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 tastes like the world’s best lasagna!
This cheesy lasagna has it ALL. A little bit of sweetness, a little bit of spice, three Italian cheeses, and lots of fresh basil! An outrageous recipe that is rich, satisfying, and will be crowd-pleasing dish for any occasion!
Making lasagna with my mom is a huge part of my childhood, and my journey of learning how to cook when I was little. My mom and I were able to develop this recipe together – so rest assured it is fantastic and a must-try!
I also used sweet & spicy Italian sausage and fresh mozzarella from my family’s favorite butcher – Brooklyn Pork Store.
What Kind of Sausage Do you Use 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.
Make Your Own Tomato Sauce
What makes this recipe so special, is making it with my family’s famous 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!
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Tips for Making Italian Sausage Lasagna
Lifesaving Noodles
No Boil Lasagna Noodles
Cut 20 minutes out of your prep time by using no-boil noodles. Just layer with your ingredients and they cook while you bake. I've been using these noodles for years and they taste just as good as boiled noodles! EASY and fast results.
- 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.
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.
Other Delicious Italian Recipes to Try:
- San Marzano Tomato Sauce
- Baked Eggplant Rollatini
- Cheesy Rotini Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Easy Zucchini Lasagna
- Authentic Italian Chicken Parmigiana
- 10-minute Naan Pizza
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 oven ready 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 thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp (each) salt & black pepper
- 1 egg
Instructions
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.
Mix all of the cheese filling ingredients together in a bowl.
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.
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.
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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 🙂
This sounds so good. Can you expand on what size the large baking dish is (measurements)?
It should be about 13×9!
Delish! Love the sweet and spicy sausage combo!
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!!
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 🙂
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. 🙂
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 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! 😉
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 🙂
Love. Love. Love this recipe!!
I’m so happy to hear 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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.
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. 🙂
I see you cook your lasagna in a glass dish… Does this work better than the stainless steel pans?