San Giorgio Lasagna Recipe

Good lasagna needs good noodles. I have been using San Gorgio Lasagna for years. This is oven-friendly and saves time. However, this pasta box has its own recipe. But things get boring when you’re trying the same recipe over and over. 

After many tries with the same packet recipe, I made minor tweaks. Now, my San Giorgio lasagna recipe is much more flavourful than the regular one.  

Today, I’ll be pleased to share this simple recipe with you. Let’s get started. 

Why San Giorgio Lasagna?

First of all, San Giorgio lasagna is oven-ready noodles in the box. You don’t boil them first. Just lay them out to dry, and they cook while the lasagna bakes. 

This box of lasagna has thinner-than-regular noodles, which are designed to absorb liquid as it bakes. The moisture from the sauce cooks them. 

Takes about fifteen minutes off your prep time. More importantly, it’s way less annoying.

How to Make San Giorgio Lasagna with Tweaks?

This is the recipe printed on most San Giorgio lasagna boxes. I’m writing it out here, but check your box – sometimes they tweak it slightly.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the meat sauce:

• 1.5 lbs ground beef (or use half Italian sausage)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce (Prego works great)
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 3/4 cup water or beef broth
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

For the cheese filling:

• 1 container (15 oz) whole milk ricotta
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 2.5 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or 1 Tbsp dried)
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

The noodles:

• 1 box (9 oz) San Giorgio oven-ready lasagna noodles

Make It With Simple Steps

Step 1: Make The Sauce

Brown the ground beef in a big skillet over medium-high heat. Break it up as it cooks. Takes about 8 minutes. Drain the fat. Mix in your pasta sauce, tomato paste, and water. Turn the heat down and let it simmer while you handle the cheese.

Stir in marinara, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and seasonings. Simmer in low heat for 15 minutes.

Step 2: Fix the cheese

Mix ricotta, cream cheese, eggs, 1.5 mozzarella, parmesan, herbs, and garlic powder until smooth. 

Step 3: Assemble

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Spread 1.5 cups of sauce in a 9×13 pan: layer noodles, half of the cheese mixture, then sauce. 

Repeat with noodles, remaining cheese, and sauce. Top with the final noodles layer, remaining sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella.

Step 4: Bake

Cover with foil. Bake 50 minutes. After that, take off the foil, then bake another 15 minutes till the cheese bubbles and browns a bit. Let it sit 10-15 minutes before cutting. 

What to Serve With Box Lasagna?

• Garlic bread:
  Classic pairing. Buy the frozen kind from the store, or make your own with a baguette, butter, and garlic powder. Nobody’s judging. Frozen garlic bread is fine.
• Simple salad:
  Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and Italian dressing. Keeps it light. The salad’s just there to make you feel less guilty about eating three pieces of lasagna.
• Roasted vegetables:
  Zucchini, bell peppers, whatever’s in season. Roast with olive oil and salt. Adds color to the plate and vegetables to the meal.
• Nothing:
  Sometimes I just eat lasagna by itself. It’s got meat, cheese, tomatoes, and noodles. That’s basically a complete meal. Throw some red pepper flakes on top if you want vegetables (kidding).

Additional Tips

1. Use a metal 9×13 pan. Glass takes longer to heat up and cool down. Metal’s more predictable.
2. If the sauce is too thick, add more water. Too thin, it’s fine – the noodles will absorb it.
3. Fresh parsley tastes better than dried, but dried works fine. Don’t skip it entirely – it adds something.
4. Shred your own mozzarella from a block. Tastes better and melts better than pre-shredded. Pre-shredded has a coating to prevent clumping, and it affects how it melts.
5. Get full-fat everything. Part-skim ricotta, low-fat mozzarella – they make watery lasagna. Full-fat tastes better and has better texture.

Final Slice

San Giorgio lasagna recipe is not complicated. You just need to pay attention to the details. More garlic, creamier cheese, and proper layering make this lasagna way better. 

The box recipe gets you functional lasagna. This gets you the lasagna people ask for the recipe for. Same oven-ready noodles, same basic method, better results.

FAQS

How Long Do You Cook San Giorgio Lasagna?

It takes almost 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete the whole cooking process. At the same time, only baking takes 45 minutes. 

How Long Should I Bake My Lasagna?

30 to 45 minutes, if you bake it in the preheated oven. And for the cheese bubbles and browns a bit, you need to bake it for another 15 minutes.