This is the best make ahead homemade lasagna recipe this side of Italy! Delicious and hearty, this baked lasagna with tender pasta and melting Italian cheese is surrounded by bubbly tomato sauce and authentic spices. Easy to make, freezable, and comfort food at it’s finest!
Lasagna is one of those meals that changed my life. Seriously.
When I first met my husband, I made this homemade lasagna for dinner for him and his roommates. I think this lasagna might have helped him fall in love with me…yes, people, it’s that good! 🙂
This lasagna recipe is not difficult to prepare. But it does require some steps, which is why no one “whips up” a lasagna after work.
I’ve created a wonderfully freezable lasagna you can prepare like an Italian grandmother on Sunday and serve like an American mom on Tuesday after soccer practice!
So, I’m giving you my best option for creating and serving lasagna:
Prep it, freeze it, thaw it, bake it, eat it.
The beauty of this method is that you can make it ahead of time, but you’re only cooking the lasagna once.
From one busy mom to another, I want you to be able to grab a prepared but uncooked lasagna from the freezer, thaw it in the fridge, then bake and serve the next night for dinner.
INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED
This make-ahead freezer lasagna has 4 main ingredients – pasta, cheese, meat, and sauce, along with onions, salt, garlic powder, and parsley. You can absolutely shop for ingredients with a budget in mind.
HOW TO MAKE FREEZER LASAGNA – Step by Step
Combine ground beef, onion, salt and garlic powder. Cook under med-high until browned and tender. Drain and put back into skillet.
Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a separate bowl combine cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and dried parsley. Mix well.
Boil your lasagna noodles until al dente, remove from water and set aside.
*Layering Lasagna*
Bottom Layer
- First add a small amount of spaghetti sauce mix to the bottom of your 9×13 pan. (photo #2)
- Layer a single row of noodles (photo #3)
- Layer 1/3 sauce (photo #4)
- Layer 1/3 Mozzarella Cheese (photo #5)
- Layer 1/3 Cottage cheese mixture – dotting it all over. (photo #6)
Middle Layer
- Layer single row of noodles (photo #7)
- Layer 1/3 sauce (photo #8)
- Layer 1/3 Mozzarella Cheese (photo #9)
- Layer 1/3 Cottage cheese mixture – dotting it all over). (photo #10)
Top Layer
- Layer single row of noodles (photo #11)
- Layer 1/3 sauce (photo #12)
- Layer 1/3 Cottage cheese mixture – dotting it all over. (photo #13)
- Layer 1/3 Mozzarella Cheese last so it bakes up all cheesy on the top. (photo #14)
- Cover with foil and bake in 350 degrees (F) oven for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly all over. Let stand 10 minutes. (photo #15)
HOW TO FREEZE LASAGNA
To freeze raw lasagna, simply cover the baking dish tightly with Saran Wrap, then cover with aluminum foil, label and freeze. You will be using the same baking dish for prep, freezing, baking, and serving, so I recommend not using a glass baking pan, use metal or foil pans instead.
IS IT BETTER TO THAW FROZEN LASAGNA BEFORE COOKING IT?
Whenever possible, I like to thaw dishes like lasagna overnight before baking them. This accomplishes 2 things:
- The food spends less time in the oven, so dinner is ready sooner.
- The food cooks more evenly (I’m talking to you, cold lasagna center!).
However, you CAN bake a lasagna from frozen, it’s just gonna take longer to bake. Note: don’t place a glass or ceramic baking dish that’s filled with frozen lasagna into a hot oven…it could shatter!
To bake from frozen: Remove the foil and saran wrap from the pan, and re-cover with the foil.Place lasagna into the oven and bake at 325°F covered for 1.5 – 2 hours or until you can see or hear bubbling sauce in the middle. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes, until golden on top. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
CAN I USE NO-BOIL LASAGNA NOODLES?
No-boil lasagna noodles are a great option when you want to save time and a few steps. In my experience, however, you lose a little quality in the final product you’re making. No-boil noodles are missing some of that starch that helps the sauce and cheese stick to the pasta. And the noodles end up being less firm than I prefer.
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
- When cooking lasagna noodles for the recipe, remove them carefully from the water with tongs and lay them across a cutting board to dry and cool off. Don’t stack them, or they will stick together.
