How Long Do I Bake Lasagna?
How Long Do I Bake Lasagna? Here’s a quick overview of how to bake any lasagna either fresh, frozen, or refrigerated.
Lasagna is one of my favorite things to make! It’s such a crowd-pleasing recipe, and Angry Lasagna is a classic lasagna recipe that I think should be the world’s best lasagna! Ha!
What is in most lasagna?
- Parmesan Cheese
- Lasagna Noodles
- Ground Beef
- Tomato Sauce
- Ricotta Cheese
- Cottage Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Italian Seasoning
First, I’ll talk you through how I make my Angry Lasagna Recipe, then we’ll chat about boxed lasagna and their cook times.
How to Make Lasagna
To make Angry Lasagna, you’ll start by making a homemade meat sauce.
I use spicy sausage, lots of fresh garlic, and fire-roasted tomatoes. It makes a fabulous spaghetti sauce, too!
Here’s a quick overview:
Brown sausage and onions over medium-high heat. Add in lots of garlic powder and fresh garlic, onion powder, tomato paste, Italian herbs, and marinara sauce. Drop-in a few bay leaves and let this simmer for half an hour.
While that simmers I’ll boil noodles over medium heat.
Mix together a cup of mozzarella cheese and full-fat ricotta cheese with some Italian seasonings, kosher salt, black pepper, and an egg.
Another tick for Angry Lasagna is using smoked mozzarella along with low-moisture mozzarella! It adds a whole new flavor the entire family will love!
I like to use an aluminum foil lasagna pan. It makes for easy cleanup, and freezes beautifully if needed!
Spray your pan heavily with nonstick cooking spray.
Layering Your Lasagna
To begin layering your lasagna you’ll spread a little meat sauce on the bottom of your pan.
Lay your al dente noodles on top of the sauce, and add more meat sauce on top.
The next layer is the cheesy ricotta mixture.
Add another layer of noodles, sauce, ricotta…
Finally, end with noodles and sauce.
Then cover the whole with lots of cheese!
For the best results and flavor, stop here. Put it in the fridge, and bake it the next day.
But, if you’re really ready to go, this homemade baked lasagna recipe bakes at 350˚ for 45 minutes covered, and 10-15 minutes uncovered.
As the cheese melts on top it will become perfectly golden brown.
If you’ve ever cut into a runny lasagna, here’s a tip!
Let your lasagna rest 12-15 minutes before cutting into it, so that you can cut a *good piece* and not have it flop everywhere!
If you’re baking refrigerated lasagna, I’ve got a cold oven method that is foolproof for you!
Remove your lasagna from the refrigerator half an hour before you want to bake it.
Place the covered lasagna on a rimmed baking sheet and place it in a COLD conventional oven. (Yes, you can use convection, too!)
Turn the oven to a 350˚ baking temperature (if you’re using a convection oven, turn it down to 325˚!) and set a timer for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, remove the top of the lasagna and use a meat thermometer to gauge the temperature. Lasagna needs to be baked to an internal temperature of 165˚. Keep cooking until you’ve reached that temperature and the top are golden brown and bubbly!
Homemade lasagna is a labor of love! There are lots of steps, that can be broken up into a few days.
- Day One – make the meat sauce
- Day Two – Shred the cheese and mix the wet ricotta mixture
- Day Three – boil your noodles and assemble
- Day Four – Bake and serve!
Pro Tip: leftover lasagna can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer. I like to freeze individual pieces wrapped in plastic wrap in a zip-top bag! I’ll pick one out, unwrap it, and bake it in a small baking dish.
Lasagna Bake Times
- Stouffer’s Frozen Lasagna — bakes at 375˚ for 80 minutes, with the film on the tray. After 80 minutes, remove the film and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Costco Lasagna – bakes at 375˚ for 60 minutes.
- Aldi Lasagna – bakes at 375˚ for 50 minutes
In conclusion, an appropriate temperature to bake lasagna is usually 350˚-375˚. This is the right temperature to allow everything to thaw and bake properly without burning.
