Easy Three-Cheese Lasagna ~ Gluten & Dairy-Free options

Easy three-cheese lasagna is as delicious as it looks. The flavors blend perfectly together and kids love it too. We have even been guilty of eating the leftovers for breakfast the next day because it was to just too hard to wait for lunch and this lasagna is like pizza, it’s good cold too.

What kinds of options do I have?
1. If you need a gluten-free version, just substitute the lasagna noodles for gluten-free.
2. Vegetarians can leave the meat out or use a meat substitute and still enjoy this recipe. When my children were younger this is how they liked their lasagna, in fact, we all enjoyed it this way as well.
3. For a vegan and dairy-free option substitute the meat with a meat substitute and the cheese with a dairy-free substitute. I prefer and have used, Follow Your Heart products with fantastic results.
4. Corn-free diets use caution with cheese. Corn fed cows and packaging of cheese can result in reactions for some folks. Often European cheeses and cheese from grass-fed cows are the safest options.

A word about the noodles:
Be sure to use the lasagna noodles that have to be cooked first. I accidentally bought some that said you could use them right from the box…won’t work. That type of noodle has to be covered in a sauce and baked for 1 hour. I have used them in other recipes and they are wonderful, but not in this one.

When putting the lasagna together you will layer all the ingredients two to three times. This is how all those flavors mesh together with the cheese and is the magic to this recipe.

You may find the noodles are longer than the pan. No problem cut the ends off and use the cut pieces in the next row.

The last layer is cheddar and Parmesan cheese which bakes into a firm crust over the top. You are going to want to pull off that top layer and eat it first…but try to resist because it needs to stay on top of the lasagna!!

What you will need for layers of lasagna:
lean ground beef ~ or meat-free substitute
small onion
small springs of parsley (1 Tbsp. dried)
garlic powder
oregano
salt
canned tomatoes
tomato sauce
lasagna noodles (gluten-free lasagna noodles work great too)
part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated ~ optional dairy or corn-free substitute
cheddar cheese grated ~ optional dairy or corn-free substitute
Parmesan cheese grated ~ optional dairy or corn-free substitute
optional ~ garlic & herb seasoning, I use Spice Islands

Option:  This recipe is also delicious with 1/2 lb ground lean turkey and 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage instead of ground beef.

You will be making several layers of noodles, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. It usually ends up being about 3 layers. Then on top of all those layers, the grand finale is a layer of cheddar cheese topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

**Special Note: All of Follow Your Heart cheeses are peanut and tree nut-free as well as vegan and gluten and soy-free.

Serve with Leos’ super easy no-rise Italian Flavored Rolls.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Easy Three-Cheese Lasagna    

Delicious three-cheese lasagna with an Italian meat sauce layered between pasta and cheese.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time2 hrs

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: casserole, cheese, dinner, easy three-cheese lasagna, gluten-free, homemade meat sauce, lasagna, nut-free, soy-free

Servings: 12 Servings

Calories: 308kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 small onion chopped finely
• 3 small springs parsley 1 Tbsp. dried
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 16 oz canned tomatoes pureed
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 3/4 lb lasagna noodles gluten-free lasagna noodles work great too
• 3/4 lb part-skim mozzarella cheese grated
• 4 oz cheddar cheese grated
• 4 oz Parmesan cheese grated
• 1 tsp Garlic & Herb Seasoning optional

Instructions

• Brown meat in a large skillet. Drain any grease from meat. Return meat to skillet and add chopped onions. Cook for about 3 minutes.  
• Add all ingredients except noodles and cheeses.
• Let simmer 1 hour, covered.
• Cook noodles according to package (7-10) minutes. Drain.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a 9"x13" pan, cover bottom with some sauce.
• Then make a layer of noodles.
• Then a layer of 1/2 the mozzarella cheese.
• Add spoonfuls of sauce over the mozzarella cheese.
• Then another layer of noodles and some more mozzarella cheese.
• Continue these layers until you are out of sauce, noodles and mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with grated cheddar cheese.
• Lastly, add a layer of grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Option:  This recipe is also delicious with 1/2 lb ground lean turkey and 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage instead of ground beef.

Follow Your Heart cheeses are excellent substitutes for dairy-free and vegan options.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 249mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 312IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 419mg | Iron: 2mg