- When preparing your ingredients in the baking dish, try to cover your top row of lasagna noodles with cheese and/or sauce before baking. Exposed, naked noodles end up burnt and hard.
- Before cutting your baked lasagna to serve, let it stand for 10 minutes after you remove it from the oven. This will help the servings hold their classic lasagna shape.
- Shredded Romano can be substituted for shredded Parmesan cheese. It has a similar flavor, and usually costs less.
- If using foil pans, this Lasagna can be quite heavy so make sure and put a cookie sheet underneath of it before you bake.
- NEVER thaw your freezer lasagna on the counter. Always in the fridge.
WHAT OTHER MEALS CAN YOU MAKE AHEAD AND FREEZE?
- Create these Mini Chicken Pot Pies
- Make this Simple Chili With Smoked Sausage
- Prepare these Sausage McMuffin Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches
- Make these Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas
- Make this Pressure Cooker Cajun Chicken Sausage and Rice
If you make a batch of this freezer lasagna, I would love to see it! Snap a picture of it and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag @happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver
Easy Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 15 oz spaghetti sauce (I use traditional Ragu)
- 1 pint cottage cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 10 oz lasagna pasta (cooked to al dente and cooled in cold water)
- 12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 ½ cups)
Instructions
- Add ground beef, onion, salt and garlic powder to a medium skillet. Cook on med-high, stirring and chopping into the beef so you have small ground size pieces, and cooking until browned and tender. Drain fat from meat using a strainer and put back into skillet. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a medium bowl combine cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and dried parsley. Mix well.
- Boil your lasagna noodles as directed on the box to al dente. Remove them carefully from the water with tongs and lay them across a cutting board to dry and cool off. Don’t stack them, or they will stick together. (If you are freezing this lasagna for later cook less than al dente, to where the noodles are getting soft, but still have a firm bite.)
*Layering Lasagna*
- First add a small amount of spaghetti sauce mix to the bottom of your 9×13 pan.
- Layer a single row of noodles.
- Layer 1/3 sauce.
- Layer 1/3 Mozzarella Cheese.
- Layer 1/3 Cottage cheese mixture (dotting it all over).
- Layer single row of noodles.
- Layer 1/3 sauce.
- Layer 1/3 Mozzarella Cheese.
- Layer 1/3 Cottage cheese mixture (dotting it all over).
- Layer single row of noodles.
- Layer 1/3 sauce.
- Layer 1/3 Cottage cheese mixture (dotting it all over).
- Layer 1/3 Mozzarella Cheese last so your topping will be cheesy.
BAKE IT NOW
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake in 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove foil and cok for an additional 10-12 minutes, until bubbly all over and golden on top. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
MAKE IT A FREEZER MEAL
- Wrap baking dish tightly with plastic wrap, pressing down to gently remove air. Cover with foil, label and freeze.
THAW & COOK
- Place dish in refrigerator for at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours to thaw. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and foil, re-cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes more until bubbly all over and golden on top. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- When cooking lasagna noodles for the recipe, remove them carefully from the water with tongs and lay them across a cutting board to dry and cool off. Don’t stack them, or they will stick together.
- When preparing your ingredients in the baking dish, try to cover your top row of lasagna noodles with cheese and/or sauce before baking. Exposed, naked noodles end up burnt and hard.
- Before cutting your baked lasagna to serve, let it stand for 10-15 minutes after you remove it from the oven. This will help it hold it’s classic lasagna shape.
- Shredded Romano can be substituted for shredded Parmesan cheese. It has a similar flavor, and usually costs less.
- If using foil pans, this Lasagna can be quite heavy so make sure and put a cookie sheet underneath of it before you bake.
- NEVER thaw your freezer lasagna on the counter. Always in the fridge.
Nutrition
Loved this recipe?
Make sure to follow on Instagram @happymoneysaver and on Pinterest @happymoneysaver for more money savin’ recipes!
This recipe was first posted Feb. 24th, 2018, but has been updated with new photos and better detailed instructions and tips on Dec 17th, 2020.
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Tammy says
Hi there,
Made this lasagne tonight except I make my own sauce, I usually make my lasagne with bechamel but tried it your way with ricotta cheese mixture instead. YUM!!! Oh, I also made it gluten free, tasted amazing. I ended up making 7 lasagnes with 4 serves each. As a single working mum with 2 boys under 5, this way of cooking is definitely gonna free up some time to spend with my beautiful crazy active boys. So BIG thank you, for the time you’ve put into your blog and sharing your money and time saving tips with the world.
