Growing up I remember asking my mom to make lasagna on several occasions and her response was always the same — “Nope! It takes way too much time.” Coming from a woman who cooked 90% of what she fed us from scratch, I figured it had to be an all day commitment so my response to similar requests for lasagna from my own kids has always been the same as hers. Then during the beginning of quarantine, after one of my kids (Tilly) had been persistent and I had nothing else to do (lol) we decided to test our lasagna making skills and to my surprise, it didn’t take all day. It also tasted a million times better than the frozen option. The worst part was the noodles and the meat sauce. Both required more mess and time than necessary so with that in mind we made some adjustments (PTL for no-boil noodles) and turned a 2-3 hour dinner dish into a quick 20 minutes (hands on) dinner that’s tastes like heaven and is doable even on a week night. The best part is the 40 minutes of baking time you’ll have to sip on wine, tidy the kitchen, listen to music, and hang with the fam. Serve on paper plates and your job is basically done for the night. Especially if you were smart enough to negotiate dinner duty for bedtime duty!
Try the recipe below and share in the comments or over @raeannkelly and let me know what you think!
THE BEST LAZY GIRL’S LASAGNA RECIPE
You’ll Need:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 32 oz marinara sauce (I like the Kirkland Signature Organic Marinara Sauce)
- 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons pesto (more or less depending on taste)
- 1 package no boil lasagna noodles
- 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
- 9×13 inch baking dish (love this green one!)
Here’s How:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sauté onion in olive oil. Add meat and cook through. Add marinara sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add ricotta, pesto, and eggs. Mix together.
- Time to layer everything together! Start with a layer of the meat sauce, then a layer of the noodles, and then the ricotta mixture. Repeat twice and then end with a sauce layer. (So you’ll have meat, noodles, ricotta, meat, noodles, ricotta, meat).
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven (it should be bubbling) and add a layer of fresh mozzarella. Return to oven for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
SOURCES: mini trays, serving paper, spatula, silverware (similar), baking dish (similar), dishtowel
(For my local friends: baking dish, spatula, and dishtowel are from Simple Tidings & Kitchen in Sumner)
ENJOY!
xo, Rae
THE BEST LAZY GIRL’S LASAGNA RECIPE
YOU’LL NEED:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 32 oz marinara sauce (I like the Kirkland Signature Organic Marinara Sauce)
- 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbsp pesto (more or less depending on taste)
- 1 package no boil lasagna noodles
- 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
HERE’S HOW:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sauté onion in olive oil. Add meat and cook through. Add marinara sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add ricotta, pesto, and eggs. Mix together.
- Time to layer everything together! Start with a layer of the meat sauce, then a layer of the noodles, and then the ricotta mixture. Repeat twice and then end with a sauce layer. (So you’ll have meat, noodles, ricotta, meat, noodles, ricotta, meat).
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven (it should be bubbling) and add a layer of fresh mozzarella. Return to oven for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Yoder
So Bomb! Thanks for feeding us… :)
rae
my fave.