Make your own homemade freezer lasagna with this delicious recipe! This recipe makes perfect freezer meals and can easily be doubled or tripled.
Freezer meals are a great way to get ahead! This freezer lasagna recipe is easy to scale, so you can easily stock your freezer with homemade make-ahead meals.
Lasagna is great for busy days, makes a perfect meal for new parents or parents-to-be, and can easily be baked on an I-don't-feel-like-cooking day.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Ground beef: I use either 85% or 90% lean ground beef. Ground Italian sausage also works well in this recipe.
- White or yellow onion
- Garlic cloves
- Salt
- Pepper
- Heavy cream
- Crushed tomatoes
- Diced tomatoes
- Italian seasoning
- Dried sweet basil
- Whole-milk ricotta cheese: The extra fat in the whole-milk ricotta helps keep it less grainy than part-skim once frozen.
- Parmesan cheese
- Large eggs
- No-boil lasagna noodles
- Mozzarella cheese: The lasagna is pretty cheesy. Feel free to decrease the amount of cheese if you prefer.
What makes this lasagna recipe different?
This lasagna recipe was specifically made for the freezer. The lasagna is put together and then frozen uncooked.
How to make freezer lasagna
Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. Drain, and set aside.
Add onion to the now-empty Dutch oven and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
Add garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add cream and simmer until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes.
Stir in cooked meat, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to simmer.
Reduce heat to low and simmer until flavors blend, about 3 minutes.
Remove pot from heat, cool sauce for 20 minutes, then refrigerate until cool, at least 20 minutes.
Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Spread ¼ cup meat sauce over bottom of 9- x 13-inch baking dish.
Place 3 noodles crosswise on top of sauce.
Evenly space 9 tablespoons ricotta mixture over noodles, and sprinkle evenly with 1¼ cups mozzarella.
Spoon 1½ cups sauce over cheese.
Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella and sauce two more times.
Place 3 remaining noodles on top and spread with remaining sauce. Cover with remaining 1¼ cups mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan.
Wrap with plastic wrap, and cover tightly with a layer of foil.
Freeze.
When ready to serve, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375F.
Remove plastic wrap, and re-cover lasagna with foil.
Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, then remove foil. Continue baking until cheese is spotty brown and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Tips
I've lost count of how many times I've made this recipe over the years. Here are some tips to help you make a great frozen lasagna.
- Be sure to let the lasagna cool to room temperature before wrapping in plastic wrap. Otherwise, the plastic wrap can stick to the lasagna.
- When I'm making freezer meals, I write the name of the dish, the date it was made, and any directions I need to finish it on the aluminum foil.
- I usually triple the recipe when I make it. It only takes a few more minutes, and then I have one lasagna a month in the freezer for the next three months.
- If freezing in aluminum pans, the pans will stack well. However, let the lasagnas freeze through before stacking. Otherwise, the weight of the pans will push the contents of the bottom pan out, and you'll end up with a big mess.
How to thaw
I let the frozen lasagna thaw in the fridge for a day or two before I bake it.
How long will this keep?
I use the frozen lasagnas within 3 months.
Serving suggestions
This lasagna goes well with my homemade 30 minute garlic knots or garlic breadsticks and a green salad to round out the meal.
More freezer-friendly recipes!
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Freezer Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 white or yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2-28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (drained)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
- 1¾ cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese (divided)
- 2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. Drain, and set aside.
- Add onion to the now-empty Dutch oven and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add cream and simmer until liquid cooks down by half, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in cooked meat, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to simmer.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until flavors blend, about 3 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat, cool sauce until it reaches room temperature.
- Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Spread ¼ cup meat sauce over bottom of 9- x 13-inch baking dish.
- Place 3 noodles crosswise on top of sauce, evenly space 9 tablespoons ricotta mixture over noodles, and sprinkle evenly with 1¼ cups mozzarella; spoon 1½ cups sauce over cheese.
- Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella and sauce two more times.
- Place 3 remaining noodles on top and spread with remaining sauce.
- Cover with remaining 1¼ cups mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan.
- Let cool to room temperature.
- Wrap with plastic wrap, and cover tightly with a layer of foil.
- Freeze.
- To serve, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375F.
- Remove plastic wrap, and re-cover lasagna with foil.
- For a thawed lasagna: Bake 30-40 minutes, then remove the foil. Continue baking until the cheese is golden brown in spots and the sauce is bubbling, about 20-30 minutes.
- For a frozen lasagna: Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, then remove foil. Continue baking until cheese is golden brown in spots and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Depending on how cold your freezer is and how long the lasagna has been in the freezer, you may find that you need to increase the covered baking time.
- Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Ground beef: I use either 85% or 90% lean ground beef. Ground Italian sausage also works well in this recipe.
- Whole-milk ricotta: The extra fat in the whole-milk ricotta helps keep it less grainy than part-skim once frozen.
- Mozzarella cheese: The lasagna is pretty cheesy. Feel free to decrease the amount of cheese if you prefer.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Lynn R
Sounds wonderful! But would it be just as good cooked right away, or does it need the time to sit in the fdreezer? Thanks!
Kate
Hi! I've baked the lasagna without freezing it first, and that worked out well.