Serves a Crowd

Classic Lasagna With a Cleanup Twist

November  2, 2022
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0 Ratings
Photo by Emily Smith
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 50 minutes
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

Enjoy this cheesy, authentic homemade lasagna recipe filled with lush cheese, rich tomato sauce AND a no-stress cleanup.

Finish, the world’s number one recommended dishwashing brand, has created the “Finish 24-Hour Challenge,” a challenge daring lasagna lovers to cook and enjoy this classic dinnertime recipe, skip the rinse, load the dishwasher and run once full, 24 hours later — Finish Quantum removes the 24-hour dried-on stains. If that doesn't work, the meal is on Finish through end of year.

Lasagna or bust! —Emily Smith

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • ¾ pounds lean ground beef
  • ½ cups 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 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil leaves
  • ½ teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 12 lasagna noodles
  • 16 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ pounds mozzarella cheese, sliced
Directions
  1. Heat ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat in a stovetop pan until well browned. Once browned stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season the mixture with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring regularly.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add lasagna noodles to the water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until soft. Drain the water from the pot and rinse the noodles with cold water. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. Begin layering the lasagna by spreading 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Lay noodles side-by-side lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture on top of the noodles and top with mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce on top of the mozzarella. Repeat layers until sauce, noodles, and ricotta mixtures are used up fully. Top the lasagna with remaining mozzarella. Cover the dish with foil and either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese to keep the cheese from sticking.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered lasagna for an additional 25 minutes. Allow the dish to cool fully before serving.

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