My Best Friend’s Lasagna Recipe Has Been My Potluck Go-To for 20 Years

And I'll be making it for years to come.

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Published on August 152025

a close up view looking over the corner of a baking dish into a bubbly lasagna with a portion removed. — Credit: Allrecipes Magazine

I was youngnewly marriedand teaching myself to cook when a friend invited my husband and me over for dinner. Lasagna was on the menuand it was more delicious than any lasagna I’d eaten before—including in my own kitchen and at restaurants. This friendwho later became one of my best friendswas a young newlywedtooso I asked her where she learned to make such a flavorfuldecadent lasagna.

“It’s a mix of recipes I’ve perfected,” she explained passionately. “Sort of my mom’s old recipe and sort of from a lady who brought lasagna to a potluck I went to once. I can give you the recipebut it’s in my headnot written down.” We grabbed a bright pink index card and went to workscribbling down a version of Shelley’s Lasagnaa recipe that’s still my go-to lasagna recipe nearly 20 years later.

A handwritten recipe card titled Shelleys Lasagna with a list of ingredients and steps — Terri Peters

The Ultimate Cozy Comfort Meal

Like any good recipeShelley’s Lasagna has seen both me and its creator through good times and bad: the births of our childrencelebratory dinnersgrief and lossand eventually what I thought was the end of our friendship. I moved far awayShelley got divorcedand our kids kept our lives busybut I still made that lasagna. Shelley’s Lasagna remains my kids’ most-requested birthday or holiday meal. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemicI volunteered for Lasagna Lovea nonprofit organization that connects home cooks with families in need of a little extra supportcooking and delivering the recipe to countless families—many of whom reached out afterward to tell me how good it was and ask for the recipe.

It’s the meal I immediately sign up to take to new moms in my community who’ve just given birth. It’s my go-to casserole for potluck dinnersmy fail-safe meal for sick or injured palsand the dish I pull out of my arsenal for any large-group entertaining situation (it makes a lot of lasagna). During the time when “my best friend Shelley” and I weren’t even friendsI’d make it and think of hersaying little prayers for her as I stirred the simmering meat sauce and sending her good vibes as I layered cheesemeatand noodles into a pan.

Like this recipemy friendship with Shelley has stood the test of time. Not too long agoI received an email from my long-lost bestie wanting to reconnect. Time heals everythingit seemsand it wasn’t long before we were catching each other up on our lives over text. “I have to ask you,” I texted one day“do you still make your lasagna? Because I make it all the timefor everyone.” She still doesof coursebecause like picking up where you left off with an old friendit’s reallyreally good.

I asked Shelley to tell me more about her lasagna recipe. Turns outher mom had a lasagna recipe Shelley adoredbut over the years she felt it changed and “wasn’t as good” as it used to be. When she tried the aforementioned potluck lasagnait reminded her of the glory days of her mom’s recipeso she asked for the recipethen made some tweaks to it until it tasted just like the one she grew up eating. Latershe asked her mom what happened to her lasagna recipe and why it changed through the years. Turns outher mom was indeed making small tweaks here and there to try to make the lasagna healthier as she and her husband agedresulting in a departure from its original goodness.

A plated slice of spinach lasagnanext to the baking dish of spinach lasagna — Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

The Secret to Shelley's Lasagna

So what makes Shelley’s lasagna so delicious? I’m not sure. It could be the mixture of two types of ground meat—beef and Italian sausage—that gives it so much flavor. I’ve also considered that it’s the use of more tomato paste than sauceresulting in a thickerheartier red sauce that’s never watery. It could be the addition of sugar to the acidictomato-based saucewhich mellows it out and gives it just the right hint of sweetness. It could also have something to do with the three kinds of cheese thrown in: Parmesanmozzarellaand ricotta. Or maybeShelley’s lasagna is so good because it’s always been made with lots of love.

Whatever the reasonit’s a recipe I reach for time and time againboth to fill bellies and warm hearts. And I never gatekeep Shelley’s lasagna recipe. In factI’ve sent photos of my tatteredtomato-sauce-stained pink recipe card to more people than I can count—so many that I keep the image saved in my phone’s “favorites” album for quick distribution. My friendship with Shelley is one of my oldest adult relationshipsso it’s fitting that her lasagna recipe is one of the longest-runningmost-made recipes to come from my kitchen. There’s much I’m uncertain about in lifebut something I know for sure is that I have the best lasagna recipe to share with the people I loveand lots of memories of a life lived with my friend Shelley to conjure when I make it.

Shelley's Lasagna

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausagecasings removed
¾ cup chopped onions
1 garlic cloveminced
16 ounces canned tomato paste
15 ounces canned tomato sauce
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
2 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheesehalved
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pound lasagna noodles (such as "no-bake" lasagna sheets)

Directions

Combine ground beefItalian sausageonionsand garlic in a deep cooking pan or sauce potcook until meat is browned and onions are translucent.
Drain meat mixture; then add tomato pastetomato sauceparsley flakesbasil1 teaspoon saltand sugar to the pan. Stir until well-combinedthen let simmerfor at least one hour. (I like to simmer my sauce on the stove for several hours to allow the flavors to combine.)
When ready to assemble the lasagnaspray a lasagna pan (or 9 X 13 baking dish) with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a large mixing bowlcombine ricotta cheese½ cup Parmesan cheeseoreganoand remaining 1 ½ teaspoons of salt until thoroughly mixed.
Layer lasagna noodlesmeat sauce mixturericotta cheese mixtureand mozzarella cheese 2-3 times (depending on how much pasta you prefer in your lasagna)then top with remaining mozzarella cheese and ½ cup of the parmesan cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil (I spray the inside of the foil to prevent cheese from sticking to it) and bake at 350 degrees F until cheese is melted and sauce mixture is bubbling45 to 60 minutes.
If you prefer a crispy cheese toppingswitch the oven to broil and remove foil. Broil on high for 3 to 5 minutesuntil cheese is golden brown.