Lazy Lasagna
This lazy lasagna is an easy dinner all done in under 1 hour.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: Feeds about 6
Ingredients
Scale
- ½ pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3/4 pound of ziti or penne (about 2 ¾ of a cup) cooked to just before al dente *see note
- 8 oz ricotta cheese (half of a 15 oz container)
- 1 egg
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1 cup shredded parmesan, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse-ground pepper
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, cook ground beef, onions, and garlic until the meat is cooked through. Drain excess fat and return to the pan. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir together and simmer on low heat for at least 10-15 minutes while you prep the rest of the dish.
- Boil the noodles to soften them to about 2 minutes shy of al dente in a salted pot of water. They will soften more in the oven. Drain well when finished cooking.
- In another bowl, while pasta cooks, combine the ricotta, egg, ½ cup mozzarella and ¼ parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the pasta into the cheese mixture and toss to coat evenly.
- Pour about ½ cup of tomato sauce into the bottom of your baking dish to coat the bottom of the pan. Add ½ of the noodle mixture and spread evenly. Pour half the remaining sauce over the noodles evenly and then sprinkle half of the remaining shredded cheese over the sauce. Repeat this process for the second half of the noodles, sauce, and cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Enjoy with garlic bread, breadsticks, and a nice Caesar salad.
Notes
- Don’t cook the pasta too soft or even to al dente or you’ll have very, very soft noodles after baking.
- Cook your pasta in salted water. I usually add about 1 tablespoon to a large pot.
- You can use a jarred pasta sauce instead. You will need about 36 oz of sauce. If you use jarred sauce, you can skip the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Pour the jarred sauce over the meat and onion mixture and prepare as directed after that.