Dee says
You forgot to add Italian sausage. Lots of it…….
Julie says
Feeling so thankful and blessed to have found your website!! I start nursing school in the fall and am trying to get prepared for my teenage daughters to be able to help out with the cooking. Having freezer meals ready for them to heat up will be such a huge help and your recipes look delicious!!
Vonnie says
I add Italian sausage, and use the Olivieri fresh lasagna pasta. |I think Ricotta cheese tastes better than cottage cheese. the four cheese italiana also adds a bit more flavour than mozzarella, and you can buy it already shredded
Mallory Huntley says
Hi, I love the recipe and since I am about to have baby number 1 I am trying to get some freezer meals made and saved. I am kinda slow though and want to make sure I do it right. DO you put the lasagna in the freezer before cooking it, or do you cook the meal and then freeze it?
thank you!
Karrie says
Yes, you put the lasagna in the freezer before cooking, then the day of take it out and bake it. 🙂
Lisa says
I am new to this so just learning the ropes. I thought cottage cheese or ricotta doesn’t freeze well?
Happy.MoneySaver says
It doesn’t in most recipes but in some recipes it works great. This is one of them! 🙂
Ngang says
So glad someone else asked this. I really needed clarification on whether it’s okay to freeze it uncooked.
Linda Walsh says
What are the size of foil trays you use?
Karrie says
9×13
Deanne says
Just clarify the last message. If it calls for 3 cups cottage cheese, I would use 1 1/2 cups and 11/2 cups french onion dip
Deanne says
I’m really enjoying your website and all your freezer recipes. I just wanted to add a comment to your lasagna recipe. I use 1/2 cottage cheese and 1/2 french onion sour cream dip. Someone shared this secret with me in the grocery store and it is absolutely delicious.
Beth says
You blog is great and I appreciate you sharing all of your recipes! I did have a few problems with this one that I just wanted to point out. I doubled the recipe, so I bought an 8 oz box of noodles. There were only 10 noodles! I really needed 9 per lasagna, so I had to reduce the number of layers. These were whole wheat noodles, so maybe that’s different?
Also, you say 12 oz of mozzarella or 1 1/2 C. I wrote down 3 C on my list since I was doubling the recipe. I bought two 8 oz bags of shredded mozzarella because it says that it’s “about 2 cups” on one bag. I expected to have more than enough, but it was just enough – and I was only doing 2 layers.
I hope that helps somebody with those little kinks, because this really is a great recipe! Thanks!
Amber says
I had the same problem! Not nearly enough of any of the ingredients when I doubled the recipe. I had to go back and cook more noodles, I added in an extra jar of sauce, I used almost 6 cups of cheese, and I would have like to have had more cottage cheese (all that only made two, two-layer lasagnas).
Karrie says
Really? Hmmmm… I will check my ingredients the next time I make this… which will hopefully be in the next few weeks. I will update if there are any changes needed, but in the meantime if you need more cheese – add more cheese. If you want more of anything actually feel free to add it.
Erin McC says
shredded cheese can be measured by volume OR weight, but they are not the same or equal amounts. your measuring cup measures volume and lots of recipes state the amount of cheese in cups, but the package of cheese you buy at the store is always measured by weight. when measuring out shredded cheese, just remember that the volume is only about half that of the weight. so one cup of shredded cheese (8 ounces volume) is actually only about 4 ounces in weight.
if the recipe calls for 12 ounces of mozza, then it should need 3 cups. if you are doubling the recipe, 6 cups. etc etc.
Katrina says
I am part of a program called Celebrate Recovery…we serve a meal befor the meetings start…Just a qustion for you…about how long from th frozen state does it take to cook…I’ll first try it at home befor I do for the meetings. Time scheduling is essential…Thanks for all you info…
Karrie says
I would give it 1 1/2 – 2 hours from the frozen state to cook it – it can take ahwile when it is frozen solid.
Lisa says
I just assembled 3 lasagnas, with no bake noodles. I dislike how noodles fall apart after boiling. One tip that has worked for me is to add about 1/4 cup of water to the jar of sauce and shake, so none goes to waste. After all is assembled, slowly pour the thin sauce around the perimeter of the pan to prevent those no boil noodle’s hard and crusty edges. Going to bake one up tomorrow, I can’t wait to see how frozen ones come out. Thanks!
