The first time I made Mac lasagna was, ummm, rather interesting. We had just started dating, and I was testing the adage that a man’s heart was best reached through his stomach. Realizing that my new man loved Italian food, I decided to whip up a pan of lasagna. I used my mom’s recipe that uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta. My dad doesn’t like ricotta cheese, so that’s how I grew up eating lasagna. To my surprise, Mac loves ricotta cheese and doesn’t like cottage cheese. I also made the lasagna in a loaf pan, and it took at least two hours to cook. It was ridiculous. Thankfully, I’ve tweaked my technique to a cheesy delight that Mac loves.
My go-to shortcut is to use no-boil noodles. You can save 20 or so minutes without that step. I also normally use jarred pasta sauce. You can make your own, but I have found several brands that taste great. I do have a few tips and tricks to make the sauce as flavorful as possible. First, I stir the jarred sauce and an extra can of plain tomato sauce in the with the meat. Then I stir in garlic, onion, and balsamic vinegar. These add great layers of flavor. If you’re making dinner now, let the sauce simmer for about five minutes. If you have the time, let it go for an hour or two on low heat to really amp up the flavor.
To reduce cooking time, I like to use a 9×13 pan. For my first two-hour attempt, I used a loaf pan. Rookie mistake. With a normal size box of lasagna noodles, you’ll get about four layers of pasta in a 9×13 dish. And yes, this recipe really does call for all of that cheese. Mac loves cheesy pasta, so I’ve tried to add in as much cheese as possible. The smoked provolone adds fantastic flavor and lots of stringy goodness in each layer. You can also throw some of the shredded Italian cheese in with the provolone if you’re feeling crazy. And the whole dish only takes about 30 minutes to bake.
If you like lasagna, check out my lasagna rolls!
PrintLasagna, the classic
Ingredients
- 1 box of non-boil lasagna noodles
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 jar of marinara sauce (I like the veggie kinds for lasagna)
- 1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
- 1 egg
- 1 package of sliced smoke provolone cheese (at least 18 slices)
- 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brown the ground beef over medium heat. Stir in the jar of marinara sauce, the can of tomato sauce, the garlic, the onion, and the balsamic vinegar. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, and Italian seasoning in a bowl.
- Spoon about a half cup (or a big ladle full) of the meat sauce on the bottom of a greased 9×13 casserole dish.
- Place a single layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Spoon another ladle of sauce over the noodles. Spread one third of the ricotta mixture over the sauce. Layer a third of the sliced provolone cheese.
- Repeat layering the lasagna noodles, sauce, and cheese two more times. You should have four total layers of pasta.
- Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 – 35 minutes until heated through.
Enjoy!
