One of the most loved foods in the world is finally here! This is a beautiful Italian Lasagna with layers of slow cooked Ragù Bolognese and Besciamella cheese sauce. Though patience is required, it is quite straight forward to make as you will see in the recipe video!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Traditional Italian lasagna
Lasagna, lasagna. How I love thee! It is possibly one of the most loved foods in the whole wide world, and understandably so. There is just something so sentimental about lasagna, so comforting. It evokes images of of gatherings with family and friends all around the world. It is the sort of food that is like a big warm hug, and so more-ish you want to keep digging in until you burst.
Lasagna just rocks. Full stop.
And if you’ve never tried a homemade one before, that needs to change! If you can make spaghetti bolognese, you can make lasagne. It just requires a wee bit more patience.
OK, bit more than a wee bit more patience. But it’s totally worth it. A real homemade Lasagna is epic.
Homemade Lasagna – three parts
There are 3 components to making lasagna:
The meat sauce;
The white sauce – creamy and thick, but no cream required!
Assembling and baking.
What goes in lasagna
The Meat Sauce is basically just like Bolognese. You need:
Onion, garlic, carrot and celery – for the flavour base, a soffrito;
Beef
Canned tomato and tomato paste
Red wine – for extra flavour!
Seasonings – beef bouillon cubes (stock cubes), bay leaves, thyme, oregano, Worcestershire sauce
For the white sauce, you need:
butter
flour
milk
cheese
For assembling, you need:
lasagna sheets – preferably fresh (from the fridge section of grocery stores) but dried works just fine too
cheese!
How to make lasagne
See? I told you the meat sauce is just like making Bolognese! Though here, we cook that meat sauce long and slow, to develop incredible rich flavours and make the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Layering up!
And here’s how you layer it up:
Smear a bit of meat sauce on the base first – stops the lasagna sheets from sliding around;
Layer 1 – top with meat sauce, bit of white sauce
Layer 2 – lay out more lasagna sheets, then top with more meat sauce and more white sauce
Layer 3 – repeat again, lasagna sheets, meat sauce then white sauce; and
Topping – cover with lasagna sheets, pour over remaining white sauce then sprinkle with cheese.
Pop it in the oven, and THIS is what comes out….
That moment when you cut into the golden bubbly cheesy top and you serve up a piping hot, oozy, meaty slice of lasagna….
That’s a little bit of food heaven, right there.
Lasagna first timers, the recipe video below will be super helpful. ❤️ Trust me, you got this. – Nagi xx
PS Also happens to be one of the nicest food gifts you can make for someone. Freezes 100% perfect, and is a huge step up from the usual simple casseroles. Right? 😉
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Lasagna
Ingredients
Ragu Bolognese:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , finely chopped (white, yellow or brown)
- 1 medium carrot , peeled and very finely diced
- 1 celery stick , very finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 kg / 2 lb beef mince (ground beef) (Note 1)
- 800g / 28 oz canned crushed tomato
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup pinot noir red wine , or other dry red wine (Note 2)
- 3 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled
- 2 bay leaves , dried or fresh
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried thyme and oregano
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 – 2 tsp sugar (if needed – Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper
Cheese Sauce (Besciamella):
- 60g / 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 cups milk , preferably full fat but low fat ok
- 2 cups gruyere or Colby cheese , shred yourself (or cheddar, Monterey Jack, OR 1 cup / 100g shredded parmesan) (Note 4)
- Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
Lasagna:
- 350g/ 12 oz fresh lasagna sheets (or 250g/8oz dried) (Note 5)
- 1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) mozzarella cheese , shred yourself (Note 4)
- Finely chopped basil or parsley , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Ragu:
- Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, celery and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes until softened and sweet – they should not brown (if they do, turn heat down).
- Add beef, turn heat up and cook the beef, breaking it up as you go.
- Once the beef has all turned brown, add the remaining Ragu ingredients EXCEPT the sugar.
