Easy lasagna recipes | tomato & ricotta | meat sauce & cream

***TOMATO & RICOTTA RECIPE***

This recipe is formulated for an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan and would serve 4-6 people.

1 pound (454g) box of dry lasagna noodles fitted to your pan (you might not need all of it; I use De Cecco Lasagna No. 1, which fits the 8 inch pan)
1 28 oz (800g) can of crushed tomatoes (you might not need all of it; I use Pastene Kitchen Ready or Muir Glen)
1 pound (454g) ricotta cheese
1 pound (454g) grated mozzarella (you might not need all of it)
1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan or pecorino
olive oil
salt
seasonings (I use garlic & onion powder, dried oregano/basil/parsley/marjoram, dried chili flakes and pepper)
fresh herb for garnish (I use basil)

Heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of crushed tomatoes, drizzle in a little olive oil, and season that layer lightly with salt and your other herbs and spices. Lay in the first layer of lasagna noodles (don't parboil them first), and dust them with a little salt. Lay in a layer of ricotta and sprinkle on some mozzarella and parmesan. Lay in your second pasta layer and sprinkle them with a little salt. Lay in more tomatoes and repeat until you have built at least four layers, with tomatoes atop the final layer, making sure to reserve tome mozzarella for melting on the top later.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake it for about 45 minutes. Take the foil off, sprinkle on some mozzarella and bake for another 15 minutes. At the very end, turn on the broiler (grill) to brown the cheese to your liking — this should only take a couple minutes, so watch it closely.

Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving with fresh herbs. If you want a tidier presentation, chill the lasagna whole in the fridge. When it's firm, you'll get cleaner edges when you cut. Reheat the cut pieces on top of a little splash of water in a covered baking dish in the oven for 15 minutes. Uncover and broil on a little more mozzarella, to make the top look nicer.

***MEAT SAUCE & CREAM RECIPE***

1 pound (454g) box of dry lasagna noodles fitted to your pan (you might not need all of it; I use De Cecco Lasagna No. 1, which fits the 8 inch pan)
1 cup (half pint, 236mL) cream
1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan or pecorino
a little grated mozzarella, just for the top
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
salt
fresh herb for garnish (I use basil)

For the meat sauce:

1 pound (454g) ground beef
1 28 oz (800g) can whole peeled tomatoes (I use Muir Glen)
a squeeze of tomato paste (about a tablespoon)
1 large onion
1 large carrot
olive oil
salt
seasonings (I use garlic & onion powder, dried oregano/basil/parsley/marjoram, dried chili flakes and pepper)
balsamic vinegar

To make the meat sauce, peel and dice the onion and carrot, and cook them in a little olive oil in a wide pan over high heat until soft and starting to brown, 4-5 minutes. Push the veg to the edges of the pan and smash the meat into the center, making a wide, flat disk. When you can smell the meat browning, start scraping the bottom of the pan and stirring, using the moisture of the remaining raw meat to deglaze (you might want to turn the heat down a bit at this point).

When all the meat has turned color, stir in a squeeze of tomato paste and let it brown for a moment. Before it burns, deglaze with the juice from your can of tomatoes. Squish the tomatoes with your hand and stir them in, along with a pinch of salt and whatever other seasonings you have. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and stir in a little splash of the vinegar. NOTE: This will give you as much as twice the meat sauce you will need for an 8x8 inch lasagna. Freeze the rest.

To make the lasagna, heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Cover the bottom of the pan in a layer of cream, then lay in the first layer of lasagna noodles (don't parboil them first). Sprinkle the noodles with a little salt and chopped garlic, then lay in a layer of the meat sauce. Sprinkle the meat sauce with parmesan, lay in another pasta layer and repeat until you have at least four layers, with at least a little meat sauce on top. Drizzle the rest of the cream on top.

Bake according to the directions I gave for the previous lasagna — I would copy and paste those here, but YouTube won't allow me enough characters in the description box.

[RAENTED]

The lacking white wine and no thin "lasagna skin" shows its just an aprils fools joke. You almost got me there Adam

[ianbruce]

"reserved mozzarella" is gonna be the name of my next band and no one can stop me

[zeyadhamza]

6:48 Deglaze with… *he’s gonna say the line!!* tomato water *sad noises*
Vicious April Fool’s joke Adam.

[thothrax]

It would've been 1000 IQ to make this an April fools video and make the most complex lasagna ever while spouting complete bullshit since you alluded to this video in the last one

[stilltuning]

The kids in Adam's basement: "Please... no more lasagna... I can't... take it anymore..."
Adam: E A T, M Y C H I L D R E N

[chald]

just wanna say that I super appreciate how you'll explicitly mention places where you can use vegetarian alternatives in your recipes! As a vegetarian, it's so nice to finally not have to do all the work myself, and have an alternative already built in to the recipe.

[ryanwest]

I was convinced this was April fools just by the thought of "easy" lasagna 😳Pleasantly surprised!

[rodmaknouni]

“I am too Italian to have Italian seasoning blend”....Adam you are a genius with these scripts. Been here since day one and still blown away with your writing oftentimes. Keep up the great work!!

[hermansen]

How refreshing to see italian food, without the wine in it. As a former alcoholic, that is an absolutely no-go ingredient. Looking forward to try the lasagnas!

[Zyphent]

Yes! Tried this tonight, definitely see what you mean about "tastes like pizza", but only 1 dirty dish and 5 minutes of assembly and this is a winner for me. Love these weeknight meals.

[vinnytube]

Uses pre-grated cheese: "Who's got time for that?"

Carefully places 37.5 grains of salt on each lasagna noodle.

[CJ-rebx]

This is easily one of the most useful recipes I have come across. I make my own chicken breast sausage, and low fat cottage cheese, and I think the final product is actually quite healthy. Perfect for weeknight meals or meal prepping, and quite delicious.

[michalbrzezanski]

One thing i would chance in the simple recipe: add the spices to the tomatoes in the can! That way you can mix and taste it (though cold it will taste different, but you'll have a rough idea), and you'll Save time by not needing to sprinkle each seasoning On every layer. Also by mixing it in the can you won't dirty another dish

[nonowords]

Next he'll teach us how to cook minute rice in 58 seconds

[MrFlac]

I appreciate the "rushed domestic weekday meal" mood that this video oozes. Sometimes you just gotta get food on the table and god damn it I don't have 2 days to slow cook a Bolognese!

[RegicideFm]

6:48
Me: White wine?
Adam: *TOMATO WATER*
Pain. Agony, even.

[mjki]

Trick for dry pasta.
1) Create a wet line on the pasta where you want it to break. You can use your finger.
2) Wait ~5 seconds.
3) Break over your finger like Adam showed in the previous Video.

The pasta is weekend by the water allowing a straighter line.

[wrightd]

Adam: "Any recipe that leaves you with this *shakes almost empty box of pasta* is a bad recipe."
Also Adam: "I used about 80% of this can of tomatoes."

[itech]

I made the cheese lasagna and it was really good, I did find that if you use one of those premade precooked pasta sauces that it tastes more like lasagna if you prefer that. I also thought of a new name for it the "Lazagna" it's a combination of the words lazy and lasagna.
Edit: I also found that it pairs really nicely with an acidic glass of cold lemonade. It helps cut all that richness

[skinwalker]

How are you the only person I've seen online making lasagna au gratin? I've never thought of making lasagna with cream instead of ricotta but it's genuinely the only good lasagna I've eaten. I modify the recipe from how you make it by adding a splash of cream every layer alongside some cheese on all the layers (fresh mozzarella and real parmesan 50/50 cubed), and I also shred the carrot instead of dicing, plus I add the cheese on top from the start to get the top crispy (it hasn't burned on me yet)