Lasagna with Oven Ready Noodles – Create Kids Club

This is the BEST no-boil lasagna recipe around. Made with tons of cheese, beef and sausage, plenty of tomatoes, and ricotta cheese all baked into a delicious dinner your kids will love. Gluten-free instructions included.

Our version simplifies things by taking all the flavors of homemade lasagna and eliminates the hassle of boiling noodles. It will quickly become a go-to recipe whether you are feeding a small group or large crowd.

We’ve included a variety of quick meal ideas as well to take the thinking out of planning dinner. As busy parents, it’s recipes like these that help us run in many directions while also being able to get dinner on the table during the week.

This recipe is a blend between my mom’s lasagna recipe I grew up with and a recipe off of Allrecipes, World’s Best Lasagna. This recipe definitely takes the best from both and shortens the time using no-boil noodles!

Start things off by gathering the equipment and ingredients. This recipe can easily be made gluten-free by using regular pork sausage instead of the sweet Italian sausage and swapping the noodles for gluten-free lasagna noodles.

Equipment

• 9 x 13 baking pan
• cutting board
• chefs knife
• extra large skillet or stockpot
• spoon
• measuring cups and spoons
• medium-sized mixing bowl
• tin foil and nonstick cooking spray

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage use regular pork sausage for gluten free
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6) ounce tomato paste
• 15 ounce tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 15 ounce reduced fat ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 8 ounce oven ready lasagna noodles or use gluten free
• 16 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

How To Make Lasagna

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Sauté onions and garlic and brown the meat

Add olive oil to an extra-large skillet. Once heated, add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the pork sausage and ground beef. Cook until browned.

Pro Tip: Drain the meat if there is a lot of grease in the skillet before you add additional ingredients.

Add the tomatoes and spices

To the browned meat, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir well and let simmer.

Pro Tip: Best flavor is you simmer the sauce for at least an hour. Simply keep it at a low simmer and stir occasionally. If you are in a rush, simmer for just 30 minutes.

Blend ricotta cheese and eggs

In a medium-sized bowl, blend together the ricotta cheese, eggs, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Ingredient Swap: If desired, swap the ricotta cheese with 15oz of cottage cheese.

Assemble the lasagna

Start by spreading 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Place 4-5 no-bake noodles over the meat sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Add another 1 1/2 cups meat sauce, no-bake noodles, the rest of the ricotta, 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Finish with the rest of the meat sauce, the rest of the mozzarella cheese along with the parmesan cheese.

Cover with tin foil and bake

Cover the lasagna with a piece of tin foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes covered. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Pro Tip: Spraying the tin foil with nonstick cooking spray before covering will help keep the cheese from sticking to the foil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you will want to cover the baking dish as this helps to soften the noodles.

You can reheat in the oven at 375°F covered with foil for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

You sure can! We recommend freezing individual slices of lasagna by wrapping each portion in parchment paper then tin foil before placing in a freezer bag with a Meal Label and in the freezer. Lasagna can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

A tossed salad is our go-to side to pair with lasagna. Steamed vegetables and garlic bread are also great options.

Quick Dinner Ideas For Families

• Easy Swedish Meatballs (Crockpot)
• Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast
• Sheet Pan Pizza
• Nacho Fries Bell Grande
• Taco Quesadilla
• Easy Pork Chop Sheet Pan Dinner
• Instant Pot Meatloaf

CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.

The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.

No-Boil Lasagna

Equipment

• tin foil and nonstick cooking spray

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage ✅ use regular pork sausage for gluten free
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6) ounce tomato paste
• 15 ounce tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 15 ounce reduced fat ricotta cheese ✅
• 2 large eggs
• 8 ounce oven ready lasagna noodles or use gluten free✅
• 16 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese ✅
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese ✅

Instructions

• Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• ⭐️Saute onions and garlic and brown the meat. Add olive oil to an extra large skillet. Once heated, add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the pork sausage and ground beef. Cook until browned. Drain if there is a lot of grease.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 small onion, minced, 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 pound lean ground beef
• ⭐️Add the tomatoes and spices. To the browned meat, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir well. Let simmer for 1 hour (or at least 30 minutes).28 ounce crushed tomatoes, 2 (6) ounce tomato paste, 15 ounce tomato sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon ground thyme, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon sugar
• Blend ricotta cheese and eggs. In a medium sized bowl, blend together the ricotta cheese, eggs, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.15 ounce reduced fat ricotta cheese, 2 large eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• Assemble the lasagna. Start by spreading 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Place 4-5 no-bake noodles over the meat sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Add another 1 1/2 cups meat sauce, no-bake noodles, the rest of the ricotta, and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Finish with the rest of the meat sauce, the rest of the mozzarella cheese along with the parmesan cheese.8 ounce oven ready lasagna noodles, 16 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• ⭐️Cover with tin foil and bake. Cover the lasagna with a piece of tin foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. This helps keep the cheese from sticking to the foil. Bake for 25 minutes covered. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Video

Notes

Serving Suggestions

Serve hot with a tossed salad, steamed vegetables and/or garlic bread.

Freezing Instructions

We recommend freezing individual slices of lasagna by wrapping each portion in parchment paper then tin foil before placing in a freezer bag with a Meal Label and in the freezer. Lasagna can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating Instructions

Reheat in the oven at 375°F covered with foil for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. CCK Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination. The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.

Nutrition

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