Like the saying goes: Live. Laugh. Lasagna.
And honestly if there is anything we are doing here, it’s exactly that. I have been making this lasagna for dinner parties since my very first dinner party. I believe it facilitates incredible conversation around the table, mostly because I force people to guess what the secret cheese is! The answer? GOAT! Trust me—it adds a depth of flavor to the dish that will absolutely thrill you.
What’s that? You don’t like goat cheese? Well, let the fact that basically no one ever guesses what the secret cheese is soothe you. We are not making goat cheese lasagna here, kids! We are making delicious memories.
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Four-Cheese Lasagna
What You’ll Need
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound lasagna noodles (not no-boil)
- 32 ounces whole-milk ricotta
- 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
- 10 ounces goat cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, plus more for topping
- 1 cup chopped fresh mint
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- 4 cups Grossy’s Marinara (page 153) or store-bought marinara sauce
- Garlic bread, for serving (optional)
What You’ll Do
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, goat cheese, Parmesan, and mint. Season with salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Stir to combine well.
- Spread about 1/2 cup marinara over the bottom of the baking dish. Add enough lasagna noodles to create a completely covered layer, overlapping if necessary. Spread about 1 cup marinara over the noodles, then drop about a third of the cheese mixture over top. Add another layer of noodles and repeat the process two more times, ending with a final layer of noodles. Top with the remaining ½ cup marinara and blanket the top with plenty of Parmesan.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and the edges of the lasagna are crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool in the baking dish for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving, ideally alongside garlic bread, if you like.
Note: No kitchen is complete without at least one lasagna in the freezer at all times!
Make It Step By Step With Me:
1. SAUCE: You will need a pot of Grossy’s Marinara. It does not need to be warm for the layering process.
2. CHEESE: Mix 2 lb ricotta, 1 lb shredded mozzarella, 1 cup grated parmesan, 10 oz goat cheese, 1 cup chopped fresh mint, and salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.
3. MEAT: Remove sausage from its casings, break into pieces, and cook in a pan until crumbled and browned. It does not need to be fully cooked since we’ll be baking it further in the oven.
4. NOODLES: Boil your lasagna noodles in salty boiling water until al dente. Drain noodles and toss with olive oil so they don’t stick together. You can nerd out and separate them on a tray, because they WILL stick together, but you also you don’t have to!
I have also used the lasagna sheets that you do not need to boil before layering, and they’re great. They do not change this recipe at all, so you should totally use them if you like to make it easier on yourself. Just obviously don’t boil them before layering them into the lasagna!
5. LAYERING: In your deepest baking pan, execute as many layers in this order as possible:
1. Sauce
2. Noodles
3. Sauce
4. Cheese
5. Sausage
Repeat!
6. I try to do at least 2 full layers like this, but ideally you do very thin layers of everything and as many as you can. Don’t take your life over it, though!
The top layer should be noodles with sauce and grated parmesan on top.
7. Bake in a 350º preheated oven until it’s as brown on top as you want. I usually go about 30-45 minutes and keep an eye on her, but go as crispy as you like.
8. Let your girl sit for a minute before you eat. Stare at all of her crispy edges and marvel. Meanwhile, everything will settle nicely and you will avoid burning your tongue!
I like to have a little extra marinara sauce and grated parmesan on hand when serving so that you can really do the MOST.
Enjoy!
BONUS ROUND: Sometimes you have some extra sauce, cheese, noodles and even sausage that didn’t fit into your lasagna! Here’s what I like to do:
Option 1: If you have extra lasagna noodles, take a scoop of cheese and plop on to one end of a rolled out noodle. Now take the cheese and the noodle and roll it up. Smother in sauce and cheese and bake for a little treat! Make as many as your extras allow!
Option 2: No extra noodles? Boil some rigatoni (or another pasta but is there another pasta?) and mix it up with extra sauce, cheese mix, meat or EVEN fresh green veg (lacinato kale is great here cause its hearty). Place it all in a pan and bake until so so so crispy. It’s a gorgeous little baked pasta dish!
