Lasagna: clean kid-pleaser recipe for easy weeknights

With school back in session, weeknights can be hectic. Make dinner easy and delicious with this super simple lasagna recipe, using ingredients you likely already have. On top of that – you can sit back knowing that you fed your family a clean and healthy meal.

3 tips for easy weeknight dinners

Time can be short on weeknights, but a little planning can reduce the stress of getting a healthy meal on the table.

1. Freezer meals are our friend! About once a month, if you can find time to spend a few hours cooking, create 5-7 meals or more and stick them in the freezer. All you have to do is pull them out the night before and you are done.
2. Leverage modern tools: the InstantPot is an amazing tool for preparing so many meals quickly, even from frozen meat. The slow cooker can also do the work for you all day long while you are working.
3. Double your recipe: this is my favorite trick, especially for lasagna. Preparing two lasagnas takes basically the same amount as time as preparing one. Bake one, and freeze the other for later.

How to keep your lasagna (or other dinners) “clean”

We want the food we feed our families to be healthy and delicious. It doesn’t have to be hard if you follow just a basic formula (acronym F.O.R.M. to help remember):

1. Fats: use real, healthy fats like grass-finished tallow, pastured lard, organic olive/avocado/coconut oil, or butter. Avoid seed oils.
2. Organic: buy organic when you can, especially for the dirty dozen.
3. Real ingredients: cook from real ingredients, which will generally be food without an ingredient list on their packaging, and which will not be shelf-stable for months and months on end.
4. Metals: avoid cooking on aluminum or Teflon pans, or storing your food in plastic. Instead, bake your food in glass, cast iron or stainless steel pans, and store leftovers in glass.

What you need to prep this easy lasagna

Clean-up for this meal is easy, with just a few dishes required for your prep.

1. Skillet (stainless steel or cast iron)
2. Stainless steel pot (5 quart or larger)
3. 9×13 Glass baking dish

Lasagna ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 of an onion, finely chopped
• 8-9 lasagna noodles
• 3-4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Step-by-step instructions

Prepare the ground beef

Brown the beef over medium heat in a skillet with the garlic. Drain the grease (optional, depending on your family’s preference).

Add the tomato sauce, oregano and the onion to the skillet and mix well. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. This step is key to the rich taste of the lasagna – don’t skip it!

Prepare the lasagna noodles

While the beef is browning or simmering, prepare 8-9 lasagna noodles as instructed on the packaging. Drain and rinse the noodles with cool water.

Add ingredient layers to the baking dish

In a 9×13 glass baking dish, spread one third of the meat mixture across the bottom of the dish. Cover with 3-4 noodles as needed to cover the meat. Then cover with a layer of mozzarella cheese.

Repeat these layers (meat, then noodles, then cheese) one more time (for 4-noodle layers) or two more times (for 3-noodle layers), ending with a top layer of cheese.

Bake and enjoy!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Or this is a point where you could cover with an air-tight lid and store in the refrigerator or freezer to bake at a later date. Use from the fridge within 3 days, or from the freezer within 3 months.

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Yield: 12

Lasagna

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Make a quick and easy lasagna tonight - or make two and freeze one for later!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 of an onion, finely chopped
• 8-9 lasagna noodles
• 3-4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Brown the beef over medium heat in a skillet with the garlic.
2. Drain the grease (optional; see Note 1).
3. Add the tomato sauce, oregano and the onion to the skillet and mix well (see Notes 3 and 4).
4. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. This step is key to the rich taste of the lasagna - don't skip it! (see Note 5)
5. While the beef is browning or simmering, prepare 8-9 lasagna noodles as instructed on the packaging. Drain and rinse the noodles with cool water.
6. In a 9x13 glass baking dish, spread one third of the meat mixture across the bottom of the dish. Cover with 3-4 noodles as needed to cover the meat. Cover with mozzarella cheese. Repeat these layers (meat, then noodles, then cheese) one more time (for 4-noodle layers) or two more times (for 3-noodle layers), with a top layer of cheese. (See Note 6)
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted (see note 5)
   

Notes

1. Ground turkey or a mixture of beef and sausage will also work well in this recipe. To keep this recipe clean, source grass-finished beef or pastured pork or poultry. The fat content will be low, so draining the grease after browning is not a necessity.
2. Mince a clove of garlic, use pre-minced garlic or dried minced garlic - any of them work fine.
3. Spaghetti sauce will work in place of the tomato sauce, and you may omit the oregano and onion.
4. Use either fresh chopped onion or dried minced onion.
5. Speed up the lasagna prep by browning and simmering the meat and seasonings (Steps 1-4) in bulk, and freezing. Then thaw enough for one lasagna the night before and skip straight to step 5. Or, complete all the steps except baking, and freeze the entire lasagna. Thaw the night before and bake for an extra 5 minutes (25 total) or until the cheese is melted.
6. For a spicier lasagna, use shredded pepper jack cheese in place of mozzarella.
7. Nutritional information is estimated.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Jovial Organic Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta, Lasagna, 9 Ounce
• 
  365 by Whole Foods Market, Organic Lasagne, 16 Ounce
• 
  365 by Whole Foods Market, Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce, 25 Ounce
• 
  Pyrex Deep 9x13-Inch Glass Baking Dish with Lid, Deep Casserole Dish, Glass Food Container, Oven, Freezer and Microwave Safe, Clear Container
• 
  Cuisinart 12 Inch Skillet with Glass Cover, Chef's Classic Collection, 722-30G

Check out these recipes for more kid-pleasers:

• Make-ahead freezer biscuits
• The healthy popcorn recipe my family begs for
• Simple mango peach fruit leather