Lasagna is a baked Italian dish made of wide, flat pasta sheets layered with sauce, cheese, and usually meat or vegetables. The pasta sheets are often called lasagna noodles, and they stack on top of each other like the pages of a book, with delicious filling between each layer.

Traditional lasagna uses a rich tomato-based meat sauce, creamy ricotta cheese, and melted mozzarella, though cooks create countless variations. Some versions include spinach, mushrooms, or different cheeses. The dish bakes in the oven until the cheese melts and bubbles, creating crispy edges that many people consider the best part.

Italian cooks have been making lasagna for centuries, and it became popular in America when Italian immigrants brought their recipes in the early 1900s. Today it's a classic comfort food, perfect for feeding a crowd at family gatherings.

Making lasagna takes time and effort since you build it layer by layer, but the result feeds many people and tastes even better the next day as leftovers. If you've ever heard someone joke about Garfield the cat loving lasagna, now you know why: it's hard to resist those cheesy, saucy layers.