The Best Ever Lasagna

Name: The Best Ever Lasagna
Prep time: 2 h 45 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: 15 servings
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste; 2 cans (28 ounces each ) crushed tomatoes in puree; 6 cups water; 1 cup chopped fresh basil; 2-1/4 teaspoons sugar, divided; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 pound bulk Italian sausage; 4 Italian sausage links; 1 carton (16 ounces) whole milk ricotta cheese; 8 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided; 1 large Eggland's Best egg, beaten; 1/4 teaspoon dried basil; 12 sheets no-cook lasagna noodles; 21 slices provolone cheese; 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

My brother, Joe, created this lasagna based on our mom’s recipe. It’s a family favorite at Christmas, thanks to the special ingredients that make it magnifico. —Stephanie Marchese, Taste of Home Visual Production Director

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 cans (28 ounces each ) crushed tomatoes in puree
6 cups water
1 cup chopped fresh basil
2-1/4 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
4 Italian sausage links
1 carton (16 ounces) whole milk ricotta cheese
8 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 large Eggland's Best egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
12 sheets no-cook lasagna noodles
21 slices provolone cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, water, fresh basil, 2 teaspoons sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles, 8-10 minutes; drain. Add to sauce; simmer until mixture is thickened, about 1 hour longer.
While sauce simmers, preheat oven to 350°. Place sausage links on a rimmed baking sheet; roast until cooked through, 35-40 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly; slice into 1/4-in.-thick pieces.
In a small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, egg, dried basil and remaining sugar.
In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, spread 2 cups sauce. Arrange four noodles over sauce; spread with a third of the ricotta mixture. Add seven provolone slices, a third of the sausage links and 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers two more times, using only 1 cup sauce per layer. Spread with 2 cups sauce (reserve remaining sauce for serving on the side), remaining 2-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese (dish will be full).
Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, uncovered, until bubbly and deep golden brown, 60-65 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining meat sauce.

Nutrition Facts

1 piece: 509 calories, 33g fat (15g saturated fat), 106mg cholesterol, 1185mg sodium, 27g carbohydrate (9g sugars, 3g fiber), 29g protein.

Originally published as The Best Ever Lasagna in Taste of Home December 2018

Reviews

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Average Rating:

Mh2890

Mar 3, 2019

Concur with jatme65-way to much water. Flavor was not to our liking. No cook lasagna noodles did not cook-would recommend using cooked noodles. Flavor wasn't that great as the sausage over powered everything else. Also expensive to make - $40.00 to $50.00 average. A lot of effort to make. Would not make again or recommend others make it Remainder just went into the trash..
jaymes65

Feb 26, 2019

Too much water ,recipe SUCKS
annsway1

Feb 26, 2019

Someone brought this to work; it was wonderful. Wouldn't change a thing; great old world flavor!!!!
Juanecita

Feb 26, 2019

Hi,Yes,too much work..it is a particular family recipe as lasagna does NOT use provolone...and dried ready made pasta is also ridiculous.Lasagna does take much prep time...generally true lasagna does NOT use sausage.You can make a ground meat Bolognese sauce ,one day..and the next proceed to use it in the layers.Fresh mozzarella sliced thinly,not ready bought shredded cheese is far better.As you may see ,perhaps this recipe is more Italian authentic..which I have been making for some sixty years.Buon appetito.Gianetta
Cheryl

Feb 26, 2019

Our family does not like sausage - I know, I know - but everybody has their own taste. I used ground beef, but wasn’t sure how much more to add to replace the links. We love cheese, but this did seem to be too much so I used the amount from my own recipe which is generous. Sauce was good, though...
Brenda

Feb 15, 2019

This recipe was A LOT of work and mess. Too much sauce, so much leftover, and way too much cheese. Just cheese overkill. It was ok, but for all the work, and not to mention EXPENSE, would never make again. It wasn’t that great.
Brenda

Feb 9, 2019

Looks delicious will certainly try this
Beverly

Feb 4, 2019

Excellent - don't usually add sausage and liked the flavor it added.Recommend! Re other reviews - Jon I presume you were kidding about the tomatos.As for meme and other meme,why bother to comment at all. What's wrong with people?! Thank you Stephanie for sharing this great recipe
Jon

Jan 13, 2019

I'm particular about lasagna, so while I loved this recipe (as did the rest of the family I served it for), I've got a few comments. First, the amount of cheese is slightly obscene :) I think I only used six to seven of the 8 cups of mozzarella, wondering if the amount listed in the magazine was a typo. It wasn't! No one at my table thought it was a low-cheese dish, though, so that turned out fine. I used a 9x13" metal lasagna pan for this, and didn't end up with anything bubbling over the edges. I actually had trouble finding "crusted tomatoes in puree" at the store, which is weird; I know I used to be able to find the stuff at this particular S
ngerard

Dec 24, 2018

Oh, yeah. I've thrown out all my other lasagna recipes!