Easy Weeknight Lasagna
This lasagna uses jarred sauce and skips the ricotta making it a fast and easy to assemble casserole! It can be made ahead of time for the ultimate easy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 package lasagna noodles (you’ll need 18 noodles for the bigger size and 12 for the smaller)
- 2 lb lean ground beef
- 6 cups red pasta sauce (I use jarred Traditional Prego)
- 6 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in bottom of an 11x15 inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 tsp salt and entire package of lasagna noodles to pot. Cook according to package instructions. You won’t need all of the noodles, but they sometimes break during cooking, so it’s better to have extra.
- While noodles are cooking, brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat and discard. Stir in remaining red sauce and heat over low heat. Carefully drain noodles (water and steam will be very hot!) and rinse with a bit of cold water. This will cool them down and make them easier to work with.
- Arrange 5 noodles over sauce, slightly overlapping and place one more in the opposite direction at the end, cutting it to fit. Spread a third of the sauce over noodles. Sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese over sauce. Arrange 6 more noodles like before (with 1 reserved for the end) and repeat process until all ingredients are used (3 layers).
- Place foil over top loosely and slightly tented so it doesn’t touch the cheese. Bake at 375º F for 20 minutes. Remove foil using oven mitts (foil and pan will be hot) and bake another 10-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy with garlic bread or a side salad!
Notes
- See the tips in the blog post for substitution ideas!
- This can be made in a 9x13 inch baking dish by reducing the servings to 8 in the recipe card. Follow the rest of the steps, except for step 3. Four noodles slightly overlapping will fit perfectly in a 9x13 inch dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 313kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 772mg | Potassium: 340mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 407IU | Calcium: 498mg | Iron: 2mg
Disclaimer: All nutrition values are per serving and approximate. They will vary depending on products and quantities used.
