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Three cheese lasagna in a ceramic baking dish topped with grated parmesan cheese and basil leaves.
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Three Cheese Lasagna (BEST Meatless Lasagna Recipe)

This Three Cheese Lasagna uses ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese for the best meatless lasagna! Unlike other recipes, this one is super easy to make using a few shortcuts. Ready in just 1 hour!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian, vegetarian
Keyword cheese filling, italian food, lasagna, parmesan, ricotta cheese filling
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6
Calories 540kcal

Ingredients

For the ricotta filling

  • 16 oz ricotta cheese (whole milk)
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (part-skim or whole milk)
  • ¼ cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, loosely packed (finely chopped; measure before chopping)
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Fine sea salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the lasagna

  • 9 oz dry lasagna sheets
  • 35 oz marinara sauce
  • 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, or more if desired
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Prepare a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
  • First, make the ricotta filling. To a bowl, add ricotta cheese, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, an egg, parsley, and spices. Using a spatula, mix until creamy and smooth and the egg is fully incorporated.
  • To layer the lasagna, add a generous amount of marinara sauce at the bottom to cover it well (~½ cup). Then, add your lasagna sheets (if your baking dish is too small, you may have to break some pieces to cover the bottom of the dish fully).
  • Then, add ⅓ of the ricotta mixture and spread it evenly. Add a few tablespoons of mozzarella cheese all over. Continue layering the lasagna in this order- adding tomato sauce, then noodles, then spreading the ricotta mixture and topping it with shredded mozzarella, until you've used all of the ricotta mixture. In the end, you should have 3 layers in total.
  • After the last layer, top the lasagna with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese (optional) and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked through and the top is golden brown.
  • Cover with foil halfway through if needed, to prevent burning. To check for doneness, insert a sharp knife in the middle of the lasagna. If the knife slides right through with no resistance, this means the noodles are cooked through. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Notes

Storage
Let it cool completely and come to room temperature, then cut the lasagna into different portions and transfer the pieces into an airtight container. Cover with a lid and store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free oven-ready lasagna sheets such as Barilla or Explore lentil sheets. Refer to the instructions on the package as you may need to adjust the time and temperature for the gluten-free sheets.
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. Accuracy is not guaranteed. The information displayed should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. Calculation was made using full-fat cheese.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Fiber: 4g