Meat & Veggie Lovers Family Lasagna
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Meat & Veggie Lovers Family Lasagna is the perfect recipe to please a crowd! Ground beef and sausage pair beautifully with garlic, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach and 3 types of cheeses to make a delicious freezer friendly & make ahead meal that will be requested time and time again.
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large sweet, yellow onion, chopped
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 medium orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 lbs. ground beef
  • Approx. 1 lb. Sweet Italian Sausage
  • 1 can (15 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 jars (24 oz. each) Marinara Sauce (I used a four cheese variety)
  • 2 tsp. dried marjoram
  • 2 tsp. dried basil
  • Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 container (32 oz.) ricotta cheese
  • 2 boxes (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained well
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 box oven ready lasagna noodles
  • 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Spray either two medium or one extra large, deep baking dishes liberally with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Once hot, add onions, garlic and bell pepper to pan.
  5. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until onions are turning translucent and peppers have softened.
  6. Add ground beef and sausage to the pan and cook until no pink remains. Break up the meat as it cooks.
  7. Add diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, marjoram, basil, salt and pepper to the meat mixture, stir to combine and heat through. Turn off heat.
  8. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, spinach and egg. Stir until well combined.
  9. Begin assembling the lasagna by adding a ladle-full of sauce to the bottom of the baking dish.
  10. Cover with 3 sheets of noodles, then about 1 cup of the ricotta mixture and about 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
  11. Continue this process for 4 more layers.
  12. The top layer will be the remaining sheets of noodles and sauce topped with parmesan cheese.
  13. Cover with foil.
  14. If freezing or making ahead: stop at this point. Freeze or refrigerated as needed. When using defrost or let come to room temperature before baking. You might need to add an additional 10-15 to baking time, as needed.
  15. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until bubbly.
  16. Remove foil and cook another 5 minutes to brown the top.
  17. Remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting.
Recipe by Becky's Best Bites at https://beckysbestbites.com/meat-veggie-lovers-family-lasagna/