Fast Sausage Lasagna Recipe

Pasta Perfect – try this simple and easy take on a hearty Italian favorite and warm the tummies and hearts of your family on a cold winter’s eve.

Everyone loves lasagna. You don’t have to be Italian or an overweight orange cat (think Garfield) to get excited when someone tells you lasagna is for dinner.

There are so many variations on lasagna that it is hard to pick one to whip up. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can always alter the below recipe to fit your own tastes by adding your favorite vegetables and substituting ground turkey for a healthier alternative.

Some of the more traditional lasagna dishes include lasagne verdi made with spinach, or lasagne alla bolognese which uses only parmigiano reggiano, nutmeg-flavored bechumel sauce and traditional bolognese sauce made with ground beef.

This recipe is for a traditional lasagna that one would find in many Italian American homes across the country. Italian sausage stars as the main ingredient in this fast and simple recipe that uses jar sauce and no-cook/no-boil noodles. Prepare in less than 20 minutes, cook for an hour and you’ll have every family member from toddlers to adults channeling Garfield as they wolf it down.

Fast Sausage Lasagna Recipe

What you’ll need:

A 9×13 baking pan
A box of no-cook lasagna noodles
A pound of ground Italian sausage (sweet or spicy depending on your taste)
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
20 ounces of your favorite jar of tomato sauce or try our homemade marinara.
An 8 oz container of whole-milk ricotta cheese
8 oz. of shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1 teaspoon of Salt and Pepper
Freshly grated parmigiano reggiano for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, heat the two tablespoons of olive oil and begin to saute minced onions and garlic until translucent. Add the pound of Italian sausage, and brown, adding salt and pepper. Once sausage is browned, drain fat and set aside.
3. Put 8 oz. of ricotta cheese in a bowl, add one egg, and mix. If you choose, you can also add some freshly grated parmesan reggiano to the ricotta mixture. Mix well until egg is completely folded into the cheese mixture.
4. In your 9×13 baking dish, cover the bottom of the pan with a thick layer of tomato sauce. Then, lay no-cook lasagna noodles to cover the bottom of the pan. On top of the first layer of noodles, add the ricotta mixture, carefully spreading the mixture to cover the entire layer of noodles.
5. Next, place more no-boil lasagna noodles on top of the ricotta mixture, and add the layer of cooked sausage, spreading evenly to cover the noodles.
6. Then, add another layer of no-boil lasagna noodles. On this top layer, cover with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on the top layer generously.
7. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 50 minutes.
8. Remove tinfoil and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted thoroughly and slightly browned.
9. Let rest for 10 minutes prior to serving and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes