Lasagna is an iconic pasta dish that many home cooks are making for their families and friends. But is it cheaper to make or buy lasagna? I also was wondering the same and wrote about my discoveries.
It is cheaper to make lasagna at home from scratch. Making lasagna at home for 10 servings costs 15,03$ if you make it with recipe and ingredients in the table below. Frozen lasagna in online stores costs between 0.16-0.46$ per ounce, whereas homemade lasagna costs only 0.15$ per ounce if you make it from scratch. Homemade lasagna is 50% cheaper if you compare it to an average price of store-bought frozen lasagna.
| Is it cheaper to make or buy lasagna? | |||||
| Weight frozen store-bought package | Price store-bought | Price homemade from scratch | Difference | Homemade cheaper | |
| Lasagna (cheapest store-bought price 0.17$ per oz.) | 19 oz (538g ) | $3.23 | $2.93 | $0.30 | 9% |
| Lasagna (average store-bought price 0.31$ per oz.) | 19 oz (538g ) | $5.89 | $2.93 | $2.96 | 50% |
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In general, cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. Check out how to save from 1720$ to 4303$ with homemade food.
While researching the recipes and prices, I discovered some interesting things, read on to learn more.
How much does it cost to make homemade lasagna from scratch?
Making lasagna from scratch takes some time, but in the end, it is worth it. It is even more time consuming if you make lasagna sheets from scratch. It is worth making fresh lasagna sheets from scratch if you want to save some money, you can check the costs and savings here in our post, but it is not worth it from the time point of view. That is why we always recommend you buy dry pasta sheets or noodles to make lasagna at home from scratch.
Lasagna ingredient cost is calculated on the following basis:
Measurement to grams: we calculated the measurement of each ingredient into grams to get the sum weight of ingredients for lasagna.
Average product price: for each ingredient, we checked the latest prices online and calculated the average price of ingredients per ounce, which are included in the lasagna recipe.
Price per ingredient: the price for each ingredient is calculated to match the amount used in the recipe.
Sum weight of lasagna: to get the total weight of lasagna, we summed the weight of all ingredients in grams.
Electricity cost: we calculated electricity cost for baking lasagna in an oven. Ovens use 1000 to 5000 watts, with an average modern oven using around 2400 watts on medium to high heat. The calculation also includes the USA’s average electricity rate, which is 13.19$ per kilowatt-hour (updated April 2020)
Time, utensils, and cookware: We did not include time cost or the purchase of cookware and tools into the calculation.
I’ve written a complete “is it cheaper” analysis of the most popular foods cooks make at home.
(BREAD, PIZZA, PASTA, FRIES, BEEF JERKY, LASAGNA, CHEESECAKE, GRANOLA BARS, GLUTEN-FREE BREAD, MAYONNAISE, GNOCCHI, GUACAMOLE, GROUND BEEF, BROWNIES, HUMMUS)
I outlined the costs and buying guides for the ultimate savings.
The table shows that it costs 15,11$ to make lasagna for 10 people by following the recipe below. You will only pay 1,5$ per person if you make lasagna at home from scratch. Homemade lasagna costs 0.15$ per ounce and 2,47$ per lb.
| How much does it cost to make homemade lasagna from scratch? | |||
| Quantities | Quantities in grams | Cost | |
| Lasagna noodles uncooked | 12 | 340.5 g | $1.32 |
| Mozzarella cheese shredded and divided | 4 cups | 452 g | $3.49 |
| Parmesan cheese shredded and divided | 1/2 cup | 50 g | $0.88 |
| Tomato Sauce | |||
| Ground beef (85%) | 1/2 lb | 226.8 g | $3.20 |
| Italian sausage | 1/2 lb | 226.8 g | $1.84 |
| Onion, diced | 1 | 170 g | $0.38 |
| Garlic minced | 2 cloves | 24 g | $0.08 |
| Tomato sauce | 24 oz | 680 g | $1.20 |
| Tomato paste | 2 tbsp | 33 g | $0.09 |
| Italian seasoning | 1 tsp | 0.91 g | $0.03 |
| Cheese Layer | |||
| Ricotta cheese | 2 cups | 500 g | $1.94 |
| Fresh parsley chopped | 1/4 cup | 6.25 g | $0.10 |
| Egg beaten | 1 | 49 g | $0.22 |
| Electricity oven baking 50 min | $0.26 | ||
| Servings | 10 | $15.03 | |
| Cost of homemade lasagna per serving | $1.50 | ||
| Price per ounce | $0.15 | ||
| SUM weight lasagna in gramms | 2759.26 | ||
| SUM product weight in ounces | 97.4 | ||
Is it worth making lasagna at home from scratch and savings?
