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).
Amazing recipe. Best lasagne I’ve had, although next time (no complaints from me, I loved it) I would use half the amount of wine or not at all as my children didn’t like that wonderful kick it gives. Absolutely delicious.
I’ve made this recipe many times and it is fantastic. Though I do prefer the American Italian version with ricotta, it can be expensive. This traditional version is perfect and I always have the things I need on hand 🙂
Hi Nagi, what are your thoughts on using milk instead of red wine/water/broth?
Hi, if I use beef stock instead of red wine would I still add the three beef bouillon cubes? Thanks in advance
I use 3tsp of beef stock instead of the cubes and it works fine!
Hi,
What can I substitute for the beef bouillon? We don’t eat beef or pork. Can I use vegetable/chicken stock? Please advise?
I would use chicken stock
I made a more than double recipe and gave half to a friend. I usually make my own recipe regularly that is a combination of other recipes and trial and error. This is very similar. I used some pork, some beef mince. I found I could only get 3 lasagne sheet layers not 4. Also be aware to add the milk gradually, whisking like crazy between additions to avoid lumps. Thanks for another great recipe!
Having made this recipe many times before I can vouch for how amazing it is. Tonight, I am using venison mince to make it. Let’s see how it turns out
Hi Nagi,
When freezing would you freeze after its assembled or after its baked?
Matt
See Note 9 under the recipe for make ahead Matthew! N x
This the ONLY lasagna I make! It’s so worth the effort. I make it exactly as written and it turns out perfectly delicious every time.
I followed this recipe to the letter. Brought half to Australia Day picnic and everyone loved this! Brought the other half to my friend who is isolating and she said this brightened her day!
You are a good friend!! N x
Doubled the recipe and froze in disposable trays. Absolute winner
PERFECTION! Thank you so much for this amazing lasagna recipe. This was the first time I’ve made lasagna and the recipe was perfect – I wouldn’t change a thing!
I make my own passata and fresh spinage pasta, so used those. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Thanks for a great recipe.
This was my first time attempting lasagne and the final result was perfect. We made it with fresh pasta and the taste was restaurant quality. Thank you for this winning recipe!
Nagi, thank you so much. I’ve tried several lasagna recipes but they’ve always been horrible and claggy. This one is a winner. X
Yet ANOTHER great recipe from Nagi!!! Easy to follow, and delicious!
All I can say is amazing. Made it for Christmas Eve. Big hit!!!
Big hit for Christmas Day dinner with the family and so easy to make and assemble the day before. Great flavor and held together nicely. A few recipe notes: recommend draining off the fat after browning the beef. A little fat adds flavor but since I used ground chuck, there was quite a bit of fat that that I ended up having to skim off the ragu. Also keep an eye on the cheese sauce to avoid over thickening. I let mine go just a tad too long and it was very thick. I was able to thin it out with some extra water and milk. Finally note that if you refrigerate it overnight, it will likely take 40 minutes to bake in the oven. I ran mine under the broiler for a minute or two to brown the cheese a little on top. Will definitely make again!
This recipe is to die for!! Every single measurement was perfect. My cheese sauce thickened a little too much by the time I got to the 4th layer however I thinned it out with water and it was back to a thickened cream consistency.
Make sure to read the notes. I didn’t change a thing and everyone raved on about it. It made 8 large portions.
I needed a tasty meal to cook for friends that can be made in the afternoon and cooked when the guests arrived.
I read all of your tips, and changed the recipe slightly.
I used 50/50 beef and pork mince ( because thats what I had), I also finely chopped up 4 slices of pancetta, and fried it up with the meat mix , in the last minute before it was all browned.
The rest of the recipe I followed to the letter. It cooked for 3 hrs in my heavy cast iron pot. WOW…it was fabulous! The best I have ever made in 50 yrs.
I learnt from you about laying out the pasta in alternate directions ….used 1 1/4 pkts of Coles fresh Lasagna . This made it cut beautifully. Thankyou Nagi, I only use your recipes now, they are always spot on.
I agree. I have donated all my cookbooks and only use this site.