One of my favorite dishes my mom makes is her lasagna, which has been a family favorite for decades! Mom’s lasagna is savory, meaty, and tomato-ey, and although it’s probably not the most traditional of lasagnas, it’s still absolutely delicious! Since I *spoiler alert* moved into my own little apartment 30 minutes from my parent’s house, I wanted to attempt my own recreation of mom’s lasagna featuring a ton of tomato sauce and thin layers of a cheesy ricotta mixture. I still stuck to the heart of mom’s meal, which has mushrooms and pepperoni, but I went for the easier route and didn’t cook the noodles before assembly, and I used bottled marinara sauce I doctored up. The lasagna came out fantastic with a bit of bite in the noodle and the most yummy sauce I’ve made yet! Here’s how I recreated my mom’s lasagna recipe I posted about last year.
Ingredients (for two 5×5 pans):
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 1/3 jars Rao’s marinara sauce (or any sauce of choice; crushed tomatoes would be great as well)
- 1 bag sliced pepperoni
- 1 container mushrooms
- 1 container grape tomatoes
- 1 box no-cook lasagna noodles
- 1 small onion
- 1 egg
- 1 container ricotta cheese
- 1 lb bag cheddar cheese
- 1 cup mozarella cheese
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, parsley to taste
Instructions:
- Dice small onion into small cubes
- Heat oil of choice in large pot and start cooking onions before adding hamburger
- Brown hamburger and drain oil (but never pour oil down the sink drain!) when almost fully cooked
- Pour jars of marinara sauce in beef and onion mixture and mix
- Chop mushrooms into thin slices and halve tomatoes and add both to sauce
- Season sauce with above listed seasonings or whatever your heart desires
- Simmer sauce for approximately 30 minutes until vegetables are softened and flavors begin to mesh
- While sauce is cooking mix ricotta, egg, mozarella, salt, pepper, and parsley in a small bowl
- To layer ingredients, spread some sauce on bottom of lasagna pan(s) and lay noodles across surface
- Add more sauce to noodle tops (ensure covered completely so noodles cook in the oven), cover with a thin layer of ricotta mixture, lay pepperoni on top, and sprinkle cheddar cheese over pepperoni
- Add another layer of noodles, more sauce, pepperoni, and cheese mixtures, and repeat steps until every ingredient is gone
- Top last layer of noodles with remaining sauce, pepperoni, and cheeses
- Cover pans with foil and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 30-45 minutes
- Serve with sauteed veggies and crusty bread!
