Easy Lasagna Recipe - Make Homemade Lasagna in 25 min! (2024)

This cheesy, dreamy, homemade lasagna recipe takes 25 minutes from start to finish! It’s the easiest lasagna recipe ever. You don’t even have to pre-boil the noodles first, making it the ultimate easy comfort food recipe!

An Easy Lasagna Recipe That’s Ready in 25 minutes!

My favorite recipes are the kind where you make everything in one pot, so you only have one dish to wash at the end of the night. Lasagna usually doesn’t fall into this category. A typical lasagna recipe usually takes at least 30 minutes to prepare and another 45 minutes to cook. Even frozen lasagna can take over an hour to bake! Usually by the time I get home and start trying to figure out dinner, I’m starving and I want to eat now! Not an hour and a half later.

But with this easy lasagna recipe, you can have gooey, cheesy lasagna made in one pan and ready in less than 30 minutes. Everything you need for this lasagna recipe cooks in one pan on the stovetop. Hallelujah for easy clean-up!

Can You Really Make Lasagna in 25 Minutes?

Yes! Everything you need for this lasagna recipe cooks in one pan on the stovetop in just 25 minutes. This lasagna recipe has it all — layers of noodles, seasoned ground beef, and gooey, melty cheese, just like lasagna is supposed to be. But you can make this easy lasagna recipe in a fraction of the time.

Let’s make this easy lasagna recipe, shall we?!

Ingredients for this Simple Lasagna Recipe:

Here’s all you need to make this easy lasagna recipe.

• Onions: frozen, diced onions are a time saver here! You can just add them straight from the bag – no need to thaw.
• Sausage: lately, my favorite sausage has been the Jimmy Dean pre-cooked turkey sausage crumbles. I use this in place of port breakfast sausage because it tastes just the same but has 60% less fat. Plus, it’s pre-cooked, which makes this meal even easier!
• Lasagna noodles: I use regular lasagna noodles, not the oven-ready or no-boil kind.
• Tomato sauce: one 8-oz. can of unflavored tomato sauce is all you need!
• Diced tomatoes: one 10-oz. can of diced tomatoes gives this lasagna a nice texture to go with the meat and cheese. I love Ro-tel diced tomatoes because of the extra spice it adds, but regular is fine if you don’t like spicy.
• Mozzarella cheese: this recipe uses fresh shredded mozzarella, along with fresh mozzarella pearls to achieve that yummy, gooey, cheesy layer on top. I find the mozzarella pearls in the cheese case in the deli section of my grocery store. If you can’t find pearls, you can always buy a ball of mozzarella and slice it, or use shredded. I’ve done it both ways and either way is fabulous in this lasagna recipe!
• Garlic: fresh, minced garlic gives this lasagna the classic Italian flavor.
• Ground beef: lasagna just isn’t lasagna without ground beef

How To Make Lasagna (Step by Step)

First, brown the ground beef and diced onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If you can’t find the pre-cooked turkey sausage crumbles, go ahead and brown 1/2 lb breakfast sausage here with the beef and onions.

Drain any excess grease if necessary, then turn heat to medium. Add 2-3 cloves minced garlic and stir for one minute until fragrant.

Next add the pre-cooked sausage and broken lasagna pieces. Remember, you don’t have to pre-boil the noodles first!

And top with diced tomatoes…

And tomato sauce.

Then pour over 2 cups of water and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Give it a gentle stir as best you can to combine, then cover and simmer over medium to medium-low heat. While cooking, give it a shake occasionally to evenly distribute the noodles as they soften.

In 15-minutes you’ll have delicious, saucy noodles.

Turn off the heat, top with cheese, and stir to combine.

Like so.

Generously top with fresh mozzarella pearls.

And broil in the oven for 3-4 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Top with fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Variation Ideas

I love how lasagna can easily be customized to fit anyone’s dietary needs or favorite flavors. Here are some simple ideas for making this recipe your own:

• Add some veggies: You can make your lasagna completely vegetarian and replace the meat with vegetables, or if you are a veggie and a meat lover, you can keep the meat and add some veggies!
• Add fresh herbs: Obviously, dried herbs you already have on hand are easier to work with, but fresh herbs bring more flavor to your table.
• Skip the noodles: There are many noodle-free options for lasagna. Some favorite substitutions include zucchini and eggplant. Simply cut the zucchini or eggplant lengthwise in very thin slices. Then you’ll drain the veggie noodles, sprinkle them with salt and let them lay flat for 30 minutes on paper towels to drain. After the 30 minutes is up, rinse the veggies with water, pat them dry, and add them to your lasagna.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

You can store this lasagna in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. When you are ready to eat, you can warm up the lasagna in in the microwave until warmed through. Be sure to cover the lasagna so that it doesn’t splatter in the microwave and make a mess.

How to Freeze and Reheat Lasagna

Cook your lasagna according to directions. Remove the lasagna from the broiler and let it cool. Once cool, transfer the lasagna to a freezer and oven safe container. Wrap the lasagna tightly with plastic wrap to prevent any significant flavor or texture changes. Place the lasagna in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Before you move the lasagna to the freezer, you will need to wrap it in a second layer of plastic wrap and then tightly cover everything with foil. Label the lasagna and store it on a flat level surface in the freezer for up to three months.

When you are ready to eat the lasagna, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, remove all the plastic wrap and cover the lasagna tightly in foil. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until cooked, with an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

We love, love, love this easy lasagna recipe. Hope you enjoy!

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