Cream Cheese Lasagna with Sausage
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Oct 10, 2025 
Our Best Sausage Lasagna Recipe: You just can’t beat homemade lasagna layered with piles of noodles, Italian sausage, and cheese. This rich lasagna is a family tradition with a surprise ingredient no one can resist!
Cream Cheese Lasagna – A Cozy Family Favorite
Ahhhh, lasagna. I love the way that word rolls off the tongue. Nothing but warm, fuzzy feelings could possibly fill my heart upon hearing that there’s going to be our best lasagna for dinner. We’ve got several wonderful lasagna recipe on the site, from Greek Lasagna (Pastitsio) and Easy Spinach Lasagna, to decadent Chocolate Lasagna.
Homemade lasagna has been a family favorite on both sides of our family for years. But I’ll never forget the first time I made it with a life-altering ingredient.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Right after Lt. Dan and I got married, we went to Indiana to visit his family. To make myself useful (and endearing) to my new mother-in-law, I offered to help prepare dinner every chance I got. Dan’s mom, Sue, is an exceptional cook, and I only hoped I wouldn’t do something silly and embarrass myself.
One evening, homemade lasagna was on the menu. We prepared a thick, hearty meat sauce and let it gently simmer on the stovetop. We boiled the noodles and laid them on clean tea towels. Then, when it was time to assemble the lasagna, I looked in the fridge for the necessary cheeses but could not find ricotta.
Sue informed me that their family didn’t use ricotta cheese in homemade lasagna.
“Colliers use Cream Cheese.”
Cream cheese in sausage lasagna? I couldn’t imagine lasagna without ricotta. That is, until I tasted it. Fireworks. Clashing Cymbals. A Flavor Tidal Wave of Epic Proportion. All I could think was, “Thank God, I’m now a Collier.”
Ricotta vs. Cream Cheese Lasagna
Once you’ve added cream cheese to our best lasagna, there is no turning back to ricotta.
This homemade sausage lasagna recipe is essentially my mother-in-law’s recipe with three heaping layers of noodles, thick sausage-based meat sauce, and a 3 cheese blend. Sue taught me to mix mozzarella, parmesan, and silky cream cheese to create the perfect combination of salty goodness and creamy texture.
This is a magnificent Italian sausage lasagna recipe. Not to sound smug, but after tasting, you’ll be just as thankful as I am to have it. You may even want to change your last name to Collier. *wink*
Ingredients You Need
- Box of Lasagna Noodles – I’m using traditional lasagna noodles, but you can swap with the no-boil version if you like.
- Homemade Marinara or Store-Bought Tomato Sauce
- Italian Sausage – ground, mild or spicy sausage
- Softened Cream Cheese
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Italian Seasoning
How To Make Cream Cheese Lasagna
Tips for Success: For easier handling, spread the cream cheese on the lasagna noodles before layering them in the baking dish. I suggest laying them on a clean work surface and smearing them with cream cheese all at once. Then start the layering process.
Find the full Sausage Lasagna with Cream Cheese recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
More Lasagna Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, wrap it well with plastic wrap/aluminum foil and store it in your fridge. The following day, bake at 375 for 40 to 50 minutes. Only covered if you feel the cheese is starting to get too crisp.
Sure! Make sure to lay the sliced zucchini sheets on paper towels to absorb as much moisture as possible. You can also swap the pasta for gluten-free lasagna noodles.
Swap away! Of course, it will lose a bit of flavor because spicy Italian sausage is loaded with herbs and spices, but it will still taste wonderful.
A 12-ounce box will work, but if you buy a 16-ounce box, go ahead and boil all the noodles and pick out the best pieces. Some may break as they boil.
Yes, you can. I do prefer the texture of traditional lasagna noodles, but if you are in a hurry, layer no-boil noodles in this dish and add 1/3 cup water to the sauce, so there is plenty of moisture for the noodles to absorb.
If you use the herb blend “Italian Seasoning” found at most grocery stores, it usually has all the herbs you need. It’s a mix of oregano, basil, rosemary, and marjoram. Or make your own Italian Seasoning from your spice rack!