It is totally worth making lasagna at home from scratch, especially if you are not buying the cheapest store-bought lasagna.
The table shows that if you make lasagna at home twice a month, you could save up to 70$ a year. If you compare the cheapest store-bought lasagna to homemade lasagna, then the savings are not that significant. You can only save about 7$ a year if you make homemade lasagna compared to the cheapest store-bought frozen lasagna.
| Is it worth making lasagna at home from scratch and savings if you make it twice a month | |||||||
| Weight | Price frozen store-bought package | Price homemade from scratch | Difference | Monthly savings making lasagna twice a month | yearly savings making lasagna twice a month | Homemade cheaper | |
| Lasagna (cheapest price 0.17$ per oz.) | 19 oz (538g ) | $3.23 | $2.93 | $0.30 | $0.59 | $7.13 | 9% |
| Lasagna (average prices 0.31$ per oz.) | 19 oz (538g ) | $5.89 | $2.93 | $2.96 | $5.91 | $70.97 | 50% |
How many pans of lasagna for 20, 30, or 50 people
If you make homemade lasagna, you usually don’t make it for 1 person. The best lasagna is always baked in a large baking pan where the juices can combine, and taste can develop.
To make lasagna for 10 people, you will need ingredient amounts used in the recipe above. You can fit the quantities in a large baking pan with a size of 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm).
Baking dish size 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) is perfect for 10 servings or 10 people. Making 1 batch of lasagna for more than 10 people would be more difficult because the size of a baking dish should be much larger. That is why it is always better to make more batches in the 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) size baking pan.
Making lasagna for 20 or 30 or even more people can be challenging if you use only one baking dish because you will have more problems with presentation and cutting. If you make lasagna for 50 people and you make it in 5 baking pans, you will solve the presentation problem immediately. Just cut each batch into 10 servings and put a large spatula in the baking dish. Separate the baking pans evenly on the table so every guest can take its lasagna piece. Also, smaller batches of lasagna tend to be more compact than larger quantities.
How many pans of lasagna for 20, 30, or 50 people:
| Number of servings or people | Baking pan size | Number of lasagna pans |
| 10 people or servings | 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) | 1 pan |
| 20 people or servings | 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) | 2 pans |
| 30 people or servings | 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) | 3 pans |
| 40 people or servings | 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) | 4 pans |
| 50 people or servings | 9×13 inches (22.86×33 cm) | 5 pans |
I’ve written a complete “is it cheaper” analysis of the most popular foods cooks make at home.
(BREAD, PIZZA, PASTA, FRIES, BEEF JERKY, LASAGNA, CHEESECAKE, GRANOLA BARS, GLUTEN-FREE BREAD, MAYONNAISE, GNOCCHI, GUACAMOLE, GROUND BEEF, BROWNIES, HUMMUS)
I outlined the costs and buying guides for the ultimate savings.
* The prices for ingredients and products in our tables are average prices take from various websites. The prices are not taken directly from Amazon.
* Pro family chef utilizes affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of our product links, Pro family chef will receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps support us, and allows us to keep providing tips, reviews, guides, and content for you.
Sources:
Average electricity price https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/
Price calculator for electric oven http://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_oven.htm
