The Best Make-Ahead Lasagna (freezer-friendly too!)

Instructions

1. 01

   Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. 02

   Add meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up the meat with wooden spoon (until no longer pink) about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until liquid evaporates and only the fat remains, about 4 minutes.

3. 03

   Stir in tomato puree and tomatoes, bring to simmer, and cook until flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. 04

   Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in bowl.

5. 05

   Spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish (avoiding large chunks of meat). Lay 3 noodles in dish, spread 1/3 cup ricotta mixture over each noodle, then top with 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup sauce (in that order). Repeat layering process 2 more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining 1 cup mozzarella, and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.

6. 06

   Cover dish tightly with greased aluminum foil, place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until the top is spotty brown and the lasagna is bubbling around the edges, about 25 to 35 minutes. Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before serving.

7. 07

   Assemble dish and then cover tightly with plastic wrap and then with a layer of foil. Freeze for up to a month (though I've cooked 3 month old ones and they were fine too).

8. 08

   We aren't actually cooking the lasagna frozen! Remove frozen lasagna from the freezer and refrigerate over night to thaw. Remove plastic wrap and replace foil and bake as directed above.