5 Restaurant Chains With the Best Baked Lasagna, According to Diners
There are so many delicious pastas on the menu at your go-to Italian spot, but there is really only one that is the ultimate comfort meal: Baked lasagna. If you are Italian, the meal is likely super nostalgia-inducing, as most Nonnas cooked the best version of the layered pasta dish in the whole world. If you can’t make it to her house, there are a handful of Italian chains serving up delicious baked lasagna dishes. Here are 5 restaurant chains with the best baked lasagna, according to diners.
Maggiano’s Little Italy
Heavy meat sauce layers. Maggiano’s Little Italy’s Mom’s Lasagna features a meat-heavy sauce and layers of goodness, a blend of beef and Italian sausage, herb-ricotta, and a savory marinara, resulting in a bake that is “flavorful and extremely saucy,” says a Yelper. “The ingredients taste so fresh and the pasta is perfect also,” another adds. “The lasagna was stuffed with meats, cheeses and the marinara was delicious,” a third says.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Matt Kirouac, one of our food reviewers at ETNT, picked Carrabba’s Italian Grill as the best lasagna of all the chains. The chain “earns extra points for authenticity—or, at least the allusion of authenticity. Unlike any of the others, this one looked the most rustic and legit, as if an Italian nonna made it herself from scratch. Everything about it just looks wholesome and real, from the vibrant sauce and the freshly grated parmesan melting on top, to the part that stood out to me the most: the crispy edges on the pasta,” he writes. He specifically appreciates the crispy edges, calling the meal a “textural treat, with the inner portion of the pasta being pleasantly chewy and soft, and the outer edges achieving a nice, caramelized crunch,” he noted. “The sauce is more balanced here, and not as sugary as some of the others. I could have used more meat, either in the sauce or between the pasta layers, but it still comes through and tastes fresh. Mostly, though, it’s the crispy texture and the right ratio of cheese that really set Carrabba’s apart.”
Olive Garden
Kirouac also gives major kudos to Olive Garden’s Lasagna Classico, “with layers of pasta, parmesan, mozzarella, pecorino romano, and meat sauce.” It looks “actually quite striking, with a presentation that far exceeded anything else on this list. It arrives in a cute bowl, tastefully seasoned with herbs, and sprinkled with the perfect amount of fluffy cheese. The pasta and sauce appear in perfect balance, and everything looks super fresh and tasty. Which it was…for the most part,” he says. “The texture and thickness of the pasta was great, and everything holds it shape remarkably well. The lasagna had the right amount of sauce and cheese, and technically it was pretty close to perfect.”
Old Spaghetti Factory
The Old Spaghetti Factory’s “Famous Baked Lasagna” is made with noodles, marinara sauce, ground beef and pork, and four cheeses. “The lasagna actually looked quite good, if a bit saucy. I like that the pasta all held its shape really well, and the marinara—while excessive—appeared fresh and flavorful,” says Kirouac. He notes that “it tastes like a spot-on classic lasagna. It’s slightly meaty, super saucy, and the pasta all holds its own.”
Bertucci’s
Bertucci’s, a smaller Italian chain on the East Coast, serves up a homestyle lasagna with a brick-oven finish with a richer, heartier profile. One diner in Trevose, PA, called the item the “winner” of the menu, with its “handmade layers of pasta, Bolognese meat sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses) baked to gooey perfection.” Another Boston diner called it “delicious!”