Easy Oven Ready Lasagna

Lasagna has always been a favorite meal in our house. When Luke was in fourth grade he had to do a presentation in his writing class about how to make something. He chose lasagna and not this simple recipe. He chose a fairly difficult recipe but man was it good with sauce made from scratch. His you-tube video is still online. Check it out!

This recipe is simplified and perfect for a busy family that wants to enjoy homemade lasagna but doesn’t have hours to prepare it. I taught my kids in my cooking class how to make it too so if you have a kid at home that loves to cook, have them try this recipe – super kid friendly!

If you haven’t used oven ready lasagna before, don’t be afraid. You do not have to cook the noodles beforehand. The noodles soften as the lasagna cooks and absorbs the liquid from the sauce. I would suggest you prepare the lasagna a couple hours before you bake it. It will make the baking time shorter. If you make it and bake right away, prepare for about an hour of baking time.

I have a couple kiddos and even myself that prefer meatless lasagna. This recipe can be made with meat or without. Because our family likes it both ways, I make half of the pan with meat in the sauce and half without.

Do you like leftovers? I love them and lasagna is one thing that I think tastes better as leftovers. Put your kids in charge of dinner one night this week and have them make this lasagna.

Print

Easy Oven Ready Lasagna

This lasagna uses oven ready noodles making preparation quick and leaves you with a cheesy, delicious lasagna.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword oven ready lasagna

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 package oven ready lasagna
• 1 45 oz jar of marinara sauce
• 1 lb group beef optional
• 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp Italian spice
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9 x 13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a 12″frying pan, brown the ground beef.  Drain liquid.  Add the jar of marinara sauce and cook until heated through.  (If you aren’t using meat, skip this step.)

3. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese, oregano, Italian spice, and salt.   

4. Begin layering by spreading a little sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Place three lasagna pieces on top, next, spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, sprinkle 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese, end by spreading more sauce.  Do this two more times and end with a layer of noodles and sauce. Finally, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the noodles are tender when poked with a fork.  Depending on how far ahead of time you prepare the lasagna, your cooking time will change.  I would expect to add an additional 15-20 minutes uncovered if you make the lasagna and bake it right away.

6. You can also use this recipe for regular lasagna noodles.  Just follow the package instructions to boil them and then use these same instructions to layer.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.