Three Cheese Beef Lasagna Recipes

BEEF AND CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• For the Lasagna Filling:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 3 minutes, until soft. Add, beef and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until browned all over, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Stir in basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.
• Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• For the Lasagna:
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ricotta, half of the mozzarella, egg, and black pepper. Mix well.
• Pour 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch lasagna pan. Arrange 4 UNCOOKED lasagna noodles on top of sauce, overlapping noodles slightly to cover the bottom. Spoon half of the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top second layer of noodles with remaining cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top noodles with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.
• Refrigerate or freeze the remaining sauce.
• Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until top is golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

CHEESY BEEF LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain lasagna noodles as directed on package, using minimum cook time.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, eggs, pesto and salt. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
• In 12-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in pasta sauce.
• Spread 1 cup beef mixture in baking dish; top with 3 noodles and 2 1/2 cups cheese mixture. Top with 3 noodles, 2 cups beef mixture and 3 more noodles. Top with remaining cheese mixture, 3 noodles and remaining beef mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese.
• Cover; bake 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer or until cheese is browned. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

THREE CHEESE BEEF LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add the red wine, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomato juice and spices and mix well. Add vegetables and mix to combine. Heat through and add extra wine until desired consistency. You can make this ahead of time and leave it to cool before assembling the lasagna.
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, first portion of mozzarella cheese, Parmesan and eggs.
• Spray a 19X13 lasagna pan with non-stick spray. Use a bit of the sauce liquid on the bottom of the pan to keep the first layer of noodles from sticking. Put down a layer of lasagna noodles, then top with globs of cheese mixture and about one half of the meat mixture. Repeat and top with a third layer of lasagna noodles. Try to have a bit of the meat sauce left to put on the top layer just to keep it moist. Top with second batch of mozzarella, or any shredded cheese you have on hand.
• Pre-heat oven to 375°F Bake for 30 minutes, covered with foil. Try not to press the foil down too much, as the cheese will stick when it starts to bubble. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for approximately 10 minutes before cutting.

CLASSIC AND SIMPLE MEAT LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the lasagna noodles a few at a time, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Remove the noodles to a plate.
• Place the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat, add the garlic, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Cook the meat, chopping it into small chunks as it cooks, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease.
• In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and Parmesan cheese until thoroughly combined.
• Place 4 noodles side by side into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan; top with a layer of the tomato-basil sauce, a layer of ground beef mixture, and a layer of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice more, ending with a layer of sauce; sprinkle top with the mozzarella cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese has begun to brown, about 10 more minutes. Allow to stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

THREE MEAT LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook onion in olive oil in a large skillet until tender, several minutes.
• Add garlic, ground beef, italian sausage, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper to pan and cook until meat is thoroughly browned and breaking up lumps as it cooks.
• Drain fat.
• Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and brown sugar to pan, mixing well.
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water for ten minutes, then drain.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, eggs, parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley until smooth.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a large lasagna baking pan, place 1/3-1/2 of meat sauce in bottom of pan (just enough to cover).
• On top of the meat sauce in pan, layer the lasagna as follows: 4 noodles (to cover pan), 8 ounces shredded mozzarella, 4 ounces sliced pepperoni, 4 more noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, 4 more noodles, remaining meat sauce mixture, 8 ounces mozzarella, 4 ounces of pepperoni, and 1/4 cup parmesan.
• If any corners of noodles try to stick up past the sauce in the pan, tuck them under the sauce.
• Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes or until heated through and cheese is golden and bubbly.
• Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. 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.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-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.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

THREE-CHEESE MEATBALL LASAGNE

Steps:

• Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll into meatballs - you'll get about four balls from each sausage. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide, deep frying pan or casserole dish. Cook the meatballs in batches, making sure you don't overcrowd the pan, until they're all golden brown. Put them aside on a plate when they're ready.
• Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and add the onion. Cook for 8-10 mins until soft, then stir in the garlic, fennel, oregano and chilli, if using. Stir around for a min or 2, then add the sugar, passata and tomatoes. Swish a little water around the containers to wash out all the tomatoes and add to the pan. Season well and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 mins over a gentle heat until the sauce thickens and the chopped tomatoes break down.
• Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the bay leaves and let them sizzle in the butter for 1 min, then add the flour. Whisk to make a smooth paste, then add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously until it's all incorporated and you have a thick white sauce. Add the nutmeg and some seasoning. Leave over a low heat for 5 mins to allow the bay to infuse, whisking every now and then.
• Keep about 10 meatballs aside and add the rest to the tomato sauce. Spoon half the tomato sauce and meatballs into a baking dish (ours was 25cm x 35cm). Top with half the spinach, the basil and a little parmesan. Pour over about a third of the white sauce, and top with a layer of lasagne sheets, breaking them up to fit the dish if you need to.
• Repeat the layers once more; meatballs and sauce, spinach, basil, parmesan, white sauce, pasta. Pour the remaining white sauce over the lasagne, spreading it to the corners to cover the pasta. Dot with the meatballs you set aside earlier and the mozzarella, then scatter over a generous helping of parmesan and cheddar. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Or if not eating straight away, chill for up to 24 hrs or freeze for two months (defrost in the fridge overnight before cooking).
• Bake the lasagne for 40-50 mins until bubbling and golden with lots of crusty cheesy bits around the edges. Leave to sit for 5-10 mins before serving.