Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs. 30 mins Additional Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs. 15 min. Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1-pound sweet Italian sausage
• ¾ to 1-pound lean ground beef
• ½ cup onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans of canned tomato sauce
• 2 (6-ounce) cans of tomato paste
• ½  cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces Ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• ¾ pound mozzarella cheese, slices or shredded
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Step 1

Gather all your ingredients.

Step 2

Cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven over medium heat until well browned.

Step 3

Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Season with sugar, two tablespoons of parsley, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Put the cover on the Dutch oven and simmer the sauce for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Step 4

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water.

Step 5

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining two tablespoons fresh parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 7

You can either assemble it with two or three layers of noodles.

To assemble two layers, spread 1 ½ cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Arrange six noodles lengthwise over the meat sauce, overlapping slightly. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 ½ cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

My favorite is using three layers.  You’ll use four noodles that don’t overlap.   In each layer, use 1 cup of meat sauce and 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture.

Step 8

Repeat the layers and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. To help prevent sticking, spray the foil with cooking spray or make sure it does not touch the cheese.

Step 9

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Step 10

Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.