What makes this recipe so amazing is the sauce slow cooks for 5 hours the night before in a slow cooker. Light on the ricotta, but generous on the mozzarella and Parmesan. I have spent many hours perfecting this recipe and am happy to share it with you!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- ¾ pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ¾ pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Step 1
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Transfer to a slow cooker and stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Step 2
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water and lay out on greased baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Step 3
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Step 4
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
- Step 5
Bake covered in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with extra chopped fresh parsley.
Bon appétit