- Stir then adjust the heat so it is bubbling very gently. Place the lid on and cook for 1.5 – 2 hours, stirring every now and then, then remove the lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
- The ragu is ready when the meat is really tender and the sauce has thickened and is rich – see video for consistency (Note 6). Adjust salt and pepper to taste, and add sugar if required (Note 3)
Cheese Sauce:
- Warm milk up in a saucepan (optional – just makes sauce thicken faster).
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Add flour and mix constantly for 1 minute.
- Pour about 1 cup of the milk in, mixing as you go to incorporate into the flour mixture. Once mostly lump free, add remaining milk. Use a whisk if needed to make it lump free.
- Turn heat up to medium high. Stir occasionally at first then regularly after a few minutes until sauce thickens – about 5 – 8 minutes. It should coat the back of the wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat, add cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix until the cheese is melted. The Sauce should be thick but still easily pourable – the consistency of heavy cream (you need to be able to drizzle it over the Ragu when layering – see video). If it’s too thick, add a splash of water or milk.
Assemble:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Use a 33 x 22 x 7 cm / 13 x 9 x 2.5″ baking dish.
- Smear a bit of Ragu on the base, then cover with lasagna sheets. Tear sheets to fit.
- Spread over 2 1/2 cups of Ragu (enough to cover sheets), then drizzle over 1 cup of Cheese Sauce.
- Top with lasagna sheets (Note 7). Spread with another 2 1/2 cups of Ragu, then 1 cup of Cheese Sauce. Top with lasagna sheets then repeat 1 more time.
- Top with a 4th layer of lasagna sheets, then pour over the remaining Cheese Sauce.
- Sprinkle with Mozzarella, then bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
- Stand for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving, garnished with basil or parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life Of Dozer
He just sprawls across the floor when he sleeps. No curling up cutely, chin on paw, like all those cute doggy pics you see all over the internet. Nope, this one just collapses and sprawls out right in my line of path (straight line from kitchen to table is over him – of course).
If I boil the dried lasagna noodles prior to layering do I need to be concerned about using extra sauce?
no. I however never cook the Lasagna Noodles before hand anymore. I lay them in place as you would when making the dish, with the other ingredients, and pour 1 Cup of boiling water over top. Dish will come out as it should and not be runny and the noodles will be done. This recipe is excellent!
Woah. I’ve never heard that!!! So you pour all the boiling water over the top layer?? I guess that would have to be done just before the cheese is put on the top.
Nope! Thanks for the question, I added extra notes about using dried lasagna sheets i.e. instant vs pre boil lasagna dried lasagna sheets. 🙂 N xx
This looks so good! lasagne is my absolute fav! I’m not sure if this is written anywhere, but can I make a suggestion?
I’m Australian and have been living in America for 18 months. The first time we made lasagne here was a bit of a disaster, because you have to pre cook some of the dried lasagne sheets here before you assemble the lasagne.
We didn’t do this the first time and made it the usual way, as you have done! It’s a family recipe that always worked in Australia, but didn’t in America because of the lasagne sheets we bought. It’s only some of the dried lasagne sheets but it may be worth mentioning for your American followers to check whether they need to precook their lasange sheets!!
I’d always prefer to use fresh anyway! hope you don’t mind the feedback! 🙂
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TIP!!! I added a note about dried vs instant dried lasagna sheets. I truly appreciate it, thank you x 1 million! ❤️ PS What a pain to have to pre cook dried lasagna sheets!!!
Looks delicious. Food photography IS TOUGH (I once worked for a magazine and we avoided it as much as possible). But an authentic “Italian” Lasagna is going to involve “Italian” cheeses. There are good handmade mozzarellas that punch more flavor, but Try Asiago, Fontina (or Fontanella which is softer), or Burrata. Parmesana Reggiano, of course is staple. I would never use a cheddar or monterrey in lasagna — that would just make it Mexican.
I know I know! 🙂 I wrote in the notes of the recipe the differences between a strictly authentic one and mine. I don’t use Parmesan in the cheese sauce because I like how the other cheeses I use thicken the sauce, adds volume and a bit of stretch, but I should add that as another option.
