Sweet & Spicy Italian Sausage Lasagna
This Italian sausage lasagna is my family’s recipe and it is fit for all lasagna lovers! Thin pasta noodles layered with rich marinara, sweet & spicy Italian sausage, and three Italian cheeses. You’ll find this recipe full of irresistible flavor and lots of fresh herbs!
This sweet & spicy sausage lasagna is quite the show-stopper. It is rich in flavor, very easy to prepare, and a true crowd-pleaser!
Each layer of this recipe has a little bit of spiciness and sweetness, three Italian cheeses, and lots of fresh basil for freshness.
I have lots of fond memories growing up of helping my mom layer lasagna or being the “sauce stirrer” as it simmered throughout the day for the lasagna. They are irreplaceable memories that really gave me the love for Italian food I have today.
I am so happy that my mom and I were able to develop this recipe together. It is absolutely DELICIOUS and uses my favorite sausage from Brooklyn Pork Store. Their meats are outrageously good and I have my aunt Valerie to thank for introducing me to their incredible products!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Lasagna noodles: use either boiled noodles and cook until “al dente” in texture or use no-boil/oven-ready lasagne noodles!
Italian sausage: this recipe calls for two links of spicy and two links of sweet Italian sausage.
Marinara: I always recommend using a quality marinara for lasagna. For homemade use our San Marzano Tomato Sauce or our favorite store-bought brand!
Mozzarella: mozzarella doesn’t bring a lot of flavor but it gives the melted cheesiness that is a must for lasagna! Gruyere cheese could work as well.
Parmesan: this cheese brings a ton of flavor to lasagna and is always the best partner to mozzarella.
Ricotta: this cheese is used for the “filling” – but I always recommend using a light layer so it doesn’t overwhelm your lasagna. You can also use mascarpone in place of ricotta.
Fresh basil: I add fresh basil to every baked pasta recipe because it adds such a bright & fresh flavor. I do not recommend replacing with dried basil because it will not bring that freshness we want.
Oregano: you can use either fresh or dried oregano!
Garlic: make it easy by using garlic powder or swap for 2-3 garlic cloves!
Egg: this is used to help bind the ricotta filling together.
Make Your Own Tomato Sauce
What makes this recipe so special, is making it with my family’s San Marzano Tomato Sauce. This sauce is rich in flavor, less acidic than most tomato sauces, and is the most delicious tomato sauce I’ve ever had. Use it to elevate your Italian sausage lasagna or any other Italian recipe! If you like a little spice, try our Italian Arrabbiata Sauce instead.
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Tips for Success and Recipe FAQs
- Lightly layer ricotta filling. Most lasagnas have thick layers of ricotta cheese – which can sometimes take away key flavors in lasagna – in this lasagna you really want to taste garlic, herbs, and the sweet & spicy Italian sausage flavors. So in order to keep your lasagna light, fresh, and full of flavor keep your ricotta on the light side when layering. In the end it will add up to be just the right amount of cheesy consistency and the perfect balance of flavor!
- Use lots of fresh basil. Fresh basil is key to any pasta dish and it really brings this whole lasagna together with it’s herby flavor. Layer chopped basil on every layer of the lasagna as well as the top for a fresh and savory basil flavor!
- Use no boil noodles. This will save a ton of time and hassle – these noodles require no boiling and are oven ready right from the box to layer in your Italian sausage lasagna. I’ve done lasagna both ways – fresh boiled noodles or oven ready noodles. Both have given me great results.
- What kind of sausage is best for lasagna? Sausages come in a lot of different flavors and levels of spice. For this recipe I recommend using 2 links of sweet Italian sausage and 2 links spicy Italian sausage. Ground beef can also be an option – but you will not get the level of flavor when using Italian sausage.
- Don’t like ricotta? You can completely remove it from the lasagna and layer with just the sausage, marinara, and mozzarella & parmesan.
Best Tips for Storing Leftovers & Freezing Lasagna
Keeping leftover lasagna fresh: allow lasagna to cool before storing in an airtight container and keep chilled in refrigerator for 3-5 days.
How to freeze & reheat lasagna (two ways): You can prepare the lasagna (do not bake), freeze ( 2-3months) then thaw and reheat as instructed. Or you can prepare and bake the lasagna then allow it to cool – freeze for 2-3 months then thaw and reheat in oven at 350F (covered) until center is hot.
Why did my lasagna turn out dry?
Not having enough sauce can cause your lasagna to dry out after baking. Avoid dry lasagna by always having a little extra sauce on hand. Sometimes with lasagnas it’s hard to gage how much sauce you need, I always make more than what I think I need – but for this recipe you will need around 8-9 cups. This question also has to do with how you bake your lasagna – which I explain below.
Why did my lasagna turn out watery?
Bake covered for half the time and bake uncovered for the remaining time. For this lasagna I bake for 20 minutes covered to contain the right amount of moisture, and then 20 minutes uncovered so that the cooking process is even. I split the time so that I’m avoiding both the lasagna drying out or becoming too watery.
More Italian Favorites:
- Three Cheese Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables
- The Best Vegetable Lasagna (no ricotta)
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Easy Zucchini Lasagna
This amazing Italian sausage lasagna has it ALL. It’s EASY, takes 1 hour to make, and it’s the perfect crowd pleasing dinner.
If you tried this Sweet & Spicy Italian Sausage Lasagna recipe or any other recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, and FACEBOOK for more crave-worthy content.
