This is the Ultimate Lasagna Recipe! It has all the expected layers of cheese, pasta sauce and noodles, but I’ve built extra flavor into every single layer for the most mind-blowingly delicious lasagna EVER.
Cook noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles one at a time to keep them from sticking. Boil until al dente: they should still be a little firm in the middle but not hard. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, and toss with a drizzle of olive oil. This will keep them from sticking together as they sit.
While your pasta water is coming to a boil, brown your meat and drain if there is a lot of fat. Add to your pasta sauce of choice. At this point make my 15 minute sauce if you want a fresh sauce! If you are using jarred sauce or sauce that you made in advance, there is no need to reheat that sauce. Just mix in the ground meat.
Mince your fresh herbs and mix them into the ricotta.
Assemble lasagna: I add a little bit of sauce to the bottom of the dish to keep the noodles from sticking. I try to just get sauce and not meat. Start with noodles and cover the bottom of the dish, overlapping a little bit if necessary. I usually get 3 across. Then spread about ½ cup of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, holding them in place with your hand while you spread. Add about a quarter of the sauce and then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat until you have filled your dish! Top with extra mozzarella and parmesan.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes or until the top browns and the sauce bubbly. I suggest letting it cool 15-20 minutes before serving, but if it is dinner time, DIG IN!