Easy Lasagna Recipe with Sausage

This meaty, cheesy Lasagna Recipe with Sausage is easy to make, and great for serving a crowd! With a homemade sauce loaded with Italian sausage, and a delicious blend of Italian cheese and spinach in the filling- this lasagna is a flavorful and filling meal the whole family will love.

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The best Lasagna recipe to feed a hungry crowd

This meaty and hearty lasagna is the ultimate comfort food, and an easy and delicious way to feed a crowd on a budget. This recipe makes 12 large portions (or more!). With a flavorful sausage and wine meat sauce, a spinach and cheese blended filling, and a browned and cheesy exterior- this lasagna is hard to resist.

This recipe is easily adapted to you and your family's tastes! See below for tips and swaps to work with your preferences and what you have on hand!

What goes into the easy lasagna recipe?

Ingredients

To make this easy and delicious Sausage Lasagna, you will need:

Sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 medium onion, finely diced. You can use a white or yellow Spanish onion.
• 2 tbsp dried basil.
• Salt and pepper, to taste. Add throughout the cooking process for best results.
• 1 tbsp sugar. This gives a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage. If you prefer, you can use spicy Italian sausage, or a mixture of sweet and spicy sausage.
• A can of crushed tomatoes.
• 1 cup red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot). Anything you would drink that isn't overly sweet will work!
• 1 tbsp garlic powder.
• 1 tbsp tomato paste. This adds a richness and prominent tomato flavor to the sauce.

Cheese/Spinach Filling

• 1 tsp olive oil. This is for cooking the spinach.
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach. Alternatively, you could use a 6 oz bag of fresh baby spinach.
• 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese. The full flat imparts the best flavor. If you would like, you can substitute a lower fat option.
• 1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese, grated. I prefer to hand grate this from a fresh block of Parmesan.
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, torn. Using the fresh mozzarella, rather than the part skim variety will give your lasagna a creamer, richer texture and flavor.
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, for a little heat.
• Salt and pepper.
• ⅛ tsp fresh grated nutmeg. I always advocate for grating your own, rather than using pre-ground, as it is much more flavorful.
• A large egg, to help bind everything together.
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil (optional). I love the brightness and sweetness this adds to the final dish.

Assembly/Topping

• 1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled. I opt to boil the lasagna noodles rather than use oven-ready when I can. Sometimes the oven ready version can get a bit too soggy. You can boil them in salted water and rinse in cold water to make them easier to work with, so they don't stick.
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated.
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, torn. Just tear it apart with your hands into smaller pieces and layer evenly on top of the lasagna.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, to drizzle on top of the cheese layer. This helps it get extra browned and bubbly.

Preparing the Easy Lasagna recipe

Before assembling and baking the lasagna, you'll make a quick sauce, boil the noodles, and prepare the cheese mixture.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a deep 9x13 lasagna pan with olive oil and set aside.


3. In a small frying pan, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add spinach and cook until warmed through and liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Transfer cooked spinach to a large mixing bowl to cool.
4. Make your sauce. In a 5 quart (or larger) saucepan or dutch oven over low heat, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until mostly softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tbs dry basil (reserve remaining tablespoon for later), sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat until just fragrant, about 2 minutes.


5. Bring heat up to medium and add sausage to pan, crumbling as you go with a wooden spoon or spatula until cooked through and no more pink is present, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir well, and cook 2-3 minutes util color deepens.
6. Add crushed tomatoes, wine, reserved tablespoon dried basil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Return heat to low, cover, and continue to cook, (stirring occasionally) for 10 minutes.
8. While your sauce finishes cooking, get your cheese mixture ready. To the bowl with your cooled wilted spinach, add ricotta, 8 oz mozzarella, grated parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, nutmeg, fresh basil (if using) and 1 egg. Stir well to combine.

Baking the lasagna

Once all your components are ready to go, it's time to assemble and bake your lasagna!

1. Once the sauce is finished cooking, ladle some into the bottom of the greased dish to coat the bottom. Layer 3-4 lasagna noodles over the sauce (overlapping a bit), and using a spatula, spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles into an even layer.
2. Add another layer of noodles and spread the remaining half of the cheese mixture over them. Add a final layer of noodles, and ladle sauce over until all noodles and edges are well covered.
3. Top the lasagna and bake. Layer the remaining mozzarella and parmesan on top, and drizzle with olive oil.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.


5. After 30 minutes, uncover the lasagna and bake an additional 40-45 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly on top. Allow Lasagna to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing/serving.


Tools for the perfect lasagna, every time

A good, sturdy lasagna pan. Aim for 9"x13". You can use ceramic or metal. Just be sure to grease the pan well with olive oil before assembling.

A large dutch oven or stockpot, for making the sauce and boiling the lasagna noodles.

Heavy duty aluminum foil, for covering the lasagna in the first half of the cooking time.

A few mixing bowls.

A cheese grater.

A microplane, for grating fresh nutmeg.

What kind of noodles should I use?

I prefer to use classic, boiled lasagna noodles. If you like, you could try ready to bake lasagna noodles, or even fresh pasta sheets.

Substitutions and additions

Cheese substitutions and additions

Here are some additions and substitutions for the cheeses you can try:

• Instead of Parmesan, try a Pecorino or a Parmesan and Asiago blend.
• Use low fat/part skim mozzarella, in place of full fat.
• Use a mix of cottage cheese and ricotta, or a low fat ricotta.

Can I substitute the red wine?

If you would prefer not to cook with wine, you can omit it from the recipe. If you are making the sauce without it, I would add a can of tomato sauce to the crushed tomato mixture, and add a tablespoon of balsamic glaze or a bit of extra sugar to the sauce.

What to serve with the lasagna

This lasagna goes well with a simple garden salad and some garlic bread. Here are a few fun options that would pair well with this recipe:

Prosciutto, Burrata and Melon Salad

A Caesar Salad with Easy Air Fryer Croutons

White Wine Sangria

Making the lasagna ahead of time

If making the lasagna ahead of time, you can assemble it and cover with plastic wrap. Store it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days max before baking. Remove plastic wrap, and cover with foil before baking. I would also allow it to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.

Storing and reheating leftovers

You can store leftover lasagna in the pan covered with plastic wrap, or in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. To reheat, you can cover it with foil in a baking dish, and bake at 350 until warmed through.

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Made this Easy Lasagna recipe? Leave a review and rating below!

If you make my 5 Cheese Sausage and Spinach Lasagna, please be sure to leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you, and value your feedback! Lastly, if you make the recipe and love it, please tag me on Instagram! I love to see your photos!

Looking for more great dinner ideas? Why not try my Easy Baked Eggplant Parmesan, Red Pepper Cream Sauce, Instant Pot Tuscan Sausage, Farro and White Bean Soup, or my Spicy Muffuletta Oven Panini!

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