Hi Nagi!
This looks great..but please (if possible) add nutritional info?
I noticed the previous recipe this week didnt have it either. Please dont stop 🙂
Best wishes!
Oops! I forgot, I was in a rush 🙂 Adding now! (And I added for chicken noodles soup too 🙂 )
Thanks so much!
U put pasta first hehe.we put mince then pasta then sauce and repeat..I wonder do others do it different.hav we been getting it wrong?!
There’s no rules!! I just put a smear of sauce to make the pasta stick 🙂 I always thought if I put a full layer of meat sauce first, it’s just a bit hard to get it all when you serve the slices 🙂
Hi Nagi. Who doesn’t love lasagna? The ragu I make is very similar to yours and it is well worth the effort to make a great lasagna. However, this is another thing that I won’t be making until it cools off a bit. One of my dogs like to sprawl out in the middle of the kitchen so I have to constantly walk around him (I learned the hard way not to step over him).
We are approaching that tough season again, when our seasons are the absolute opposite!!! I think you might like some hot weather recipes I have coming up 🙂 Your dog is smart. I would sprawl in your kitchen too. 😉
I can’t wait to make his!
Would you please give us a re pie for eggplant parm?
Oooh! EGGPLANT parmigiana!!! (That’s what we call Eggplant parmesan here in Australia 🙂 ) YES YES YES! It’s on my list – pushed to the top!
Looks and sounds mega-yummy. I’ve made lots of lasagna over the years, but always with ricotta. I’ve also made lots of bechamel sauces, but never put it on a lasagna. Guess i’ll have to try putting the two together.
As for Dozer — the big fur ball — my retriever mix does the same thing — she’s usually sprawled across the doorway and usually the one between the kitchen and family (TV) room. must be a retriever thing. Ya gotta love ’em!
Oooh I do hope you try it! Béchamel sauce on lasagna is just amazing, it just mixes in with that ultra tender meat sauce, it’s to DIE FOR!!!
Looks wonderful
While visiting Florence,I ate some wonderful veggie lasagna, at a restaurant converted from a prison!. Any chance you have a recipe for that? Can’t remember it having tomato sauce
Ooooh! Sounds wonderful! But a veggie lasagna without tomato sauce ??? I don’t know one! Even my ricotta veggie one has some tomato in it, on the top 🙂
Hmm, never tried this version with no ricotta. Hubby’s family (Mom’s side) is Italian so always had and made it that way. But this version looks yummy. I will have to try this. I have to agree with the other commentators – you do make everything look via pictures and videos, drool worthy!
Aww thank you Patricia! I do bin plenty of photos and footage though 🙂 Takes plenty of takes!!!
Haha, now I know what’s for dinner on Sunday!!!!
OOOH!!!! I hope you do try it…and LOVE IT!!
Oh, shut it. You can shoot anything. You NAILED it! I am successfully drooling. You can give yourself a pat on the back. And crack a beer open. And play ‘We are the Champions ‘ on Spotify. Now go and have a smashing Friday night..and the weekend!
But it took 3 attempts!!! (Might have been FOUR!!)
This is similar to my recipe! I use grated Parmesan (lots and lots… no such thing as too much cheese)
Nice one Nagi!
AGREED!!!! Interesting you mention parmesan, Diane below said the same thing!
This looks awesome! I’m not a fan of ricotta, so I’m excited to give this a try. Question though – your list of cheeses doesn’t include parmesan. Any reason it wouldn’t be a good choice?
Hi Diane! It would be great, I just don’t use it typically in cheese sauce. 🙂 It has a much more intense flavour than the other cheese listed so I would only use 3/4 cup of grated parmesan, and I would add 1 tbsp flour and an extra 1/2 cup of milk (because the cheese adds to the cheese sauce volume 🙂 ). Only if you can be bothered, not a deal killer!
Thank you so much!