Pat Martin says
I have just started cooking frozen meals for my mother. Can I cook this, divide it up, freeze it so she can just reheat?
Karrie says
Absolutely!
joel valdez says
I am going to try this for wife and I today, however I love ricotta cheese how do I add that to this recipe.
Happy.MoneySaver says
I would either substitute half or all of the cottage cheese for the ricotta cheese! YUMMY!
Elizabeth Beasley says
My son is dairy free, so when I make this recipe for the family, I make a special one in a bread loaf pan. He would get dinner out of it, lunch the next day and maybe a small snack!
Kim Jacobsen says
Karrie,
I just made this for the first time for couple of families in my church. Do you thaw the frozen lasagna before you cook it?
So excited to see how they like it!
Karrie says
You can do either – just cook it longer if you put it in frozen.
Gaby says
How long do you thaw it for? Should I just leave it in the fridge in the morning or the night before?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I like to put it in the fridge the night before. But if I forget I pull it out in the morning to thaw in the fridge. It takes a little bit longer to cook but not much!
Rachel says
Thanks for sharing Karrie! Fantastic, quick and easy. I made this for dinner last night after seeing your post. Had leftovers tonight for dinner. I will certainly make this again. :0)
Karrie says
So glad you liked it!
Jennifer says
Have you tried the no boil noodles? You layer them in raw and they cook in the oven, when you bake your lasagna. This just makes it that much easier. It’s all we buy for lasagna pasta, now.
Karrie says
I don’t personally have much luck with the no-boil style, they always are undercooked for me, even with adding in more sauce/water.
Janel says
I use Barilla no boil noodles they are the only ones that cook all the way through and they taste better than any other brand too. I make lasagna at least 3 times a month it’s a family favorite. I’m going to try to make a huge batch a freeze it now though see how it turns out .
Michelle says
Janel,
Just wanted to find out if the no boil noodles worked with this as a freezer meal? I’m doing my freezer meals in a few days and prefer the no boil (unless they don’t turn out well of course lol)
Thanks!
Elizabeth Beasley says
Mine turn out great with the no boil noodles.
Nicole says
Is the recipe enough to do all three pans or do you triple the recipe?
Karrie says
I triple the recipe. I buy a big bag of mozzarella, a big tub of cottage cheese etc.
Madeleine Goodner says
oh i see my answer i should of just keep scrolling. Thanks.
Kim says
Hi – just wondering what kinds of lids you use to freeze these so they don’t get freezer burn?
Karrie says
I usually will just cover it with heavy duty foil and take a permanent marker to label it on the foil. Then off to the freezer it goes.
Madeleine Goodner says
my only question.. is the recipe as listed above to make one pan or the 3 tha you show int he picture. i have a family of 6 and I try to double every batch.. 2 of those 6 are twentysomethings still at home.. and major muncher eaters.
Danielle says
I use to do this all the time. I don’t know why I quite. Life has gotten busy again. Time to get back at it!
Karrie says
I haven’t had any trouble with my lasagna getting dry, its really really yummy! Hope you try it.
Leah says
I can’t wait to try it. How long does it last in the freezer?
Karrie says
I usually go through my freezer meals within 2-3 months, but I think it would last at least 6 months, maybe even longer.
Crystal says
I have been using this recipe for months I make it once a month and its a success so easy I haven’t froze it yet because when I make it everyone wants some. I just made 2 batches and I am taking one to my cousin who just had her 3rd baby so she can enjoy with her family and I am taking one to a family friend who lets us do laundry today at his house. Thanks so much for making it easier for me. Oh we also make our butter now! Next I will try to make your chocolate chip cookies.
Karrie says
So glad you like the recipe! You are gonna LOVE that chocolate chip cookie recipe too…I just know it!
Shannon says
Can you assemble the pans and freeze before cooking? Or do u have to cook it then freeze it and then cook again?
Happy.MoneySaver says
Yes, you can assemble the pans before cooking–no problem!
Leah says
I HATE store bought lasagna! I’ve never made lasagna and froze it so I’m excited to try this! I have one question though, does it get dry from freezing and cooking it? I like a saucy lasagna 😀