There are few things better than a big, hearty lasagna with layers of cheese and meat. This five cheese meaty lasagna recipe is loaded up with five different kinds of cheeses and plenty of ground beef – it’s the perfect dish for your next dinner party! This can be made ahead of time or day-of, so you don’t have to worry about cooking on the big day. Plus, it feeds a lot of people – making this dish perfect for any occasion! Lasagnas are one meal that everyone loves and will never get tired of eating; we hope you enjoy it!
Preparation time for Five Cheese Meaty Lasagna:
20 minutes (+ 20 minutes to rest after baking)
Cook time: 50-55 minutes
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
4 c. meat sauce
12 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package instructions and dried thoroughly
1 24-oz. container ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 T. Italian seasoning, divided
½ c. fresh parsley, chopped, plus extra for garnish
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
8-oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
8-oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded, divided
¾ c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, divided
¾ c. Asiago cheese, freshly grated, divided
Here’s how it’s done:
1. Cook your meatballs first by frying them in olive oil until they’re browned all around and then setting them aside on a plate or cutting board while you cook the eggplant slices that will later become part of the layers of lasagna noodles.
2. Add more olive oil to the pan and fry up some onion, garlic, carrot, celery, parsley leaves (optional), salt, pepper, and oregano until the onion is transparent.
3. Then, you’ll want to mix in some cooked meat (ground beef or sausage) and cook that until it’s browned as well, which should only take a few minutes more. At this point, your meatballs will probably be ready to go back into the pan with everything else.
If you’re using meatballs that were cooked on their own first, it’s okay to let them dry out a bit so they can better withstand being mixed with all the other meaty ingredients.
4. Now, if you have some tomato sauce on hand, pour about half of it into the pan and mix it in along with some chopped tomatoes (if you don’t have tomato sauce, just use water).
5. Once the meaty mixture has had some time to simmer and absorb all of the liquid, remove it from heat and allow it to cool for at least twenty minutes before moving on with the recipe.
6. You can start boiling your lasagna noodles about ten minutes after putting the meat mixture in the fridge to cool. You’ll want between 7-9 lasagna noodles, depending on how thick you like your layers. The meaty mixture should be about room temperature by the time you’re ready to start assembling everything, so it’s okay if your meatballs are a bit pink when you put them into the pan with the sauce and vegetables.
7. First, you’ll want to spread a generous amount of sauce on the bottom of your pan (if you don’t have sauce already made, mix some tomato paste with water). Then place meatballs and any meaty bits that may have broken off into the pan on top of the sauce and spread everything out evenly.
8. Now, put down three or four meat lasagna noodles on top of the meatballs, breaking them up to fill in any empty spaces. Then pour some more sauce on top of everything and place another layer of meaty pasta on top.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 at least two more times, but make sure that your final layer is either meat lasagna noodles or meat sauce.
Spread remaining meat sauce on top of meat layers.
10. Your final layer should be meat lasagna noodles, and you want it to come up to the edge of your pan so that when it’s cooked and cut into, each piece will have some meat lasagna noodle underneath and some meat lasagna noodle on top. Then, take the meat sauce that you’ve already made and spread it evenly over the meat lasagna noodles so that all of them are covered. The meat sauce should be enough to cover everything generously, but if you need more to make sure that there are no uncovered meat lasagna noodles then go ahead and add some.
Baking Directions for Five Cheese Meaty Lasagna :
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Set the top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat it.
Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes, then place in a loose dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 20 minutes before serving with some freshly chopped parsley, if desired.
This meat lasagna recipe is one that you will want to try. It has a variety of meat, vegetables, and five different kinds of cheese making it extremely tasty and filling for your next dinner party or date night in. The key ingredient though maybe the meatballs: they’re made with ground beef so they have an amazing texture when cooked all together with the other ingredients. Bon appetite!
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