Lasagna is another staple in our household that we have at least twice a month. Lasagna provides a great meal for a few days and it is also a perfect make ahead meal to store in the freezer for a busy days.
I make lasagna almost the same way I make my spaghetti, the only thing that is different are the noodles I use and the optional add-ins that add more nutritional value to this classic meal.
Also, I’ll discuss how you can turn this family favorite into a freezer meal that you can pull out whenever times get crazy or you just need dinner to be easy!
Some meals are more seasonal than others, we don’t usually have slow cooker chili or stew during the hot summer months. Those dishes are just too heavy and too hot to enjoy on a hot summer day. However, lasagna is a perfect meal year round, in my opinion.
What is lasagna?
Lasagna is actually a style of noodle. The noodle is usually a wide flat sheet and is typically used in the dish lasagna. The dish lasagna is also a classic Italian meal that typically consists of repeating layers of meat sauce, lasagna noodles, and a cheese layer.
Every family adds their own flare and style to this dish. My recipe for lasagna has been influenced by the lasagna I grew up eating at home, recipes from good friends and from a couple of influencers on YouTube. Don’t be afraid to get adventurous with your cooking!
Why make lasagna?
Easy: Prep ahead of time, over the weekend and store in the fridge for a weeknight meal or in the freezer for when you’re in a pinch.
Delicious: Pasta, meat sauce and cheese, need I say more?
Meal prep: Cook once and have leftovers for a few days.
Loved by the family: Always a hit with the entire family.
My Lasagna
I make my lasagna with ground meat, generally a red meat that we have on hand. Some days this is ground beef, other days its ground wild game, like elk, venison, or antelope. Ground Italian sausage is also a delicious option.
Since I do not typically make my lasagna with Italian sausage, I like to add pepperoni’s into the dish. I have found pepperoni gives a nice spice profile to the dish.
Recently I discovered the beauty of making my cheese layer more elaborate, though its still pretty simple. I have started mixing ricotta cheese with some shredded parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, an egg and some Italian spices. This change has elevated my lasagna and the cheese mixture freezes beautifully if you don’t use it all.
To make the this meal more nutritionally dense I like to add in various vegetables or greens. These add-ins generally take on the flavor of the sauce and meat mixture making them hardly noticeable. This is especially important for the picky eaters. Plus, then I don’t make a side vegetable to accompany the dish, it’s all in one!
Save time with meal prep
Meal prep is not new to me, but meal prepped lasagna is a newer concept that I am so grateful I have started to incorporate.
This is the thought process:
- I’m already cooking, so let’s double the batch and put the second meal in the freezer for a quick and easy meal later.
- If you’re single or it is just you and your significant other, make enough to have leftovers to reach for throughout the week. This is essential for us, if there are no leftovers to take to work we are going to have to eat out for lunch which adds up and gets expensive.
Meal prepping our lasagna has been a game changer and the convenience is the same as buying a frozen lasagna from the grocery store, but with the added benefit of it being homemade and you got to control the quality of the ingredients.
To meal prep lasagna you need to build the dish as usual in a freezer and oven safe pan. This step is important because you will be freezing and baking in the same pan. Build your layers: meat sauce, noodles, cheese, pepperoni, repeat until you reach the top of you pan.
After your layers are complete skip the cheese topping. I find this keeps the mess down later.
Fridge storage for use in a few days: Place a lid or plastic wrap on your dish and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze storage: Place a lid on the pan or wrap in aluminum foil. Then wrap in plastic wrap to ensure you don’t get freezer burn on your lasagna. Label and keep in your freezer for up to 6 to 8 months.
For more meal prep ideas visit my YouTube Channel Simply a Bree’s
Tools
- 9×13 pan
- Skillet
- Large pot
- Colander
- Wooden spoon
- Medium mixing bowl
- Mixing spoons
- Measuring spoons & cups
- Kitchen scissors
For more Italian inspired meals check out my post on How to Make Spaghetti
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to boiling.
- Once water is at a boil, add the lasagna noodles, cook until al dente. Your packaging should have instructions for this.
- Note: you do not want your noodles fully cooked, they will finish cooking in the oven.
- While the noodles are cooking, brown the ground meat and add seasonings.
- Combine pasta sauce with the browned meat.
- This is where I add in extras for a nutritional boost. I like to add in frozen or freeze dried kale and/or spinach to my meat sauce mixture. Sometimes I also add in shredded zucchini and shredded carrots if I need to get through some produce I have on hand. The great thing about these add-ins is that most of the time they aren’t noticeable in the dish.
- Note: if using freeze dried items as add-ins you will need extra moisture in your sauce.
- Mix the cheese layer together in a bowl.
- Strain cooked lasagna noodles.
- In a 9×13 dish put a little bit of meat sauce mixture on the bottom of the dish.
- Add a layer of lasagna noodles side by side into the dish. You may need to cut some of the noodles to make them fit.
- Spread some of the cheese layer all over the lasagna noodle layer.
- Layer pepperonis on top of the cheese layer.
- Top the cheese layer with meat sauce.
- Repeat steps 10 – 13 until you have reached the top of your baking dish. I can usually repeat one more time with my dish.
- Top the lasagna with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Place your lasagna into the oven to bake for 30-45 minutes and the cheese is golden brown.
- Wrap the baking dish with the lasagna in plastic wrap or put a lid on it and place in the fridge as a meal later in the week.
- Or place it in the freezer to use as a meal further in the future.
This looks so good! And I love how easy it is. Definitely saving!
I am all about easy cooking!
Oh yum! We are having lasagna for my Nana’s 96th birthday dinner in a few weeks. I’ll share your recipe with my aunt who is making it!! Maybe she’ll choose to use this recipe. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Happy birthday to your Nana!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I am loving that the theme to your recipes is easy! I need easy in my life and this recipe came together so nicely. My husband loved it too!