Classic Lasagna Recipe
This homemade Italian lasagna is made with layers of rich meat sauce (Ragù/Bolognese sauce), layers of creamy béchamel sauce (also known as white sauce), and a touch of mozzarella cheese. This easy and delicious classic Lasagna recipe will become a family favorite.
Lasagna is a classic Italian dish, often served for Sunday’s family dinner or special occasions, but it can be enjoyed any day or whenever you crave comfort food. While Lasagna is often made with Ricotta cheese in some families, this is the traditional recipe with bechamel sauce. For other similar variations, check out also this classic Baked Ziti Recipe or this Greek Pastitsio Recipe.
How to Make Lasagna: Video Recipe
Watch the full video recipe to learn how to make the best Lasagna recipe.
Prefer the written recipe? Scroll down to the recipe box 👇
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 👨🏻🍳Recipe Video: This lasagna classic recipe has over 160k views, and 3k likes on YouTube! Check also my YouTube channel for more recipe videos.
- 🍝Authentic: This traditional lasagna recipe follows the recipe from Northern Italy, made with bechamel instead of ricotta.
- ⏱️Make Ahead: You can easily make this Italian lasagna ahead of time and bake at the last minute, or even freeze to have ready whenever you want it.
- 👨👩👧👦Family meal: Everyone will love a delicious Lasagna on the table for family meal. It’s the best way to bring family together.
- 🥣Customizable: You can customize it as you want, making a vegetarian version, or adding more vegetables to the sauce.
What is the origin of Lasagna?
This classic lasagna recipe with bechamel sauce originated in Naples, Italy during the Middle Ages, making it one of the oldest types of pasta. During the years, the Lasagna traditions evolved in regions and nowadays, this simple original version remains beloved in northern Italy, while in the south, they prefer heartier versions with more meat like sausage or meatballs, and more cheese, including ricotta, and provolone.
Substitutions and Variations
You can customize this Italian lasagna recipe to your dietary needs or preferences.
- Vegetarian Lasagna: Skip the meat, or use plant-based ground “meat” or use a simple tomato sauce with vegetables to make this lasagna vegetarian.
- Gluten-Free: You can use gluten-free pasta sheets, and gluten-free flour to make the bechamel.
- More veggies: Add more vegetables to the sauce, like carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and so on, to make this lasagna dish more nutritionally rich.
- Meat lovers: You can also add ground sausages, and bacon to the meat to make the sauce even more flavorful.
- Cheesier: Add some ricotta cheese, mozzarella, or provolone cheese to the layers to add more cheesiness.
Tips and Tricks
- Make your own meat sauce. It takes some time to make sauce from scratch, but it’s 100% worth it!
- If you use no-boil lasagna sheets, make sure the bechamel and red sauce are a bit loose to allow enough liquid for the pasta to cook.
- If you prefer to boil the pasta, after boiling, lay the sheets out on clean towels to prevent sticking.
- Cover with foil for the first 30 minutes to prevent over-browning, then uncover for the last 15 to brown the cheese.
- Wait 20–30 minutes before slicing. It helps the layers set and makes serving easier.
Best Served With
Lasagna is rich and hearty on its own, but it pairs beautifully with lighter, fresh sides to balance the meal. Here are some of my best options to serve with lasagna:
Make Ahead and Storage
You can make all the components ahead of time, or even assemble to lasagna and store in the fridge covered for 1-2 days. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before baking it to bring it to room temperature.
Once baked, you can store leftover lasagna in artitght containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Baked Recipes
If you loved this lasagna recipes, you’ll like these other casseroles recipes too.
Classic Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 2 pounds (900 g) Ground beef or combination of ground beef and Italian sausage
- 1 Large onion chopped
- 3-4 Garlic cloves crushed
- 36 oz (1 kg) Tomato sauce
- 4 tablespoons (60 g) Tomato paste
- 1 cup (240 ml) Water or stock for extra flavor
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons Olive oil
For the béchamel sauce:
- 6 tablespoons (90 g) Butter
- ⅔ cup (85 g) Flour
- 3 cups (720 ml) Milk warm
- 2 oz (60 g) Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
More:
- Mozzarella shredded
- No-boil lasagna noodles
Instructions
- Make the Meat Sauce: In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef (or beef and sausage mix) and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic, and cook until softened. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika.
- Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, water (or stock), and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 40–60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves and set aside.
- Prepare the Béchamel Sauce: In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour and whisk constantly for 1–2 minutes to form a smooth roux. Gradually pour in warm milk, whisking until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth. Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Assemble the Lasagna: Grease a 13×9 inch (32×22 cm) baking dish. Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom. Add a layer of no-boil noodles, followed by ⅓ of the meat sauce, ¼ of the béchamel sauce, and a sprinkle of mozzarella. Repeat the layering two more times. Finish with béchamel sauce and top with mozzarella and grated Parmesan.
- Bake: Cover with foil sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 15–20 minutes until golden and bubbly.
- Rest and Serve: Let the lasagna rest for 15–20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
- Watch the Video Recipe – For a better understanding of the recipe, I recommend watching the step-by-step video tutorial. It will guide you through the cooking, and assembly of the lasagna to help you achieve the best result.
- Check the FAQs – If you have any questions about ingredient substitutions, cooking methods, or storage tips, be sure to check the FAQs section located under the recipe card, and the post above.
- Make-Ahead & Storage Tips – You can make all the components ahead of time, or even assemble to lasagna and store in the fridge covered for 1-2 days. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before baking it to bring it to room temperature. Once baked, you can store leftover lasagna in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Do I need to boil the pasta? You can use no-boil lasagna sheets, but make sure the bechamel and red sauce are a bit loose to allow enough liquid for the pasta to cook.
- Cheese variations: Feel free to add ricotta or cottage cheese between the layers for added creaminess, or mix mozzarella with provolone for extra cheesiness.
- Let it rest: Don’t skip the resting time after baking. It helps the layers firm up and improves texture and flavor.
Nutrition
Common Questions
There isn’t a fixed amount of layers you need to make lasagna, but it should have at least 2-3 layers of pasta to be a proper lasagna.
The layers are usually composed of pasta, meat sauce, bechamel sauce, and cheese. Repeat each layer the same way.
While not mandatory, bay leaves will add a nice aroma to the meat sauce.
This looks SO good! Just have a couple of questions. Do we need to add a cup of water to the meat sauce? It is in the list but not in directions. (same with the paprika) As far as the bay leaves, we should remove them from the sauce before layering, right? Thank you!
Want to try this recipe at the earliest.
But before that, I would request for a fair understanding between the no boil” and “boiled” lasagne sheets in the recipe.
My husband and I tried this recipe and its just delicious!!
We just followed the instructions and the result was amazing!! Even more delicious than the ones we’ve tried in restaurants.
I’ve tried several recipes from this website and all of them have been beyond delicious. Thank you!!
Coming back to this recipe at least twice a year, works perfectly every time. Best Lasgana Recipe!