Sheet Pan Lasagna with Italian Sausage
This sheet pan lasagna skips the layering and boiling mess of a classic dish. Italian sausage, three cheeses, and crispy edges make it worth the switch.
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Lasagna night usually means boiling noodles, browning meat in one pan, building sauce in another, and layering it all into a deep dish before anything even goes in the oven.
This is the version I make when I still want the sausage, the three cheeses, and the noodles doing their thing, just without all the layering.
The noodles and sauce still come together in a skillet, but everything spreads out onto one sheet pan for the actual bake. That’s where the crispy edges come from, the ones a deep dish never gets.
It’s dinner in under an hour. You’ll still wash a pot and a skillet along with the sheet pan, but that’s nothing close to a full lasagna spread.
What Makes This Recipe Work
- Breaking the noodles into thirds before cooking means they toss into the sauce easily and spread out evenly across the sheet pan, no individual layering required.
- Tossing the noodles straight into the sauce means every piece gets coated, not just the ones in the middle layers.
- Baking on a sheet pan means way more surface area touches direct heat. That’s where the crispy edges come from, the ones a deep dish never gets.
- Adding the ricotta in dollops instead of spreading it into an even layer gives you pockets of melted cheese instead of one solid layer.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- ½ onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 (24 oz) jar pasta sauce, plus 1 cup, divided
- 16 oz lasagna noodles
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
How to Make It
Brown the sausage
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brown the Italian sausage in a large skillet with the diced onion and minced garlic, breaking the sausage up as it cooks. I let it get a little more color than it probably needs. That’s where a lot of the flavor comes from. Drain the grease once everything’s browned through.
Build the sauce
Add the 24-ounce jar of pasta sauce to the skillet and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. This is the shortcut that makes the whole dish taste like it simmered a lot longer than it did. Don’t skip it, even if you’re in a hurry.
Cook the noodles
While the sauce simmers, break the lasagna noodles into thirds and cook them according to the package directions until al dente. I break them up right in the box. It’s faster than doing it over the pot.
Toss it all together
Add the cooked noodles to the skillet with the sauce, along with 1 ½ cups of the mozzarella and all of the parmesan. Toss until every noodle is coated. This step does the work of layering, without the layering.
Assemble on the sheet pan
Spread the noodle mixture onto a greased sheet pan in an even layer, right to the edges. That’s what gives you crispy edges all the way around, not just in the corners. Pour the remaining cup of pasta sauce over the top, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of mozzarella, and add the ricotta in dollops across the pan.
Bake it
Bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the noodles are starting to crisp at the edges. Somewhere around the 20-minute mark, it starts smelling like lasagna night. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Make It Your Way
- Swap the Italian sausage for ground beef or ground turkey, whatever you have on hand.
- Stir in a handful of chopped spinach or diced zucchini with the noodles for extra vegetables.
- Use hot Italian sausage or a pinch of red pepper flakes if you want more heat.
- Gluten-free lasagna noodles work here too. Just watch the boil time since they can go from al dente to mushy fast.
What to Serve With It
- The Mediterranean mini bell pepper salad is bright and herby, and a good contrast to all the cheese in this dish.
- If you want something even lighter, this citrus berry salad brings some freshness to the table.
- Easy cheesy garlic bread is the classic pick for scooping up extra sauce.
Simple Tips
- Let the pan rest for about 5 minutes before serving. That’s what keeps the cheese set enough to slice cleanly.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for about 4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat in the oven or air fryer if you want the edges to crisp back up. The microwave works too; it just won’t crisp.
- This freezes well either before or after baking; just wrap it tightly.
Final Thoughts
This is the lasagna I make when I want the real thing without the whole production. It holds up for leftovers all week, and skipping the layering step alone makes cleanup easier than a stacked dish of lasagna.
More Sheet Pan Dinners to Try
- If you like the sheet pan format, sheet pan steak fajitas with chuck roast are just as easy and come together in under 30 minutes.
- Cheesy chicken bacon ranch sheet pan dinner is another one-pan meal the whole table goes for.
- For something lighter, sheet pan salmon and vegetables with pesto is ready in about 25 minutes.
Sheet Pan Lasagna with Italian Sausage
A one-pan take on lasagna with
Italian sausage, three cheeses, and crispy edges.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- ½ onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 (24 oz) jar pasta sauce, plus 1 cup, divided
- 16 oz lasagna noodles
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown the Italian sausage with the diced onion and minced
garlic in a large skillet. Drain the grease. - Add the 24 ounce jar of pasta sauce and simmer for 5
minutes. - Break the lasagna noodles into thirds and cook according to
package directions until al dente. - Toss the cooked noodles into the sauce with 1 ½ cups of
mozzarella and all of the parmesan. - Spread the mixture onto a greased sheet pan.
- Pour the remaining 1 cup of pasta sauce over the top, then
sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of mozzarella. - Top with dollops of ricotta.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the
noodles are starting to crisp at the edges. - Sprinkle with fresh parsley to serve.