You could use a simple canned tomato sauce, but then the flavor of this dish would diminish greatly. Instead, use homemade marinara, or a good brand of jarred marinara or chunky Italian tomato sauce. Our homemade marinara recipe includes many ingredients like tomato sauce, garlic cloves, onion, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper to increase the flavor.
More Fabulous Pasta Recipes
- Homemade Egg Noodles – Dine & Dish
- Pistachio Pasta ~ Kiran Tarun
- Squash and Spinach Stuffed Shells ~ Mommie Cooks
Sausage Lasagna with Cream Cheese Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 2 quarts homemade marinara or store-bought
- 2 pounds Italian sausage
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large sauce pan, brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once the meat is fully cooked, add the marinara and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Boil the noodles in a large pot of salty water, according to package instructions. Remove the noodles and lay them out on a clean dish towel.
- Spray an 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Smear 9-12 noodles with an equal portion of cream cheese. (The number of noodles used depends on the width of the pan.)
- Start assembling the lasagna: One large scoop of meat sauce on the bottom, 3-4 noodles across (cream cheese side up), 1/3 of the mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat. After the third layer of noodles with cream cheese, pour the rest of the sauce over the noodles before adding the last layer of the mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle the top with Italian Seasoning.
- Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes—until the cheese is toasty and the sides are bubbling. Wait at least 10 minutes before cutting. Lasagna (as well as many other favorite pasta dishes) is considered better the second day. If making this ahead, Cover well, refrigerate, and bake for 40-50 minutes to heat through!
One day I was in search of a lasagna recipe that didn’t have ricotta or cottage cheese. I stumbled across this recipe and I was super exited! I made it that night and it has been my go to lasagna recipe ever since. I absolutely love the combination of cheeses with the Italian sausage. Just a few days ago I made two pans of lasagna for my family for Christmas, all ages loved it! I wanted to thank you for sharing the recipe and let you know how yummy and amazing we all think it is. Thanks much!
Thanks so much Alexis. I’m glad your family enjoyed it!
I made this recipe for my boys and they said it was the best lasagna they had ever tasted. I agree – it was outstanding. I diced green pepper and added it in to each layer. It added a nice crunch to the lasagna. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Tim, so glad you liked it!
I love this idea! I use sour cream in my baked ziti, so naturally cream cheese could only be better!
OMG I am a camp cook and love cooking so I have quite a bit of experience and this is now my go to lasagna, it is soooo delish!!!!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe :)
Thanks Deb. So glad you like it!
Just thought I would comment on cream cheese in lasagna from the perspective of someone who doesn’t really like cream cheese, other than on a bagel with smoked salmon. However, I like almost all other cheeses so the idea of using cream cheese instead of ricotta intrigued me and I decided I probably wouldn’t hate it.
So over the weekend I made a simple lasagna based on your recipe, using a mix as sausage, ground beef and ground pork in a tomato base, and with one layer ricotta and another with cream cheese. Both cheese layers I sprinkled with shredded mozzarella and parmesan.
The lasagna turned out pretty good. The cream cheese layer added a nice tang when eaten together with the other layers, but I did not like it as much on its own (you know how multi-layered lasagnas usually topple over…). It also still looked like cream cheese – like a processed cheese product, keeping all of its “wrinkles”, so that grossed me out a little. But that’s just me. Overall, glad I tried it, but not sure I would add the cream cheese again.
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I’ve made this several times since discovering it on this blog, the cream cheese always makes it delicious!
Thanks for coming to tell me Kat. So glad you like it! :)
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What happened to your link to the homemade sauce? It was delicious!
Hi Pam, Maybe it disappeared when my site was remodeled. I just added it back in!
Do you think you can use the Italian seasoning for dressing on the top??? Can’t wait to try this!
I made this for dinner last week and it was amazing. My boyfriend had one bite and declared it the best lasagna he’s ever had in his life. He liked it so much that he asked that we make this for Christmas dinner this year. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh Crystal, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it! :)
Oh my oh my! I pinned this about a week ago and my mother was craving lasagna so I told her I had a recipe for her to try and sure enough this is AMAZING! Like the best recipe ever! I will NEVER need a lasagna recipe ever again! Thank you so much for sharing and tell your MIL we women thank her!