How to Make Homemade Lasagna

Where My Love for Lasagna Began

I have fond memories of Sunday mornings. My mom would make a large pot of coffee and a big pan of fried potatoes, onions, and scrambled eggs. The food would sit on a low burner for hours, warm and ready for the aunts, uncles, and cousins that came by to graze. 

Various sections of the newspaper were always strewn over the dining table. My mom would do the New York Times crossword puzzle while I read the “funnies,” the comics that were printed in color only in the Sunday paper. I liked to press my Silly Putty into the page, distorting the words and images into warped shapes and sizes.

My favorite comic was Garfield, the corpulent feline with a special weakness for lasagna. For reasons unclear to me, he was always threatening to send a cat named Nermal to Abu Dhabi. 

At that age, I didn’t know what “Abu Dhabi” meant—nor had I ever eaten lasagna, but I liked the way both sounded. And, surely, if Garfield loved this dish so much, it must be absolutely delicious. Why did I think that a cartoon cat was an authority on the culinary arts? Nobody knows.

I desperately wanted to try—and eventually, learn how to make—homemade lasagna.

Learning How to Make Homemade Lasagna, Step by Step

I don’t remember my first taste of lasagna, but by now, I have probably tasted hundreds of them—some terrible, some excellent, and most, sadly, average. The truly sublime ones seem to be found in those family-owned restaurants on the quieter streets of Manhattan.

I have also had my share of lasagna disasters. I’ve experimented with every combination—vegetarian sauce, meat sauce, eggplant riste, Bolognese, cottage cheese, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, brick mozzarella… cheeses with and without beaten eggs; all combinations of vegetables; boiled noodles, raw noodles, no-boil noodles, sheets of fresh pasta… I could go on. 

Lessons from a Hundred Lasagna Fails

I have eaten lasagnas that were overcooked, undercooked, soupy, raw, burned, dry, and gloopy. I wanted to throw more than a few of them at the wall. There is nothing more annoying than spending hours in the kitchen, lovingly creating a dish from scratch, step by step, only to have it turn out inedible. I blame a lack of Italian grandparents. 

I learned a lot along the way, though—and not just from Lidia, Marcella, Samin, Giada, Alison, and the Pasta Grannies. Trial and error is an excellent teacher. But eventually, I found an easy way to make homemade lasagna, even without the benefit of a secret family recipe.

How to Make Homemade Lasagna That’s Comforting and Delicious

After all those kitchen experiments and near disasters, I finally came up with a version that checks every box—comforting, flavorful, and surprisingly easy to make. This isn’t the fussy, hours-long ordeal I used to dread. This recipe is one that never disappoints.

Serve it straight from the oven with a crisp green salad, and a basket of warm garlic bread, or roasted vegetables on the side. And if you’re in the mood for wine, check out Olivia’s recommendations below.