Ingredients
For this Bacon Cheeseburger Sheet Lasagna, I stick to simple grocery staples and organize everything by how it works in the dish. That way, when I’m pulling ingredients from the pantry and fridge, I can move through prep without stopping to reread the list.
Meat and protein
2 pounds lean ground beef
8 slices bacon, cooked and cut into large pieces
Vegetables and aromatics
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Sauces and condiments
2 cans (10.5 ounces each) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 can (10.5 ounces) condensed cream of bacon soup
Cheese and dairy
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Dry goods
1 package oven‑ready lasagna noodles
Seasonings
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
How I make the meat and sauce base
I always start by getting the oven hot and giving the meat a head start. I preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and pull out a half sheet pan that’s about 18 x 13 inches, since that size gives me enough surface area for nice, wide layers. In a large skillet over medium‑high heat, I add the lean ground beef and break it up with a spatula until it’s in small crumbles, letting it cook until most of the pink is gone and there’s some light browning on the edges of the meat.
Once the beef is mostly browned, I stir in the diced yellow onion and let it sauté in the rendered fat, cooking until the onion turns tender and translucent and everything smells rich and savory. Right at the end, I add the chopped garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, just long enough for the garlic to lose its raw bite without getting bitter. At that point, I take the skillet off the heat and set the beef mixture aside while I build the sauce.
The sauce is where the cheeseburger personality really comes in. In a mixing bowl, I whisk together both cans of condensed cheddar cheese soup with the whole milk until smooth, then sprinkle in the onion powder, yellow mustard, salt, and black pepper and whisk again until everything is fully combined and pourable. The mustard gives the sauce that classic burger tang, the onion powder boosts the savoriness, and the milk thins the soup just enough so it can spread easily over the pan and soak into the noodles as they bake.
Assembling the ricotta layer
For the creamy middle of this lasagna, I skip traditional egg‑and‑herb ricotta and lean into the bacon cheeseburger theme by stirring the ricotta together with condensed cream of bacon soup. In a separate bowl, I add the ricotta and the can of cream of bacon and mix until the texture is completely smooth and unified, almost like a thick, spreadable dip. This simple step turns the ricotta into a smoky, savory layer that ties directly into the bacon pieces on top and keeps every bite from feeling bland or one‑note.
Because this mixture is fairly rich, I like to mentally divide it in half before I start layering so I don’t accidentally use too much in the first pass. I do the same with the cooked beef and the shredded cheddar, just so I know I have enough of each for both layers as the lasagna goes together. That little bit of planning makes assembly feel more relaxed and keeps the layers even from end to end on the sheet pan.
How I layer the sheet‑pan lasagna
When it’s time to build, I start by giving the bottom of the sheet pan a generous base of sauce so nothing sticks. I pour about one‑third of the cheddar mixture onto the pan and use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it all the way to the edges in an even layer. This first swipe of sauce works like insurance against sticking and also gives the dry noodles something to soften in as they bake.
Next, I arrange a single layer of oven‑ready lasagna noodles over the sauce, breaking pieces as needed to fill the corners and edges without too much overlap. On top of that noodle layer, I spoon half of the ricotta‑and‑cream‑of‑bacon mixture and spread it gently from corner to corner, being careful not to drag the noodles around too much. Then I scatter half of the cooked beef mixture over the ricotta, making sure every section of the pan gets some meat, and finish this layer with half of the shredded cheddar cheese sprinkled evenly over the top.
For the middle layer, I repeat the process. I lay down another single layer of oven‑ready noodles on top of the cheese, then spread the remaining ricotta mixture over those noodles so it forms a second creamy stripe in the lasagna. Instead of using more beef right away, I pour on the rest of the cheddar sauce mixture, smoothing it out so it sinks slightly into the ricotta and covers the pan in a thick, cheesy blanket. Finally, I spoon the remaining beef over that sauce, dotting it across the top so there are meaty pockets spread from edge to edge.
Once all of that is in place, I cover the sheet pan tightly with aluminum foil. The foil traps steam as the lasagna bakes, which helps the oven‑ready noodles soften all the way through and keeps the sauce from drying out before everything has time to meld together. At this point the only things left to add are the final cheddar and the bacon, and those go on after the first bake so they stay melty and crisp instead of overcooked.