One of the most loved foods in the world is finally here! This is a traditional Italian Lasagna, made the Italian way with layers of slow cooked Bolognese ragu and cheese sauce. No ricotta – that’s the American-Italian version. 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 , finely diced
- 1 rib / stick of celery , finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 kg / 2 lb beef mince (ground beef) (Note 1)
- 800g / 28 oz crushed tomato
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup (250ml) red wine , bold not light (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 (75g) flour
- 4 cups (1 litre) milk (I use low fat)
- 2 cups (200g) shredded cheese (Colby, Gruyere, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, OR 1 cup 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 (150g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 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).
This lasagne is the best, so tender and creamy, have made it for several dinner parties and always get good comments on it. Thankyou Nagi and Dozer x
Beautiful lasagna, thank you Nagi. The ragu has great depth of flavour. I take a short cut by cooking the bechamel in my Thermomix – v easy, and making my kids chop the vegetables (overachieving daughter who took the “diced finely” instructions very literally). This will be my new go-to recipe going forward.
This is suprisingly easy, abd SO full of flavor! The béchamel is perfection.
This will be my go to from now on. I first made it in place of a turkey on thanksgiving…made it a few times since…so so good!
Hi Nagi!
Do you have instructions for cooking the ragu in a pressure cooker or slow cooker?
Hi Nagi,
This lasagne was absolutely beautiful!
I have a question – can I substitute the celery for the Celeriac ? My mum has lots of it in the garden and it would save me buying a whole bunch of celery and wasting the rest 😅
Thank you 😊
This a truly wonderful recipe. Let the ragu cook for the whole time – the flavour develops wonderfully. I used Colby cheese for the sauce and it worked a great. This recipe will go into the compendium of my highly recommended recipes. Bravo Nagi and thanks.
Absolutely beautiful. I whipped this up with your leftover bolognaise recipe. Reheated on the stove with a little bit of water to loosen it up. I used half lactose free milk and half soy for the cheese sauce and then finished it with Parmesan.
Perfect! Golden and bubbly in 30 mins.
Best ever lasagne, full of flavour and easy to make, thanks Nagi.
I loved this so much. It looked beautiful and tasted even better and was remarkably easy!
Thank you so much. (:
My dog Zeus – a border collie- lies like that too. Normally in the way. Or upside down 😂 🤷♀️
Oh & lasagne was delicious 🤤
So had a massive urge to make a BIG lasagne… Nagi you are my go to for literally everything i fancy a go at … Used gluten free pasta ( im coeliac) the fam all loved it and couldn’t tell it was GF …. It was absolutely amazing … Worth all the extra effort … Thank you
Made this on the weekend, but as I don’t eat beef, I substituted with chicken and used white wine instead. I also snuck in some zucchini into the mix, just because it was in the fridge. It’s a bit of effort but worth it. I was told by the family it was the best lasagne they ever had! Big call for a family of gourmands.
Have frozen the rest for another night.
I’m planning to make this for a dinner party. Can I make it the night before, if so, what is the best way to reheat it ?
Well I made this last night Nagi, it turned out Fantastic, very moreish and tasty. As usual I had to share with friends, I always cook too much. I have tried so many of your recipes, with great success, The Lamb Burek was a hit too. Yummy ! Lou..
I needed comfort food as I have Covid and although I have mild symptoms I felt this would hit the spot.
I halved the recipe and left out the celery but followed the rest faithfully. The smell while it was cooking was mouth watering and the final taste was worth the wait.
I made this to the recipe (minus onion and garlic for intolerances in my family 🙈) and it was perfection
I’ve made this several times, absolutely divine! Nagi your recipes are the best x
This turned out amazing! I followed your recipe exactly. Thanks Nagi!
I have loved this recipe for a while but have now reached a new level of debauchery… a double batch. Some for now and some for the freezer. It is the perfect meal to take camping or bang out on a busy work day.
OUTSTANDING RECIPE. I have cooked countless recipetineats recipes, they have all been beyond outstanding. But I think this lasagna takes the cake. It was DELICIOUS!!! Definitely worth the time to make the ragu, I will definitely make this again!! Thank you Nagi. Can’t wait for your cookbook to come out!!
I agree about some tasty cheeses. However, I’ve found that Bega and Great Ocean Road brands melt perfectly. Makes you wonder what the others do to the cheese in the production process.