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Cooking for Two
Recipe
1 hr 20 min

Classic Lasagna for Two

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145 Comments
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Classic Lasagna for Two

It's a perfect dish for a crowd but too much work for feeding just two. We'd have to find a way to cut back the labor, not just the proportions.

Time

1 hr 20 min

Yield

Serves 2

Why This Recipe Works

Sheet pans of lasagna are known to feed a crowd, but surely there’s a way to scale down this classic to serve just two. The first piece of the puzzle was as close at hand as our baking shelves—a loaf pan. The tidy loaf yielded two generous squares and neatly fit the test kitchen’s favorite no-boil lasagna noodles.

Ingredients

Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces meatloaf mix
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained with ¼ cup juice reserved
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Filling, Noodles, and Cheese

4 ounces whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), plus 2 tablespoons
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
4 no-boil lasagna noodles
4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Equipment

Chef's knife

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. For the sauce: Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
    Recipe Tip
    If your store doesn't carry meatloaf mix, substitute equal parts 85 percent lean ground beef and ground pork.
  3. Stir in tomatoes, reserved juice, and tomato sauce and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes (sauce should measure about 3 cups). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. For the filling, noodles, and cheese: Combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in bowl. Cover bottom of 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with 1/2 cup sauce. Top with 1 noodle and spread one-third of ricotta mixture evenly over noodle. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella and cover with 1/2 cup sauce. Repeat twice, beginning with noodle and ending with sauce. Top with remaining 1 noodle, remaining 1 cup sauce, remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella, and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
  5. Cover pan tightly with foil sprayed with vegetable oil spray and bake until bubbling around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Discard foil and continue to bake until browned, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Serve.
    Recipe Tip
    You'll need vegetable oil spray to grease the inside of the foil.

My Rating

145 Comments

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Classic Lasagna for Two

Recipe By

Published on August 27, 2026

Time

1 hr 20 min

Yield

Serves 2

Classic Lasagna for Two

Ingredients

Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil1 small onion, chopped fineSalt and pepper2 garlic cloves, minced8 ounces meatloaf mix2 tablespoons heavy cream1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained with ¼ cup juice reserved1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Filling, Noodles, and Cheese

4 ounces whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), plus 2 tablespoons3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil1 large egg, lightly beaten⅛ teaspoon salt⅛ teaspoon pepper4 no-boil lasagna noodles4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. For the sauce: Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
    Recipe Tip
    If your store doesn't carry meatloaf mix, substitute equal parts 85 percent lean ground beef and ground pork.
  3. Stir in tomatoes, reserved juice, and tomato sauce and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes (sauce should measure about 3 cups). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. For the filling, noodles, and cheese: Combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in bowl. Cover bottom of 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with 1/2 cup sauce. Top with 1 noodle and spread one-third of ricotta mixture evenly over noodle. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella and cover with 1/2 cup sauce. Repeat twice, beginning with noodle and ending with sauce. Top with remaining 1 noodle, remaining 1 cup sauce, remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella, and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
  5. Cover pan tightly with foil sprayed with vegetable oil spray and bake until bubbling around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Discard foil and continue to bake until browned, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Serve.
    Recipe Tip
    You'll need vegetable oil spray to grease the inside of the foil.
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