This is an all-day affair. A clear-the-calendar, start-the-sauce-early, move-slow-on-purpose kind of meal. And you can taste that in every bite.
My wife makes this meatball lasagna once—maybe twice—a year. I request it for my birthday and for Christmas, and she agrees because she loves us—and because tradition, when it’s earned, matters.
The sauce simmers low and patient, perfumed with tied bundles of herbs like something out of a nonna’s kitchen. The meatballs are gentle: bread soaked, eggs beaten, pork and beef mixed just until combined, never rushed. They simmer directly in the sauce, giving and taking flavor for hours.
Then there’s the lasagna itself. Proper noodles. A ricotta mixture softened with eggs, Parmesan, basil, and nutmeg. Layers that feel intentional, not sloppy. Sauce where it needs to be. Cheese where it counts. Everything covered, rested, and respected.
And maybe most importantly—it rests.
That final pause, letting the lasagna sit before cutting, is the difference between something good and something right. The filling sets. The flavors settle. The dish becomes what it’s supposed to be.
When we finally sit down to eat, it tastes like time. Like effort. Like someone cared enough to do it the long way.
That’s why it only shows up on the biggest days. Christmas. Birthdays. Days worth slowing down for.
This is our Christmas tradition. And every year, it reminds me that some of the best things in life don’t scale, don’t shortcut, and don’t apologize for taking up the whole day.
Christmas Meatball Lasagna
A true all-day labor of love. Slow sauce. Tender meatballs. Careful layers. Worth every minute.
Bonus: this amount will make two lasagna, one for the holiday and one for the freezer to have in January.
1. Start the Sauce
Homemade Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
5 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
½ cup Chianti (optional)
4 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
10 fresh thyme sprigs
4 fresh oregano sprigs
2 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup fresh chopped basil
Instructions
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add chopped onion and cook until soft, about 5–8 minutes.
Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Stir in tomato paste and Chianti. Cook until the wine is nearly fully reduced.
Pour in crushed tomatoes with their juice.
Tie thyme, rosemary, and oregano together with kitchen twine. Add herb bundle and bay leaves to the pot.
Stir in salt and pepper.
Mostly cover (leave a crack open) and bring to a gentle simmer.
Reduce heat as low as possible and let simmer, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the meatballs.
The sauce starts simple—tomatoes, aromatics, and patience.
2. Make the Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
2 cup soft bread crumbs (from white sandwich bread, no crust)
2 cup heavy cream or milk
4 eggs
12 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (small holes of a box grater)
2 cup grated onion (large holes of a box grater)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 pound ground beef (preferably 80/20)
2 pound ground pork
2 pound ground veal
Instructions
In a bowl, combine bread crumbs and cream or milk. Let soak.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs.
Stir in garlic, Parmesan, grated onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and anchovy paste (if using).
Grate the onion instead of chopping it. The pulp melts into the meatballs, adding moisture and sweetness without any harsh onion bite.
Drain soaked bread crumbs using a fine-mesh sieve. Stir crumbs into the egg mixture.
Add ground beef and pork. Using a gentle touch, mix just until combined (hands are fine).
Pork and beef gently mixed with soaked bread, eggs, herbs, and Parmesan. Mix just until combined—overworking makes tough meatballs.
Pinch off a small piece, flatten it, and cook it in a skillet. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
A quick test patty tells you everything—salt, texture, balance—before committing to the full batch.
Lightly wet your hands with water and form meatballs slightly larger than golf balls.
Rolled gently and evenly. Light hands here keep the meatballs tender.
Drop meatballs directly into the simmering tomato sauce.
Raw meatballs go straight into the sauce, where they cook slowly and give up their flavor.
Simmer on low to medium-low heat 2–3 hours, stirring very gently and occasionally.
After simmering, remove meatballs and then stir in chopped basil. Remove herb bundle and bay leaves. Turn off heat.
After three hours, the sauce is finished. The meatballs have given up their flavor, the herbs have softened, and everything has melded into something deeper and richer than it was at the start.
3. Cook the Lasagna Noodles and Make Ricotta Filling
Ingredients
2 pound dried lasagna noodles
60 ounces ricotta, drained
6 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
10 cups shredded mozzarella
12 cups crumbled meatballs
8 cups tomato sauce
Fresh parsley, chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
Prep
Heat oven to 375°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, about 4 minutes.
Using tongs, remove noodles and lay flat on lightly greased parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Alternative: Place noodles in hottest tap water, cover with foil, and soak about 30 minutes until pliable.
Ricotta Mixture
Drain Ricotta cheese while cooking pasta
Draining ricotta is essential—this keeps the lasagna creamy, not watery.
Mix ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, basil, and nutmeg.
Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Soft, seasoned, and spreadable—the quiet backbone of the lasagna.
Grate the Mozzarella
Low-moisture mozzarella only. Fresh mozzarella seems tempting, but it will water down the lasagna.
4. Build the Layers
Layer noodles → ricotta → meatballs → sauce → mozzarella. Repeat until the dish is full.
Spread ½ cup tomato sauce on the bottom of a greased deep-dish lasagna pan (9×13×3 inches). Always start with sauce—it protects the noodles and anchors the layers.
Add a layer of noodles, trimming if needed.
Spread ½ of ricotta mixture over noodles.
Always start with sauce on the bottom—it protects the noodles and anchors the layers.
Add 1½ cups mozzarella, 2 cups crumbled meatballs, and 1 cup sauce.
Even layers matter more than thick ones. Everything intentional, nothing sloppy.
Add another layer of noodles and repeat ricotta, mozzarella, meatballs, and sauce.
Add a final layer of noodles.
Top with 2 cups meatballs and 2 cups sauce, making sure noodles are fully covered.
Sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella.
Everything covered. Nothing drying out.
Cover with foil, keeping foil from touching cheese.
5. Bake
Bake covered 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake 15 more minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest 15–20 minutes before cutting. (This step is crucial.)
Bubbling, fragrant, and finished—but not ready yet. Resting is what turns layers into slices.
Creamy Anson Mills polenta topped with slow-simmered beans, tomatoes, and pancetta—finished with a splash of red wine vinegar that brings the whole dish into balance. Simple, humble, and deeply satisfying.
An all-day tomato meat sauce that tastes like home. Slow-cooked with soffritto, beef, tomatoes, and optional mushroom tea, this cozy bowl of spaghetti is pure comfort — the kind of meal that makes the whole house smell like love.
Made with Bullet