Easy Weeknight Lasagna Recipe with Jar Sauce | Step-By-Step Beginner Friendly Lasagna

ricotta cheese

🥗Healthier: cottage cheese

💰Cheaper: cream cheese

Cottage cheese lowers fat content while maintaining creaminess.

ground beef

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground pork

Ground turkey is leaner, while ground pork is often less expensive.

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: provolone cheese

Part-skim mozzarella reduces fat, while provolone is usually cheaper.

Parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated Pecorino Romano

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free, while Pecorino is often more affordable.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Chop half of a large onion.

In a bowl, lightly stir one egg and add 15 oz of ricotta cheese and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Season with fresh ground pepper and a pinch of kosher salt. Mix well.

Heat 1.5 tablespoons of avocado oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the sausage to the skillet and break it up to brown. Leave it alone for a bit to develop a crust.

Stir the sausage and scrape the fond from the bottom of the pan for flavor.

Once the sausage is mostly cooked, add the chopped onion and sauté until softened.

Add minced garlic to the skillet and stir until fragrant.

Add sliced mushrooms and zucchini to the skillet and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.

Add two jars of spaghetti sauce to the skillet and stir to combine. Add a touch of granulated sugar to balance the acidity of the sauce and stir gently.

To get all the sauce out of the jars, add a little water, shake, and pour into the skillet. Heat until bubbles break the surface, then turn off the heat.

To assemble the lasagna, add a layer of sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish.

Place a layer of oven-ready lasagna noodles over the sauce.

Add a layer of the ricotta mixture, followed by a layer of fresh spinach, then a layer of the sausage and vegetable mixture, and top with mozzarella cheese.

Repeat the layering process until all ingredients are used, finishing with a layer of sauce and mozzarella cheese on top.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens