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Freezer Lasagna Recipe

Delicious recipe that lets you make homemade lasagna for the freezer.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs 30 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 47 mins
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 511 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian , American

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 white or yellow onion finely chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 56 ounces crushed tomatoes 2-28 ounce cans
  • 28 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
  • 1¾ cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 1¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese divided
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 5 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. Drain, and set aside.
  2. Add onion to the now-empty Dutch oven and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  4. Add cream and simmer until liquid cooks down by half, about 2-3 minutes.
  5. Stir in cooked meat, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to simmer.
  6. Reduce heat to low and simmer until flavors blend, about 3 minutes.
  7. Remove pot from heat, cool sauce until it reaches room temperature.
  8. Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
  9. Spread 1/4 cup meat sauce over bottom of 9- x 13-inch baking dish.
  10. Place 3 noodles crosswise on top of sauce, evenly space 9 tablespoons ricotta mixture over noodles, and sprinkle evenly with 1¼ cups mozzarella; spoon 1½ cups sauce over cheese.
  11. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella and sauce two more times.
  12. Place 3 remaining noodles on top and spread with remaining sauce.
  13. Cover with remaining 1¼ cups mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan.
  14. Let cool to room temperature.
  15. Wrap with plastic wrap, and cover tightly with a layer of foil.
  16. Freeze.
  17. To serve, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375F.
  18. Remove plastic wrap, and re-cover lasagna with foil.
  19. For a thawed lasagna: Bake 30-40 minutes, then remove the foil. Continue baking until the cheese is golden brown in spots and the sauce is bubbling, about 20-30 minutes.
  20. For a frozen lasagna: Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, then remove foil. Continue baking until cheese is golden brown in spots and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Depending on how cold your freezer is and how long the lasagna has been in the freezer, you may find that you need to increase the covered baking time.
  21. Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Ground beef: I use either 85%  or 90% lean ground beef. Ground Italian sausage also works well in this recipe. 
  • Whole-milk ricotta: The extra fat in the whole-milk ricotta helps keep it less grainy than part-skim once frozen. 
  • Crushed tomatoes: If doing a 2x on the recipe, you'll need 4 cans. If doing 3x on the recipe, you'll need 6 cans. 
  • Mozzarella cheese: The lasagna is pretty cheesy. Feel free to decrease the amount of cheese if you prefer.
  • Nutrition values are estimates. 

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 511kcal (26%) Carbohydrates 25g (8%) Protein 36g (72%) Fat 30g (46%) Saturated Fat 17g (85%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 9g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 157mg (52%) Sodium 1036mg (43%) Potassium 518mg (15%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 4g (8%) Vitamin A 929IU (19%) Vitamin C 9mg (10%) Calcium 568mg (57%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 511

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 511kcal 26%
Carbohydrates 25g 8%
Protein 36g 72%
Fat 30g 46%
Saturated Fat 17g 85%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 9g 45%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 157mg 52%
Sodium 1036mg 43%
Potassium 518mg 11%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 4g 8%
Vitamin A 929IU 19%
Vitamin C 9mg 10%
Calcium 568mg 57%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.