Sweet & Spicy Italian Sausage Lasagna
A family favorite – Sweet & Spicy Italian Sausage Lasagna. Layered with lots of fresh basil, three gooey cheeses, and sweet & spicy Italian sausage. Comforting, irresistible flavors and an absolute crowd-pleasing recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 8-10 cups tomato sauce (see notes)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese
- 2 links spicy Italian sausage
- 2 links sweet Italian sausage
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
Cheese Filling
- 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh/dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp (each) salt & black pepper
- 1 egg
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium size pot on medium heat, remove sausage from skin and break up in pan. Saute until fully cooked through about 5-7 minutes. Stir sauce in with sausage.
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Mix all of the cheese filling ingredients together in a bowl.
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In a large 13×9 baking dish, layer: 1 1/2 cups sauce, lasagna noodles, spread ricotta filling (1 1/2 inch size scoops in center of each noodle)*, mozzarella cheese, fresh chopped basil. Repeat process until done. Layer top with rest of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
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Bake for 20 minutes covered with foil and 20 minutes uncovered. Serve with fresh basil on top and parmesan cheese.
Did you make this recipe? Share your photos and tag @asimplepalate #asimplepalate.
Hi! Can we substitute ground sweet and hot Italian sausage for the links? If so, how many ounces each or total? Thank you!
I’ve never been a fan of lasagna. It was always boring and I don’t like ricotta cheese. I could never find a recipe that was adaptable to my tatsebuds. This recipe has CHANGED THE GAME! It was delicious. I subbed cottage cheese for the ricotta. This recipe change my entire outlook on lasagna. Thank you!!!!
That is the sweetest compliment! Thank you so much, Nicole! I’m truly thrilled it changed your mind on lasagna. 🙂
Hi Bethany, I would like to make the homemade sauce for the lasagna and also for a pot of meatballs to simmer them in. How much would I need to increase the sauce by to make all of it together? I didn’t know if the lasagna recipe uses the whole batch of sauce or if any leftover.
Hi Danielle, If you did 5 cans of san marzano’s for the sauce, it should be enough for lasagna and the meatballs! 🙂
This is truly outstanding! I went semi-homemade by using Bertolli organic tomato basil sauce. I also used a mix of sweet and spicy chicken and pork sausage. I used both fresh basil and dried, and minced garlic. I love the lightness of the ricotta – all other lasagna I’ve made and tried was too heavy on it and the restrained use of it here really does let the flavors shine through. The parmesan also gives the recipe some depth of flavor. I’m keeping this recipe for life!
What is the final number of noodles? How many noodles per layer?
I can’t believe the huge difference using the San Marzano tomato’s. This is the best thing I’ve ever made. I have 2 huge zip lock bags of the gravy to freeze and use for all kids of dishes. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Thank you for this great recipe. I made them today for the 2nd time and they were amazing. Perfect recipe and instructions too.
I see you cook your lasagna in a glass dish… Does this work better than the stainless steel pans?
Can I prepare this and leave uncooked till tomorrow.
That should work! Just make sure the sausage is cooled before assembling so it doesn’t melt the cheese. 🙂
WOW! i took a photo and tagged you on instagram! this is the most amazing lasagna that i have ever eaten and i will probably refuse to try anyone elses after this. I dont even eat pork sausage, but i wanted to follow the entire recipe and it was AMAZING! the sauce, i some how had some left over so im freezing it for idk what later on but i cant wait! I’m going to save your site because i love some good italian homeade food!
That’s so wonderful to hear! So happy you loved it.
Love. Love. Love this recipe!!
I’m so happy to hear 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Hi Bethany, question, when I make the tomato sauce do I add in the liquid too from the cans or just the tomatoes?
yes! All of the liquid goes into the sauce 🙂
Hi Bethany,
I am planning on making this dish ahead of time for Christmas. Am I better off freezing it unbaked or after it is baked and cooled?
Hi Monique! That’s a great idea. You can do both ways – but I personally like to bake it first then let it cool and freeze. Then reheat and enjoy it sooner! 😉
Recently made the chicken Parmesan topped with homemade sauce recipe and it’s amazing! So I decided to made the lasagna for our family beach vacation. Plan on freezing then cooking there. Of course I forgot to add the meat after assembling, so I lifted the noodles up as much as possible and added the meat. I also used ground beef instead. Hope it comes out as good as the recipe looks! 🙂
haha! Can’t forget the meat. I hope you all enjoy it 🙂 So glad you’ve enjoyed my chicken parm and tomato sauce! <3
Hi we can use boiled lasagne noodles in this recipe correct? This is my first time making lasagna
Absolutely! We use no boil and boiled noodles in this recipe. 🙂
I’ve never commented on a recipe before today. This was absolutely delicious! I made the tomato sauce as well. I actually forgot to add the egg and perhaps this would have made the cheese mixture easier to spread. This is the lasagna I’ve been looking for all these years! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. (Sorry, too late to take a photo.)
Woot woot! So happy to hear that. And honored to be your first recipe comment 🙂
Bethany, I want to thank you so much because I made this lasagna, as well as your marinara sauce, for Christmas! It was a huge hit! Seriously, everyone couldn’t stop talking about it. Thank you for such an outstanding recipe! I can’t wait to make this again!
yay! I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂 They are special recipes to enjoy for the holidays. Thanks, Ashlee!!
Delish! Love the sweet and spicy sausage combo!
This sounds so good. Can you expand on what size the large baking dish is (measurements)?
It should be about 13×9!
Made this for friends we had over and it was a HIT!! The sausage added so much flavor too. Will make again.
yay! So happy to hear that 🙂