Every home cook should have a go-to lasagna recipe, like this Four Cheese with Meat Sauce Lasagna recipe, on hand for those moments when comfort, heartiness, and tradition call. After years of trial and error, I’ve honed a straightforward version that consistently pleases even the pickiest eaters—no outlandish spices or finicky ingredients required. Some recipes call for additions like nutmeg and fennel seeds, but I’ve found these flavors don’t suit everyone’s palate. After experimenting and tweaking, I returned to the basics and built my lasagna from the ground up: quality meat, rich cheeses, robust tomato sauce, and classic seasonings layered between tender noodles.
Interestingly, lasagna’s journey into Canada’s culinary scene began with Italian immigrants who arrived throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Settling in neighborhoods from Montreal’s Little Italy to Toronto’s College Street corridor, these communities introduced Canadians to the layered pasta casserole known and loved in their homeland. Over time, lasagna adapted to regional Canadian tastes, incorporating local cheeses, meats, and even vegetables. Today, it’s found everywhere from Italian trattorias to family potlucks, evolving into a beloved comfort food that symbolizes both the immigrant experience and Canada’s multicultural cuisine.
In my own kitchen, I keep things simple for this Four Cheese with Meat Sauce Lasagna. For meat, I combine ground beef and pork, occasionally folding in a bit of sausage—no more than a quarter of the total ground meat, to avoid overwhelming the other flavors. As for cheeses, I utilize the flavour and cost efficiency of cottage cheese and mozzarella and make it rich with ricotta and parmesan. The recipe includes a thick, perfectly seasoned tomato sauce. Finally, I stick to traditional boil-first lasagna noodles for reliable texture and consistent results.
This approach may not reinvent the wheel, but it delivers reliable, crowd-pleasing lasagna every time—just as comfort food should.
Lasagna
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles
Meat Sauce Ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground meat beef, pork, sausage, or a mix.
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cans tomato sauce 398ml/14oz each
- 2 cans tomato paste 156ml/5oz each
Cheese Mixture Ingredients
- 3 eggs large, beaten
- 3 cups cottage cheese see notes
- 1 cup ricotta cheese see notes
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated or small shreds
- 2-3 tbsp dried parsley
Other Ingredients
- 4-6 cups mozzarella cheese grated, divided
Instructions
Meat Sauce and Pasta
- Start approximately 5 quarts of water in large pot to boil on high heat.
- In a separate skillet, brown 2 lbs lean ground meat on medium heat, breaking it up as finely as possible (much love for our Starfrit Meat Chopper here!).
- Add 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1-2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp pepper, and 1 tsp salt, and stir to coat the ground meat in the seasonings.
- Add 3 cans tomato sauce and 2 cans tomato paste.
- Simmer on low to medium low heat while preparing the other ingredients.
- When water starts to boil, add 9 lasagna noodlesUse a long handled cooking utensil to occasionally move the noodles around so they don't stick. Cook for time indicated on package.
Cheese Mixture
- Combine the 3 eggs, 3 cups cottage cheese, 1 cup ricotta cheese, and ½ cup parmesan cheese, and 2-3 tbsp dried parsley. Set aside.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 375°f
- In a deep 9x13" baking dish, spread about 1 cup meat mixture and place 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce.
- Carefully spread about ½ of the cheese mixture (about 2 cups) on top of the noodles, followed by spreading approximately 1-2 cups mozzarella cheese over the cheese mixture.
- Lay 3 more noodles on the mozzarella, followed by 2 cups of the meat sauce. Carefully spread the remaining Cheese Mixture over the meat sauce, then 1-2 more cups of mozzarella cheese.
- Layer with remaining 3 noodles, remaining meat sauce, and the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes.
- Remove foil and cook for another 25 minutes, or until bubbly throughout and cheese is browning.
- Remove from oven and cool on stovetop of trivets for about 15 minutes, before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
Authentic Recipes
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