continue the whisking action and add in the milk at regular intervals, about 1/5 cup of milk each time. After adding the milk, add in salt and nutmeg and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes. Remember to stir or whisk the sauce while simmering. When the sauce is thick and creamy, switch off the heat and set it aside for later use.

Preparing the cheese mixture
Crack the egg into a bowl and add in the ricotta cheese and parsley. Stir the cheese mixture until all the ingredients are well mixed.

Assembling the lasagna
Before assembling the lasagna, preheat the oven to 375F and prepare a greased 9″X13″ baking dish.

1. Spread 1 1/2 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
2. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles over the marinara sauce. The noodles can be overlapped at the sides.
3. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles.
4. Top the ricotta cheese mixture with 1/3 of the Italian sausage and 1/3 cup of mushrooms.
5. Spread another layer of 1/4 of the Béchamel Sauce.
6. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese over the sauce.
7. Spread 1 more cup of marinara sauce over the cheese.
8. Repeat steps 2 to 7 for two more layers of lasagna.
9. Top off the final layer with lasagna noodles.
10. Spread the remaining marinara sauce and Béchamel Sauce over the lasagna noodles.
11. Finally, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top of the lasagna.

Baking the lasagna
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake in the oven for 60 minutes. Next, uncover the baking dish and bake for another 10 minutes until the top layer of cheese is browned. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool for ten minutes before serving.

Quick and Easy Lasagna Recipes

If you have the perception that lasagna are complex and difficult to make, the following quick and easy lasagna recipes will help you minimize the preparation procedures and baking time. However, don’t expect your lasagna to be ready in less than thirty minutes because the standard baking time period ranges from 30 minutes and above. I have listed a few of my favorite lasagna recipes easy and delicious enough to wow your family on the dinner table.

Easy Chicken Lasagna

Out of so many chicken lasagna recipes, this is one of the simplest and easiest to prepare. I have substituted all the sauce with soups and you can easily get the ingredients in any retail store. Don’e be mislead by the simple ingredients thinking that the taste is inferior to the original lasagna. In fact, the taste is very similar to the good old lasagna you find in the restaurants.

Ingredients: (8 servings)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
• 6 chicken breasts, diced
• 1 (4-ounce) jar pimientos, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 (8-ounce) can mushroom soup
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6  no boil lasagna noodles
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:

Cooking the ingredients
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion, green pepper and chicken breasts. Sauté the ingredients for about 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken are cooked and the onion soft. Next, add in the pimientos, cream of chicken soup and mushroom soup and stir all the ingredients. Simmer the sauce until it thickens for around 5 minutes.

Layering the lasagna
Preheat the oven to 350F, and while waiting for the sauce to simmer, prepare a greased 5″X7″ baking pan and get ready to layer the lasagna.

1. Scoop 1/3 of the chicken sauce and spread it on the bottom of the baking pan.
2. Place 2 to 3 lasagna noodles over the chicken sauce. The noodles can overlap to provide a thicker layered lasagna.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 two more times. You will end up with a top layer of lasagna noodles.
4. Next, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the noodles.

Baking the lasagna

Cover the baking pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes is up, uncover the baking pan and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is browned. When the lasagna is ready, remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Ground Beef Lasagna

This easy homemade lasagna consists of the traditional flavor of beef and cheese. Albeit its similarity with the cheesy ground beef lasagna I have listed earlier, this recipe is much simpler thanks to the simple meat sauce.

Instructions:

Cooking the meat sauce

Heat a skillet over medium fire and cook the ground beef for 10 to 15 mintues until the beef is browned and tender. Drain the meat and transfer the meat back into the skillet. Next, add the tomato sauce and water and stir all the ingredients together. Simmer the meat sauce for about 10 minutes until it is slightly thick. Remove the meat sauce from heat and set it aside.

Preparing the cheese mixture

Crack the egg into a bowl and beat it lightly. Next, add in 1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and parsley into the bowl (you should have 3/4 of mozzarella cheese and and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese left). Stir all the ingredients until they are well mixed.

Assembling the lasagna

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a greased baking dish.

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