Christmas Lasagna
Christmas Lasagna is make-ahead comfort food with a festive red and green flair for the holidays! This home-cooked meal is a Christmas Eve tradition with its layers of noodles, pasta sauce, sausage and cheese.
This hearty holiday lasagna is the perfect Christmas Eve dinner. It feeds a crowd and has all the colors of Christmas! If you want to skip the Christmas Ham, you can serve this recipe for Christmas dinner instead. Who knows? It may become a new family tradition!
It’s great because you can make it ahead of time and pop it in the oven when you are ready to serve. Enjoy it year round or save for a special occasion like Christmas.
I like that it’s made with four kinds of cheese to make it extra cheesy and meaty. You’ll definitely feel full after enjoying a helping!
Why You’ll Love Christmas Eve Lasagna
- One of our favorite Christmas traditions to serve on Christmas Eve
- Serves a crowd and is perfect for a Christmas gatheringCan be made ahead
- Loaded with noodles, veggies, cheese and meat
- Hearty and filling
- Leftovers taste delicious
Ingredients
- Italian sausage
- Spaghetti sauce
- Water
- Ricotta cheese
- Eggs
- Parmesan cheese
- Lasagna noodles
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
- Green pepper
- Red pepper
- Parsley
How to Make Christmas Lasagna
- Step One: In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat. Drain the grease.
- Step Two: Add pasta sauce to the skillet.
- Step Three: Pour the ½ cup water in the pasta sauce jar and shake it out to get extra sauce. Pour into the skillet and stir to combine.
- Step Four: In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese with the eggs.
- Step Five: Spoon a little of the sauce in the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish. You want to use just enough to thinly cover the bottom of the pan.
- Step Six: Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles in the pan.
- Step Seven: Spoon half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles making sure each noodle is covered.
- Step Eight: Sprinkle on half of the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Step Nine: Spoon over half the sauce and spread over the cheese layer.
- Step Ten: Add another layer of noodles on top.
- Step Eleven: Add the other half of the ricotta cheese.
- Step Twelve: Add the rest of the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
- Step Thirteen: Add another layer of noodles.
- Step Fourteen: Spread on the rest of the sauce.
- Step Fifteen: Top with the fresh mozzarella.
- Step Sixteen: Add green pepper slices and chopped red pepper on top.
- Step Seventeen: Cover the pan with a lightly greased piece of aluminum foil.
- Step Eighteen: Refrigerate the lasagna for 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Step Nineteen: When ready to bake, place the pan, covered, in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
- Step Twenty: After the 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Step Twenty-One: Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Equipment Needed
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What to Serve with Holiday Lasagna
- Garlic bread
- Christmas salad
- Caesar salad
- Oven roasted broccoli
- Snickerdoodle Cake
Variations and Substitutions
- Substitute ground beef for the Italian sausage. You can also try hot Italian sausage or even breakfast sausage instead.
- Add a pinch of sugar to your pasta sauce to help even out the acidity. Check your label though because some pasta sauces already have added sugar.
- Use sundried tomatoes instead of red pepper.
- Try spinach in place of the green pepper.
- Use cottage cheese instead of the ricotta cheese.
- If you can’t find fresh mozzarella cheese, use shredded mozzarella instead.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover lasagna, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Can I Freeze?
Yes! For best results, freeze after the lasagna has been assembled, but before it has been baked. You can also freeze the leftovers after baking as well. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You don’t need to thaw it out first before you bake it. Bake from frozen as directed. However, you will need to increase the baking time by about 20 to 30 minutes.
Recipes Tips
- Use regular lasagna noodles (NOT the no boil noodles). The noodles are uncooked, but will cook in the oven with the lasagna.
- Let the lasagna sit for at least 3 hours in the fridge after assembling it. This will allow the flavors to come together even more and taste so good.
Lasagna Recipes
You’ll also like this Tater Tot Casserole.
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Christmas Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 jar pasta sauce 24oz jar
- ½ cup water
- 32 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 16 oz box lasagna noodles uncooked
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 16 oz block fresh mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 small green pepper sliced
- 1 small red pepper chopped
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat. Drain the grease.
- Add pasta sauce to the skillet.
- Pour the ½ cup water in the pasta sauce jar and shake it out to get extra sauce. Pour into the skillet and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese with the eggs.
- Spoon a little of the sauce in the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish. You want to use just enough to thinly cover the bottom of the pan.
- Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles in the pan.
- Spoon half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles making sure each noodle is covered.
- Sprinkle on half of the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Spoon over half the sauce and spread over the cheese layer.
- Add another layer of noodles on top.
- Add the other half of the ricotta cheese.
- Add the rest of the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
- Add another layer of noodles.
- Spread on the rest of the sauce.
- Top with the fresh mozzarella.
- Add green pepper slices and chopped red pepper on top.
- Cover the pan with a lightly greased piece of aluminum foil.
- Refrigerate the lasagna for 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
- When ready to bake, place the pan, covered, in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces.
- Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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