Sausage Lasagna (with Cream Cheese)
Our Best Sausage Lasagna Recipe: You just can’t beat homemade lasagna layered with piles of noodles, Italian sausage, and cheese. This rich and spicy lasagna is a family tradition with a surprise ingredient no one can resist!
Sausage Lasagna – A Cozy Family Favorite
Ahhhh, lasagna.
Lasagna, lasagna, lasagana.
I love the way that word rolls off the tongue. Nothing but warm fuzzy feelings could possibly fill your heart, upon hearing there’s going to be our best lasagna for dinner.
Homemade lasagna has been a family favorite on both sides of our family for years. But I’ll never forget the first time I made it with a life-altering ingredient.
Lasagna with Cream Cheese
Right after Lt. Dan and I got married, we went to Indiana to visit his family.
To make myself useful (and endearing) to my new mother-in-law, I offered to help prepare dinner every chance I got. Dan’s mom Sue, is an exceptional cook and I only hoped I wouldn’t do something silly and embarrass myself.
One evening, homemade lasagna was on the menu.
We prepared a thick hearty meat sauce and let it gently simmer on the stovetop. We boiled the noodles and laid them on clean tea towels. Then when it was time to assemble the lasagna, I looked in the fridge for the necessary cheeses but could not find ricotta.
Sue informed me that their family didn’t use ricotta cheese in homemade lasagna.
“Colliers use Cream Cheese.”
Cream cheese in sausage lasagna? I couldn’t imagine lasagna without ricotta. That is until I tasted it. Fireworks. Clashing Cymbals. A Flavor Tidal Wave of Epic Proportion.
All I could think was, “Thank God, I’m now a Collier.”
Ricotta vs. Cream Cheese Lasagna
Once you’ve added cream cheese to our best lasagna, there is no turning back to ricotta.
This homemade sausage lasagna recipe is essentially my mother-in-law’s recipe with three heaping layers of noodles, thick sausage-based meat sauce, and a 3 cheese blend. Sue taught me to mix mozzarella, parmesan, and silky cream cheese to create the perfect combination of salty goodness and creamy texture.
This is a magnificent Italian sausage lasagna.
Not to sound smug, but after tasting, you’ll be just as thankful as I am to have it. You may even want to change your last name to Collier. *wink*
Ingredients You Need
- Box of Lasagna Noodles
- Homemade Marinara or Store-Bought Tomato Sauce
- Italian Sausage – ground, mild or spicy sausage
- Softened Cream Cheese
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Italian Seasoning
How To Make Sausage Lasagna
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large saucepan, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once the meat is fully cooked, add the marinara, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Boil the noodles in a large pot of salty water, according to package instructions. Drain and remove the noodles and lay them out on a clean dish towel.
Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Smear 9-12 noodles with an equal portion of cream cheese. (The number of noodles used depends on the width of the pan.)
Start Assembling the Sausage Lasagna: One large scoop of meat sauce on the bottom, 3-4 noodles across (cream cheese side up), 1/3 of the mozzarella, and parmesan. Repeat. After the third layer of noodles with cream cheese, pour the rest of the sauce over the noodles before adding the last layer of the mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle the top with Italian Seasoning.
Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes—until the cheese is toasty and the sides are bubbling. Wait at least 10 minutes before cutting. Lasagna (as well as many other favorite pasta dishes) is considered better on the second day. If making this ahead, Cover well, refrigerate, and bake for 40-50 minutes to heat through!
Get The Full (Printable) Sausage Lasagna Recipe with Cream Cheese Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, wrap it well with plastic wrap/aluminum foil and store it in your fridge. The following day, bake at 375 for 40 to 50 minutes. Only covered if you feel the cheese is starting to get too crisp.
Sure! I have a paleo lasagna where we do this. To use it as a reference, click this link. You can also swap the pasta for gluten-free lasagna noodles.
Swap away! Of course, it will lose a bit of flavor because spicy Italian sausage is loaded with herbs and spices, but it will still taste wonderful.
A 12-ounce box will work, but if you buy a 16-ounce box, go ahead and boil all the noodles and pick out the best pieces. Some may break as they boil.
