The Best Homemade Bison Lasagna Recipe
This is the Best Homemade Bison Lasagna recipe. It’s made with homemade lasagna noodles, a flavorful ground bison meat sauce, layered with ricotta, shredded cheese, and pickled jalapeños, topped with a mix of white cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. It’s flavorful, so cheesy, and simply a recipe that you will want to make over and over again, served with Strawberry Green Tea Lemonade.
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Why This Recipe is So Good
This bison lasagna recipe is made by layering a flavorful ground bison meat sauce with ricotta cheese, 2 kinds of shredded cheese, tender lasagna noodles, and pickled jalapeños. Finished off with extra cheese, this is the best homemade lasagna recipe.
Ground bison is used for this lasagna recipe because it’s a delicious, lean ground meat that still gives this dish a hearty, meaty flavor. I find that bison tastes very similar to ground beef, just leaner. You can swap it out for ground beef if you prefer. Use lean ground beef, like 85/15 or 90/10, for a similar fat content to bison.
Everyone loves it and there are rarely any leftovers. It is the ultimate comfort dinner. This recipe makes 8 – 12 servings, but everyone always gets a second serving! Serve alongside a salad using this homemade Caesar salad recipe without anchovies.
Homemade Bison Lasagna Ingredients
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Meat sauce. This lasagna recipe starts by making the perfect meat sauce, which includes: Ground beef or bison (they taste pretty much the same, but I prefer ground bison), cooked in rich and flavorful tomato sauce filled with chopped green bell peppers, and lots of herbs and spices
- Three cheeses. You will need three kinds of cheese for maximum deliciousness: Ricotta cheese, White cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese. The mix of the white cheddar and pepper jack cheeses throughout the lasagna, adds flavor and a hint of spice.
- Chopped jalapeños. Chopped pickled jalapeños are included in between the layers of the lasagna. They are not very spicy at all. They help to add a slight spice and tangy flavor to the lasagna.
- Homemade Lasagna Noodles. I used a homemade lasagna noodles recipe included in the recipe card. You can use either a pasta roller(quicker and easier option) or a rolling pin(yields slightly thicker noodles). Feel free to use store-bought lasagna noodles instead.
How To Make Homemade Ground Bison Lasagna
Boil lasagna noodles
Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Rub each sheet of pasta with olive oil so keep them from sticking to each other then cover with plastic wrap so the pasta doesn’t dry out.
If you are making the pasta from scratch, the recipe is located in the recipe card notes below.
Make the meat sauce
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions and bell pepper for 3 – 5 minutes, or until they just start to brown. Add the ground bison and spices, stirring until combined, then allow the meat to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add in tomato paste, allow to cook for 1 minute to get rid of the bitter canned tomato flavor, then stir in the tomato sauce and bay leaves. Allow the sauce to simmer on medium-low heat for another 15 – 20 minutes to allow all the flavors to meld together.
Layer lasagna
To the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish add 3/4 cup of the meat sauce, spreading it out evenly. Layer a sheet of lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, shredded cheese, another layer of noodles, meat sauce, and pickled jalapeños. Repeat until you have used up all the ingredients. Top the lasagna with the rest of the shredded cheese.
Bake and serve lasagna
Bake uncovered until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Allow your bison lasagna to cool for 10 minutes, then serve garnished with fresh parsley or fresh basil.
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The Best Homemade Lasagna Recipe
Equipment
- Large skillet
- 9×13 baking dish
- Rolling Pin if making homemade lasagna noodles
- Pasta machine
Ingredients
Lasagna noodles
- 1 lb store-bought lasagna noodles or 10 sheets of homemade lasagna noodles homemade pasta recipe is in the recipe notes below
Meat sauce
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
- 1 ½ lb ground bison or ground beef
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon red crushed pepper flakes
- 1 ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- 1(6) ounce can of tomato paste
- 2(15) ounce cans of tomato sauce
- 3 bay leaves
Cheeses
- 1(15) ounce container of ricotta cheese
- 16 ounces shredded cheese pepper jack cheese and white cheddar cheese, 5 cups
Optional
- 4 ounces pickled jalapeños roughly chopped, optional
- Fresh parsley or basil for garnish
- Side salad
Instructions
Boil lasagna noodles
- Start by boiling lasagna noodles according to the package instructions. After boiling, rub each piece with olive oil to prevent sticking, then cover to keep it from drying out.If you are making lasagna noodles from scratch, the homemade recipe is in the recipe card notes below.1 lb store-bought lasagna noodles or 10 sheets of homemade lasagna noodles
Making the meat sauce
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions and bell pepper for 3 – 5 minutes, or until they just start to brown. Add the ground bison and spices, stirring until combined, then allow the meat to brown, about 10 minutes.4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small yellow onion, 1 medium green bell pepper, 1 ½ lb ground bison, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary, ½ teaspoon red crushed pepper flakes, 1 ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- Add in tomato paste, allow to cook for 1 minute to get rid of the bitter canned tomato flavor, then stir in the tomato sauce and bay leaves. Allow the sauce to simmer on medium-low heat for another 15 – 20 minutes to allow all the flavors to meld together. Discard bay leaves once the meat sauce is finished cooking.
How to Layer the Lasagna and Baking
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, add ¾ cup of the meat sauce on the bottom, a layer of noodles, ¼ cup of ricotta cheese, and ½ cup of shredded cheese. Cover with noodles, more sauce, and some of the pickled jalapeños if using.1(15) ounce container of ricotta cheese, 16 ounces shredded cheese, 4 ounces pickled jalapeños
- Repeat alternating the ricotta and shredded cheese layer with the meat sauce layers until you have used up all the ingredients, ending with the meat sauce. You will have 7 layers. Lastly, cover the top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
- Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
- Allow the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes then garnish with fresh parsley or freshly torn basil. Serve with a side salad and enjoy!
Notes
Make the homemade lasagna noodles
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup semolina flour (important to use; otherwise lasagna noodles will be too soft)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons water
