this simple lasagna utilizes store-bought marinara and just a handful of other ingredients for a family-friendly dish that you’ll want to make over and over again.
Got another easy weeknight dinner for you guys! If you liked these easy stuffed shells or this weeknight baked ziti, then my hope is that you’ll love this lasagna too!
Despite cooking for 45-60 minutes, it’s fairly hands-off otherwise. It also comes together all in one pan (you know I love my one pan meals!) which these days is totally welcome!
There’s nothing fancy about this dish – just pasta, sauce and cheese. But BOY does it taste good at the end of a long day.
I’m sure there are those out there who would feel it’s blasphemous not to make my own sauce, but honestly? With the amount of cooking I’ve been doing these days, any short cut I can get I’m all for!
Even better, this is a dish everyone in the household will happily eat AND it gives us at least 2-3 meals.
Not bad for less than an hour of time (most of which is spent just letting it cook in the oven!). If you make it, I hope it serves your household as well as it has ours!
super simple weeknight lasagna
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: dinner
Description
this simple lasagna utilizes store-bought marinara and just a handful of other ingredients for a family-friendly dish that you’ll want to make over and over again.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lasagna noodles
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
- 16 oz. block of mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 8 oz. block parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, minced (plus more for serving).
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 16 oz. jars marinara sauce (we love Newman’s Own)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, ricotta, all but 1 cup of mozzarella, all the parmesan, all the basil, salt & pepper. Mix well to combine. Set aside.
- Add the lasagna noodles to the pot of boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes (you want them even less done than al dente). Drain and rinse with cool water so you can separate any sticking together. Utilize a drizzle of olive oil as needed to help separate and prevent further sticking.
- Spoon a small amount of sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan then top with noodles (avoiding any major overlap).
- Top with ~1 cup marinara sauce followed by 1/4 of the entire cheese mixture. Add another layer of noodles and repeat this process 3 more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on the size of the noodle & baking dish, you may have a few noodles left over) and another 2/3 cup or so of sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella (and additional parmesan if desired).
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place baking dish on top (this helps prevent any overflow from burning to the bottom of your oven). Cover the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Uncover, raise the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees F and bake for another 15 minutes (or until cheese is golden brown on top and edges are crispy).
- Top with additional chopped basil as desired. Allow to cool before slicing.
Keywords: lasagna, noodles, pasta, baked pasta, cheese, marinara
Super excited to make this! If freezing for later, do you recommend using uncooked noodles or follow the recipe and freeze after baking? Thanks!
Hmm that’s a great question – I’ve never frozen it before so I don’t know that I can offer any helpful insight, but I would say probably baking it as is then freezing and defrosting. If you do it, definitely come back and leave a note to let me know how it goes! Hope you enjoy 🙂