Yes, you can. I do prefer the texture of traditional lasagna noodles, but if you are in a hurry, layer no-boil noodles in this dish and add 1/3 cup water to the sauce, so there is plenty of moisture for the noodles to absorb.
If you use the herb blend “Italian Seasoning” found at most grocery stores, it usually has all the herbs you need. It’s a mix of oregano, basil, rosemary, and marjoram. Or make your own Italian Seasoning from your spice rack!
You could use a simple canned tomato sauce, but then the flavor of this dish would diminish greatly. Instead use homemade marinara, or a good brand of jarred marinara or chunky Italian tomato sauce.
Our homemade marinara recipe includes many ingredients like tomato sauce, garlic cloves, onion, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper to increase the flavor.
More Comforting Pasta Dishes:
- Easy Lasagna Soup
- Crockpot Ravioli Lasagna Casserole
- Greek Lasagna (Pastitsio)
- Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Sausage (No Boil Noodles)
- Hearts of Palm with Spinach Cream Sauce
- Baked Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
- Malfatti (Gnudi) Ricotta Dumplings
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Baked Rigatoni Bolognese
- 8-Minute Japeguri (Easy Ram Don Korean Noodles)
- Green Risotto with Fresh Parsley
- Homemade Egg Noodles – Dine & Dish
- Pistachio Pasta ~ Kiran Tarun
- Squash and Spinach Stuffed Shells ~ Mommie Cooks
Sausage Lasagna with Cream Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 2 quarts homemade marinara or store-bought
- 2 pounds Italian sausage
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large sauce pan, brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once the meat is fully cooked, add the marinara and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Boil the noodles in a large pot of salty water, according to package instructions. Remove the noodles and lay them out on a clean dish towel.
- Spray an 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Smear 9-12 noodles with an equal portion of cream cheese. (The number of noodles used depends on the width of the pan.)
- Start assembling the lasagna: One large scoop of meat sauce on the bottom, 3-4 noodles across (cream cheese side up), 1/3 of the mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat. After the third layer of noodles with cream cheese, pour the rest of the sauce over the noodles before adding the last layer of the mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle the top with Italian Seasoning.
- Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes—until the cheese is toasty and the sides are bubbling. Wait at least 10 minutes before cutting. Lasagna (as well as many other favorite pasta dishes) is considered better the second day. If making this ahead, Cover well, refrigerate, and bake for 40-50 minutes to heat through!
Made this tonight and it was incredibly easy and delicious! Thank you Lauren for sharing!
I made this last night. Added chopped mushrooms, spinach and power greens. Used no boil noodles. Delicious! Never thought of cream cheese in lasagna before. Mahalo!
This was delicious! Thank you for the recipe. At what temp and for how long for reheating? I ended up following the recipe but making two lasagnas in smaller pans. I’m wondering the best way to reheat after it’s been made and in the fridge. TIA :)
I can never make a lasagna again without using cream cheese…MIND BLOWING! This is the only lasagna recipe I use.
I am a father of 3 and Step Dad of 3 ages 9 to 19, all of which are athletes. We have to double most recipes to make enough food for 8. This is a tricky task because if the kids don’t like it my wife and I have leftovers for days and days. I made this lasagna yesterday and let it sit on for a few hours before baking. We had 2 boys at baseball, 2 girls at volleyball, 1 girl coaching volleyball, Mom watching volleyball and I took the 9 year old to shoot hoops after the lasagna was done being prepped. I served the dish with my secret homemade garlic cheese bread and guess what? The lasagna got crushed! It was plenty of food and 4 of the kids had seconds. The 19 year old picked out the cream cheese difference right away. The only thing I changed was using 1 lb mild and 1 lb hot Italian sausage to give it a touch more complexity. This will be the go to lasagna recipe from now on. What a great idea your MIL had! From the real life Brady Bunch.
Hi Scott,
YAY! I’m so glad everyone liked it! :)
Wow this actually looks to die for. Thanks so much for this recipe. Will be making this on the weekend..
Simon