Meatball Lasagna

A simple, cozy lasagna recipe? Yes, please! This meatball lasagna recipe includes shortcut ingredients, including canned tomatoes and store-bought meatballs, that add loads of flavor with less work than traditional, from-scratch lasagna recipes. Instead of browning ground beef, we crumble packages of precooked meatballs into homemade sauce. The result? You end up with bigger pieces of meat and all the rich, savory flavor of well-seasoned Italian meatballs in each bite of lasagna.

The sauce is layered with lasagna noodles, creamy ricotta, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, then the lasagna with meatballs is baked until bubbly with a golden brown crust. Our lasagna meatball recipe is the perfect low-effort, make-ahead meal for parties, holidays or family pasta nights. After all, who doesn’t love a helping of hearty meatballs with tender noodles and robust tomato sauce?

Ingredients for Meatball Lasagna

• Tomato sauce: Canned tomatoes are simmered with aromatics and herbs to make a quick and flavorful pasta sauce for our lasagna. The sauce has a chunky texture from the diced tomatoes and a rich flavor from the tomato sauce and paste. If you need to assemble the lasagna even faster, use a jar of your favorite marinara or pasta sauce.
• Onion and garlic: These aromatics add depth of flavor to the sauce. Sweet or yellow onion will mellow when simmered and add natural sweetness to the sauce without being too sharp or overpowering.
• Seasonings: Dried basil, parsley flakes and garlic salt give the sauce a classic Italian flavor. Add a pinch of oregano to the mix, or swap in Italian seasoning for an all-in-one spice blend.
• Sugar: Just a touch of granulated sugar is the trick to a well-balanced pasta sauce that doesn’t taste too tangy or sour. The sugar counters the acidity of the tomatoes and enhances their natural sweetness.
• Lasagna noodles: Boil traditional lasagna noodles until al dente to prevent a mushy lasagna. You can swap in no-boil or oven-ready noodles for convenience.
• Meatballs: Store-bought beef meatballs are a shortcut for a hearty, meaty sauce. Precooked frozen meatballs need only to be thawed before assembling the lasagna. You could also use fresh or homemade meatballs, but they’ll need to be pan-fried or baked before they’re used in the lasagna.
• Eggs: Two beaten eggs combined with the ricotta cheese provide structure and help the ricotta layer set with a firm, sliceable texture. Without eggs, the ricotta turns runny, creating a sad, watery lasagna.
• Cheeses: We’re keeping this lasagna classic with ricotta, shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheese. The ricotta adds creaminess, the mozzarella delivers irresistible melty cheese pulls and the Parmesan is a salty, nutty flavor enhancer. Freshly grated cheese melts better than pre-shredded, so we recommend picking up blocks of mozzarella and Parmesan for this recipe.

Directions

Step 1: Make the sauce

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large saucepan, combine the diced tomatoes (with their juices), tomato sauce and tomato paste with 1 cup of water. Stir in the onion, garlic, basil, parsley, sugar and garlic salt.

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Heat, uncovered, until the sauce comes to a boil. Then, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Cook the noodles

While the sauce simmers, boil a large pot of water and cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Drain the noodles and set them aside.

Editor’s Tip: To prevent the noodles from sticking together, stir the pot when you first add them and then once or twice while they cook.

Step 3: Prep the meatballs and cheese filling

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Crumble the meatballs into the sauce and stir to combine.

Editor’s Tip: If you prefer heartier pieces of meat in the lasagna, cut the meatballs in half or quarter them.

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In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and ricotta cheese.

Step 4: Assemble the lasagna

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Spread 1 cup meat sauce in the bottom of a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. On top of the sauce, layer half the lasagna noodles, half the ricotta mixture and half the remaining meat sauce. Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.

Editor’s Tip: Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to evenly spread the layers of ricotta and sauce.

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Repeat the layers, finishing with cheese on top.

Step 5: Bake the lasagna

Cover the baking dish and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until the top of the lasagna turns golden brown. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

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Meatball Lasagna Variations

• Create meatball and veggie lasagna: Chopped bell peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini or broccoli florets make lasagna even more filling and flavorful. You can stir the veggies into the sauce or saute them in a bit of olive oil and layer them with the other lasagna components.
• Add a flavor enhancer to the sauce: Stir a splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar into the sauce for a deeper, more complex flavor, or give it a spicy kick with a pinch of chile pepper flakes.
• Mix up the meatballs: Use turkey or chicken meatballs for a lighter option, Italian sausage meatballs for a spicy lasagna or make a batch of tofu meatballs to create a vegetarian lasagna.
• Change the cheese: Swap in cottage cheese for the ricotta for extra protein, or mix mozzarella and Provolone for extra meltiness.
• Know your noodles: Use no-cook noodles to speed up the lasagna prep—you can layer them in the baking dish without boiling them first. Or, look for whole wheat noodles or lasagna sheets made from lentils for a higher fiber option.

How to Store Meatball Lasagna

Let the lasagna with meatballs cool to room temperature, then cover the baking dish and store it in the fridge. Or, cut the lasagna into individual portions and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The lasagna will last for four to five days.

Can you freeze meatball lasagna?

You can freeze a pan of lasagna or individual slices for up to three months. Wrap lasagna slices in storage wrap and place them in a freezer-safe storage bag or airtight container. To freeze the whole lasagna, assemble and bake as directed, then let it cool and tightly wrap the entire pan with storage wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil.

The night before you want to serve the lasagna, transfer it to the fridge to thaw overnight. Then, reheat it in the oven.

Can you make meatball lasagna ahead of time?

You can make the lasagna meatball recipe a few hours before dinner or up to three days in advance and then bake it when ready. Simply prepare the lasagna components—meatball sauce, noodles and cheese filling—and assemble the lasagna. Tightly cover the baking dish with storage wrap and store the unbaked lasagna in the fridge.

How do you reheat meatball lasagna?

Reheat the covered lasagna dish in a 350° oven. Remove the lasagna from the fridge while the oven heats, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes until warmed through. You can also microwave individual slices of lasagna.

Meatball Lasagna Tips

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Can you put homemade meatballs in lasagna?

You can add homemade meatballs to the tomato sauce for lasagna or layer them between the noodles and cheese. In fact, adding meatballs to lasagna is a great way to use leftovers or meatballs you meal-prepped and stashed in the freezer. If you’re making the meatballs fresh for this recipe and want to leave them whole, we recommend rolling them no bigger than 1 inch in diameter.

Is it better to crumble or slice meatballs for lasagna?

Whether you’re using store-bought or homemade meatballs, the best way to add them to lasagna depends on their size. If your meatballs are big enough to require a fork, you’ll want to break them into smaller pieces so they’ll heat faster and add meaty texture to each bite. You can crumble them into the sauce or slice them and layer them on top. Smaller bite-sized meatballs can be left whole or cut in half and layered between the cheese and sauce.

What can you serve with meatball lasagna?

We love to serve our meatball lasagna recipe with a green salad—the fresh flavor and crisp texture of salad greens pair beautifully with the rich, creamy casserole. Try a simple side salad or a big bowl of Caesar salad. On pasta night, you can’t go wrong with a basket of warm, buttery garlic bread!