The boys are coming home for Christmas 🍝🤍 So you make a BIG hearty lasagna with Italian sausage meat sauce.

Meat Sauce

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• Baby bella mushrooms, chopped (about 1½–2 cups)
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• Calabrian chili paste, to taste
• Rao’s Marinara Sauce (about 1½–2 jars, as needed)

Cheese Mixture

• 24 oz whole-milk ricotta (3 cups)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 4 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1¼ cups), divided
• 1 lb low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (4 cups), divided
• ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Assembly

• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions

1. Make the Meat Sauce

Preheat the oven according to your lasagna noodle package instructions.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, Italian sausage, onion, and carrots; season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until browned and the vegetables begin to soften, about 5–10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and season to taste, then stir in the Italian seasoning, Calabrian chili, and garlic. Continue cooking until the mushrooms release their moisture and the mixture is well browned, another 4–6 minutes.

Stir in the Rao’s marinara sauce, adding enough to keep the sauce loose and spoonable. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10–15 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Make the Cheese Mixture

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2½ cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper until smooth and well combined.

3. Assemble the Lasagna

Lightly spread meat sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.

Layer in this order:

• No-boil noodles
• Cheese mixture
• Meat sauce

Repeat layers until finished, ending with meat sauce on top. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1½ cups mozzarella and ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano.

4. Bake

Loosely cover with aluminum foil and place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any drips).

Bake according to the lasagna noodle package instructions, until the noodles are tender when pierced with a knife. Uncover and bake an additional 15–20 minutes, until bubbly and lightly golden on top. (If it looks a bit liquidy, it will set as it rests.)

5. Rest & Serve

Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm. Enjoy! 💫

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