I Tested Barilla vs Martha Stewart’s Lasagna Recipes: Find Out Who Wins!

I reserve making traditional lasagna for special occasions, maybe once a year, even though it’s a family favorite. It’s just too cumbersome and messy a process. Instead, I usually opt for a simpler ravioli lasagna. But when the holidays roll around, I question whether to stick to a tried-and-true recipe or attempt a homemade ragu from scratch.

Rather than endlessly searching for the perfect recipe, I put a straightforward lasagna recipe from Barilla up against a more elaborate homemade version by Martha Stewart. Comparing these two dishes side by side taught me a lot about what constitutes a great lasagna recipe—and helped me discover a new family favorite.

Crafting Barilla’s Three Layer Lasagne with Marinara Sauce

Barilla’s Three Layer Lasagne recipe is appealing due to its simple list of ingredients, all ready to use: lasagne noodles, two jars of marinara sauce, ground beef or sausage, ricotta, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, and two eggs. It’s also extremely easy to assemble with the help of the jarred sauce.

After cooking the lasagna noodles as directed on the package, I drained them and set them aside. The recipe doesn’t specify how to cook the meat, but I browned it in a pot on the stove. Once the meat was cooked through, I added one and a half jars of marinara sauce to the meat. In a separate bowl, I mixed together the cheeses and eggs to create the ricotta layer.

To start building the lasagna, I spread the remaining sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, followed by three noodles, half the ricotta mix, and half the meat sauce. I repeated these layers once more and topped the final layer of noodles with the last of the sauce and all the mozzarella. It was then ready to bake.

Preparing Martha Stewart’s Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Martha Stewart labels this dish as her “ultimate lasagna,” despite its more complex 20-ingredient list. The recipe is somewhat confusing, as it mentions no-boil lasagna noodles in the notes but requires dried noodles in the instructions. I chose to use dried noodles, confident they would cook fully in the oven.

To make the meat sauce, I sautéed garlic, onion, celery, and carrot with ground beef and Italian sausage. After blending two large cans of whole tomatoes, I added the puree to the meat and let it simmer. While the sauce cooked, I prepared the ricotta mixture and grated additional cheese. Despite the many components, assembly was straightforward since the noodles were added dry.

Martha’s recipe calls for baking the lasagna on a baking sheet, covered with parchment and foil to catch any spills during the initial 45 minutes of baking. After a total of 70 minutes in the oven and a 20-minute rest period, it’s ready to serve.

And the Winner Is: Martha Stewart’s Lasagna With Meat Sauce

While Barilla’s recipe promises an easy, one-hour lasagna with only seven ingredients, the actual prep and cooking time exceeds those claims. The directions are somewhat unclear, particularly regarding the meat preparation.

Even with the convenience of pre-made sauce, it takes about 35 minutes to cook the meat and assemble the dish, followed by another hour in the oven. Enhancements like adding herbs or using a richer sauce could improve it. Personally, I’d rather spend less time making a truly simplified dish using ravioli instead of traditional lasagna layers.

If I’m investing nearly two hours in the kitchen, I want the results to be rich in flavor and provide enough leftovers for several days. Martha’s lasagna achieves just that. Her approach, which uses a very moist sauce and a lengthy baking time, also spares me the hassle of boiling and separating noodles.

It’s worth noting that Martha’s recipe also yields extra meat sauce, which I can freeze and use for another meal, effectively multiplying the value of the recipe. Plus, the lasagna is delicious—with a robust garlic flavor and just enough spice to be intriguing for adults but still suitable for kids.

Now, I have a go-to recipe that my family adores, one that I’ll gladly return to time and again.