Rosa lasagna

A delicious creamy marinara lasagna made easy and simple with the help of oven-ready lasagna noodles. Your family will swoon over this Rosa Lasagna!

I love lasagna. I have fond memories of begging for lasagna for dinner. Maybe that's where my love for Italian food began. If I could, I would eat garlic cheesy bread, pasta, pizza, mozzarella, prosciutto, tiramisu, cannoli, and all the rest every day of my life. Maybe that's why Italy is my favorite place to visit. The pizza in Naples was unreal. Nothing like what America deems as "pizza". The tomatoes in Italy are so fresh, vibrant- full of flavor. I am literally sitting here yearning for some Italy time.

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• Ingredients
• How to make rosa lasagna
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Ingredients

You'll need:

• Olive Oil. You could also use avocado oil.
• Meat. You could use ground sausage or ground beef. I like to use half Mild Italian Sausage and half Spicy Italian Sausage
• Onion. You'll need one small-medium yellow onion chopped small.
• Garlic. I love garlic so I used about 3-5 cloves finely minced. If you aren't such a garlic lover you can reduce that.
• Red Wine or Chicken Broth. This helps deglaze the pan getting all those flavorful bits from the meat and onions browning.
• Chopped Fresh Basil. I love adding fresh basil to the sauce and saving more to garnish the lasagna.
• Italian Seasoning. I use this seasoning blend in my sauce and cheese mixture.
• Tomato Paste. Adding some tomato paste just amplifies the tomato flavor.
• Your Favorite Marinara Sauce. You'll need about 36oz of sauce.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. You can alter this to be as creamy or non-creamy of a sauce as you want. I use about 6oz or ¾ of a cup.
• Ricotta Cheese. Some people like to use cottage cheese but I adore ricotta cheese.
• Mozzarella Cheese. Don't buy pre-shredded cheese! Shred the mozzarella yourself!
• Parmesan. Same concept with the parmesan, there is so much more flavor if you shred the cheese at home.
• Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles. I love using oven-ready noodles since that means no boiling ahead of time!

For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.

How to make rosa lasagna

In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil and swirl around, once the pan is hot add ground sausage. Using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to spread the sausage thin to brown evenly, add the diced onion and stir. Cook until no pink remains about 7-10 minutes. Drain the fat. 

Deglaze the pan by adding the wine and mixing for a couple of minutes, until most of the liquid is gone. 

Add the chopped basil, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic, and marinara sauce, and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream, then let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl combine ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and Italian seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 375F/ 191C. In a 9 x 13 dish spray with nonstick cooking spray, place 1 ½ cups of sauce then 3 pasta sheets, followed by ⅓ of the cheese mixture then ¼ cup mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Repeat for 2 more layers for a total of three layers. 

Once the final layer of pasta is laid down top it with the remaining sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take the foil off of the pan and broil until the cheese is browned. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Goes well with a crisp green salad and garlic bread.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftovers, I love using the souper cubes 1 cup for lasagna. 

This arugula salad my friend makes would be perfect to serve alongside this lasagna.

If you are craving dessert after your Italian meal then check out my tiramisu recipe.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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Recipe Card

Recipe Adapted from Back of Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna Box

This recipe was originally published on December 11, 2013, as of February 9, 2023, the recipe has been updated.