Easy homemade lasagne with rich ragu sauce, creamy béchamel sauce and golden cheesy top. This is traditional Italian version using ragu and white sauce. Lasagne is not as difficult as thought by many people. Just prepare ragu and white sauce, layer up, top with cheese. And pop it in the oven. It does take little longer but its completely worth it.
Jump to RecipeHOW TO MAKE LASAGNE?
There are 3 steps in making Lasagne – prepare Ragu ( Meat Sauce), make Béchamel (White sauce). Assemble both with lasagne sheets and bake.
Start with preparing the meat sauce. Cook mince in sautéed onions and garlic. Add spices ( Salt, black pepper, oregano and Paprika)
I used tomatoe paste, it gives rich tomatoe flavour and I added passata (tomatoe puree). Crushed canned tomatoes can be added too . Lastly add stock and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
In the meanwhile prepare white sauce, melt butter and add flour. Add milk while constantly stirring. Lastly add cheese and cook until melted.
To assemble you need 4 layers of lasagna sheets. Spread Meat sauce and little white sauce. The final layer is topped with white sauce and cheese.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE LASAGNE
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
- You can use fresh pasta or instant pasta. If you are using lasagna sheets that needs to boiled make sure you don’t overboil. Drain it well so the lasagna doesn’t get watery.
- If you are using instant dry pasta keep the sauce bit runny it helps pasta to cook through.
- Whisk is your best friend when making white sauce. Keep stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Remove from heat when adding milk, it helps to prevent flour lumps.
- Cover the lasagne with foil. It prevents it from drying and getting hard and burnt on the top. Once its cooked ( around 30 – 40 Minutes) remove the foil and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes to give colour on the cheese.
VARIATIONS:
If you prefer some vegies in your lasagne add mushrooms, spinach, celery and carrots.
FREEZING LASAGNE
Lasagne freezes really well. You can always make an extra batch and freeze it for later. Reheat in the oven covered with foil.
OTHER PASTA RECIPES TO TRY
Lasagne
Ingredients
Ragu Meat Sauce
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion Chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic Crushed
- 1 Kg Beef Mince
- 2 tbsp Tomatoe Paste
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Crushed Chilli flakes
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 700 ml 0r 3 Cups Passata See Notes
Bechamel ( White Sauce)
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 4 tbsp Plain Flour
- 2½ cups Milk
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese See Notes
- ¼ tsp Salt
Assembling Lasagne
- 12 Lasagne Sheets See Notes
- 1 cup Mozzarella
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- Heat oil in the pan and add onion. Cook untill soft and add garlic.
- Add mince and cook untill water from meat evaporates and it turns brown. Add all the spices followed by tomatoe paste and passata.
- Once the sauce starts boiling turn the heat low and cover. Simmer it for at least 30 minutes.
Bechamel Sauce
- Heat butter in a saucepan untill it melts. Add flour and stir continously for a minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add milk while constantly whisking. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Return it back to the heat and when it thickens add cheese. Once the cheese melts, turn the heat off and cover the pan so the skin doesnt form on the sauce.
To Assemble
- Preheat oven to 200 °C fan forced
- In a oven proof dish smear little sauce and arrange lasagne sheets. Pour meat sauce enough to cover the lasagne sheet. Put some white sauce. Repeat this 2 more times.
- The final layer cover the sheets with white sauce and top it with cheese.
- Cover with the baking dish with foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Insert a knife to check if lasagne is cooked thoroughly.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until the cheese is golden.
Notes
- You can use tomatoe passata or canned crushed tomatoes.
- You can use mozzarella combined with cheddar too.
- Use instant dry lasagne sheets or fresh lasagne sheets found in referigerator section at shops.
