18K+ 5 star reviews says John Chandler got this right. He did. We added the spinach.
What you need
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- ¾ pound lean ground beef
- 1 package frozen spinach - thawed
- ½ cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles (we only used 8 - carb diet)
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ¾ pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley.
- Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes (al dente is fine). Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. (9x13 Barely fits this recipe) Get out grandma's large lasagna pan!
- Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce (we only do 4 noodles). Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 of the thawed spinach and top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat layer one more time.
- After the second layer, top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes before serving.