If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I was raised on Italian cooking. Lasagna is a staple at holiday meals, no matter which holiday it is. In our family, even alongside the Thanksgiving turkey, there was a lasagna on the table as well. This recipe is one that takes a little over an hour to make, but it’s packed with flavor and can be frozen ahead of time to make an easy weeknight meal.
How To Make The Best 5 Cheese Lasagna
Lasagna seems like the type of dish that would be overly complicated to make and many end up sticking to a regular spaghetti dish to avoid the hassle. However, I’m going to teach you how to make the best 5 cheese lasagna that will knock your socks off and leave you wondering why you haven’t made this before!
How do you prevent the lasagna from getting soupy?
I’ll admit, the first few times I made this dish, it ended up being more like a lasagna soup requiring a bowl then a lasagna that can stand up on it’s own on a pretty plate. After several efforts and a few phone calls to my grandmother, I finally found that using a combination of my homemade meaty pasta sauce and quality ricotta cheese gave it the structure it needed. Another tip is to make sure the noodles are thoroughly dried before you assemble your dish.
Check Out My Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe!
How Do You Make The Best 5 Cheese Lasagna?
5 Cheese Lasagna
Ingredients
- 4 cups meat sauce see recipe mentioned above
- 12 whole lasagna noodles cooked according to package instructions
- 1 24 oz. container ricotta cheese
- 1 egg beaten
- 4 tbsp Italian seasoning divided
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 8 oz. package shredded Mozzarella cheese divided
- 1 8 oz. package shredded Gruyère cheese divided
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, divided
- ¾ cup Asiago cheese freshly grated, divided
Instructions
- Place the top oven rack in the center position and set temperature to 375°F.
- In a large glass bowl, combine ricotta cheese, beaten egg, 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning, and fresh parsley. Stir to combine.
- Spray a 13 x 9” glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add enough meat sauce to cover the bottom of the pan and then cover with 3 lasagna noodles.
- Top with an even layer of the ricotta cheese mixture, followed by a layer of shredded mozzarella and Gruyère cheese, using equal amounts of each.
- Finish with a layer of grated Parmesan and Asiago cheese, also in equal amounts.
- Repeat this process three more times: meat, noodles, ricotta mixture, shredded cheeses, and grated cheeses.
- Sprinkle the remaining Italian seasoning across the final layer.
- Loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
