Lasagna al Forno with Rich Meat Sauce Recipe from The Golden Girls Cookbook

ricotta cheese

🥗Healthier: cottage cheese

💰Cheaper: cream cheese

Cottage cheese is lower in fat and calories while still providing creaminess.

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: provolone cheese

Part-skim mozzarella reduces fat, while provolone is often less expensive.

ground beef

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground chicken

Ground turkey is leaner, and ground chicken is often cheaper.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grana padano

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free, while grana padano is a less expensive cheese option.

Pour the whole tomatoes and juice into a large bowl and crush the tomatoes one by one in your hand until roughly crushed.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep heavy pan over medium to low heat.

Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the pan and stir until softened, avoiding browning.

Add the ground beef and pork to the pan, breaking it up as it cooks until it is no longer pink but not browned.

Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste, then add the crushed tomatoes to the pan.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for about 1.5 hours.

While the sauce simmers, prepare the lasagna ingredients: combine the lasagna noodles, shredded mozzarella, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano, parsley (or dried parsley), salt, and black pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Boil the lasagna noodles in a pot of water for 11-12 minutes, then rinse with cold water.

Ladle some of the meat sauce into the bottom of a lasagna pan.

Lay a row of lasagna noodles over the sauce, then add some of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles.

Add more sauce over the cheese, then repeat the layering process with more noodles, cheese, and sauce.

Reserve 1.5 cups of the cheese mixture for later use and set aside.

Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes to brown the top.

Let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens