American Lasagna – A delicious lasagna recipe made with ground beef and sausage, with a little bit of brown sugar to give it something special.
This is my all-time favorite lasagna recipe. (At least until I find the next best one!!) This is one I’ve actually been making for years – one of those Tried and True recipes. It’s another one of those Allrecipes gems that one member of my family discovered years ago, and now all of us make it.
And I actually made it last year. Yes, ladies and gentlemen – last year. You know, you start a little food blog one day, thinking that you’ll just post everything for yourself to remind you of what you made. And then you start visiting lots of other food blogs, and then people start to visit yours. Before you know it, you are trying your hardest to make your pictures look appetizing, and if they don’t, you just keep skipping right over them. Thank goodness I started Bad Photo Sundays – because I’d hate to not share this recipe!!
This is definitely not a traditional lasagna – hence the name American Lasagna – but it is oh, so delicious! I think the secret ingredient is the brown sugar. It doesn’t make the lasagna sweet, but it brings something extra to it that I haven’t had from any other lasagna. The other secret to this lasagna is that you want to make it the night before – up to the baking step – refrigerate it, and then bake it the next day. I’ve tried it both ways (waiting overnight and cooking the night of) and having it sit overnight really does make a huge difference. And I do what normally do in recipes like this – I do part ground beef and part sausage to add some extra flavor instead of just ground beef.
More Lasagna Recipes
Chicken Lasagna with Green Chile and Cheese
Skillet Lasagna
Spaghetti Lasagna
American Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 29 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 6 ounce cans tomato paste
- 12 dry lasagna noodles
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling on the top
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, sausage, onion and garlic; drain fat. Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook until al dente. Drain the noodles and lay flat on paper towels to dry.
- In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Spread a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of the dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce, then the remaining mozzarella. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake in the preheated oven 45-60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
- If making the day before, refrigerate after assembling the lasagna, before baking it. Add an additional 15 minutes to the cook time.
Jen A says
this is my favorite lasagna and I’ve been coming back to it for years now. it’s always a hit at my house. Thanks for all the great recipes, havent met one I didn’t like!
Deborah says
Thanks so much, Jen – that means so much!!
Nancy Long says
sounds great – I haven’t cooked the noodles in years, just use a touch more sauce, cover with foil for about 45 mins, uncover for last 15-20 mins and it bakes beautifully
Dana McCauley says
There’s really no such thing as a bad lasagna photo – unless it has been pre-chewed. That, indeed, would be ugly.
Vicarious Foodie says
I was out of town on Sunday so am just now getting to this, but I knew I’d have to make it a point to stop by for bad photo Sunday!
Why is it so hard to take pictures of things made in casserole dishes? It’s so unfair, because I really love casseroles. How do magazines get their pictures of lasagna to look so good? I don’t think the lasagnas have actually been baked–in fact, I bet the noodles haven’t even really been cooked.
dobetter says
Looks like the perfect lasagna! I love all recipes too.
Patricia Scarpin says
Deb, one of my husband’s absolute favorite dishes. It looks so scrumptious!
kimberleyblue says
I love lasagna – one of my favs. I usually make a veggie one, but the addition of sausage in this one has me wanting meat!
Elle says
What are you talking about? It looks great! And I’m not sure if i could wait overnight to bake this…
Megan says
I’m definetly trying it. The picture and the brown sugar sold me!
Ruth Elkin says
Bad Photo? It looks like a perfect dish to me!!!! I love lasagna!
Dhanggit says
my favorite, lasagNNNAA!! i love them, the weather here is quite bad;;good thing i have this lasagna to give me a smile..i agree with you on adding sugar on salty dishes. i heard one time a chef that for salty dishes we could add up a tsp of sugar to bring out the best on its taste and vice versa for some sweet dishes a pinch of salt will definitely do the trick..you call if bad photo i call it good appetite!! yum
Grace says
can lasagna ever be considered ugly? i submit that it cannot. well, unless it was burnt to a crisp. or in a heap on a dirty floor. 🙂
Arundathi says
thats not a bad photo (i better not show you any of my bad photos!!) – lol – looks delicious. sitting lasagna sit overnight is a something that I do too, and it really improves the taste! first time here and i love your blog!
PheMom says
Looks good to me too with all that browned cheesy goodness! We were closer to your neck of the woods today and went up the canyon to hike around by Mt Timp today. It was such a beautiful day (and now tonight the wind is screaming!). Oh well, hope you had a great day!
Jenny says
Deborah,
This lasagna looks gorgeous to me and delicious! I haven’t made lasagna for a long time, you’ve inspired me to get to work! This sounds like a great recipe!!