Ingredients
- 1 batch of egg pasta dough
- salt and pepper to taste
- parmesan reggiano for topping
- 1 lb low moisture mozzarella cheese
For the Garlic Basil Béchamel Sauce
- ½ cup butter 1 stick
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 tbsp basil leaves fresh and chiffonade
- ½ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
Meat sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 3 cups onions diced (about 1 ½ large onions)
- ¾ cup celery diced (about 4 stalks)
- ¾ cup carrot diced (about 4 large carrots)
- 3 tbsp garlic minced
- 84 oz canned San Marzano tomatoes 3 – 28oz cans
- 9 oz tomato paste 1 ½ – 6oz cans
- 6 tbsp beef bouillon paste
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp dried thyme
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ tsp dried basil
- 3 bay leaves
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- Salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the meat sauce
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven, over medium heat, add the oil.2 tbsp olive oil
- Once the oil is preheated add the ground beef and pork. Using a potato masher, break up the meat into fine bits. Cook until a good crust has formed (about 5-6 minutes).1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork
- Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Add the beef bouillon paste and stir until combined.6 tbsp beef bouillon paste
- Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Mix well and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.3 cups onions, ¾ cup celery , ¾ cup carrot , 3 tbsp garlic , 84 oz canned San Marzano tomatoes, 9 oz tomato paste
- Add the thyme, bay leaves, oregano, basil and red pepper. Mix well.1 ½ tsp dried thyme, 3 tsp dried oregano, 1 ½ tsp dried basil, 3 bay leaves, Pinch of crushed red pepper
- Add the water. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 2 hours.1 ½ cups water
- Remove from the sauce from the heat. Add the cheese and stir to combine.⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if needed. Set aside while you prep the béchamel.
Make the Béchamel Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.½ cup butter, 3 garlic cloves
- Whisk in the flour to form a roux. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.½ cup all-purpose flour
- Gradually whisk in the heavy cream until smooth.4 cups heavy cream
- Turn off the heat. Add the basil and parmesan cheese. Then season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.4 tbsp basil leaves, ½ cup parmesan cheese
Prepare the Pasta Sheets
- Roll out the homemade egg pasta dough into thin sheets using a pasta roller or rolling pin.
- Cut sheets to fit your baking dish. Blanch them in salted boiling water for 30–60 seconds, then transfer to an ice bath. Lay on clean towels to dry.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Add a layer of pasta, then a layer of bolognese (about 3-4 ladles full), followed by béchamel and a sprinkle of mozzarella and parmesan.
- Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with a final layer of pasta, meat sauce, mozzarella, and grated parmesan.
Bake
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 15–20 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and golden brown.
Rest & Serve
- Let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
- Garnish with extra basil if desired, and serve warm!
Nutrition
What do you think of this recipe?Keep scrolling for the full recipe post. Please consider Leaving a Review!There is no ricotta in this lasagna. That is the first thing people notice, and usually the first thing they argue about.
The lasagna most Americans grew up with is the southern Italian version: ricotta between the layers, sometimes an egg mixed in to hold it together. I prefer this one. Northern Italy builds lasagna on béchamel instead, and once you have eaten it that way, the ricotta version starts to feel grainy by comparison. Béchamel binds the layers instead of sitting in them.
The béchamel is where I take liberties
A standard béchamel is butter, flour, dairy, salt. Mine is not standard. I flavor it with garlic, fresh basil, and freshly grated parmesan.
The garlic goes into the melted butter first and cooks for about 30 seconds, just until it’s fragrant, before the flour goes in. That way the garlic flavor is built into the roux rather than floating on top of a finished sauce. The basil and the parm go in at the end, off the heat, so the basil doesn’t turn dark and the cheese doesn’t break.
The result is a sauce that tastes like something on its own, not just a white layer doing structural work. If you have made a proper roux-based cheese sauce before, like the one behind my white cheddar mac and cheese, the method will feel familiar. Same technique, different destination.
I use heavy cream here instead of milk. Four cups of it, against a half cup of butter and a half cup of flour. Cream is for the richness. That’s the reason.
Egg pasta, not flour and water
For lasagna and for ravioli, I use egg pasta. The noodles have a better chew.
That is the whole argument. Flour-and-water pasta is fine for plenty of shapes, but in a baked dish where the sheets are sitting under sauce and cheese for 40 minutes in the oven, texture is the thing that gets lost first. Egg dough holds its bite. My homemade egg pasta dough is the same batch I use for filled pasta, so if you have made ravioli here before, you already have this part down.
Roll the sheets thin, cut them to fit your dish, then blanch them 30 to 60 seconds in salted water and shock them in an ice bath. Lay them out on clean towels so they aren’t wet going into the pan.
The sauce is a two-hour job
The bolognese simmers about two hours. Beef and pork together, browned hard with a potato masher so it breaks into fine bits and builds a real crust before anything else goes in the pot. Beef bouillon paste, San Marzanos, tomato paste, the vegetables, the dried herbs, then water and time.
Parmesan goes in at the end, off the heat.
If you want the same flavor profile on a weeknight without the long simmer, my easy bolognese-style meat sauce gets you close in a fraction of the time. For this lasagna, though, do the long version.
Assembly and bake
Thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 so nothing sticks. Then pasta, bolognese, béchamel, mozzarella and parm. Repeat until you run out, and finish the top with pasta, meat sauce, mozzarella, and grated parm.
Low moisture mozzarella, not fresh. This lasagna does not need more moisture in it. You also get a better cheese pull out of low moisture mozz.
375°F, covered with foil for 25 minutes, then uncovered for another 15 to 20 until the top is browned and bubbling.
Rest it at least 15 minutes before you cut. This is not optional. Cut it hot and the layers slide apart on the plate.
Serve it with something sharp and cold on the side. A five-minute Caesar without anchovies is what we make, and it comes together while the lasagna is resting.
Make ahead, freeze, leftovers
Lasagna is a great make-ahead meal. It’s also great for leftovers. When we make this, we’re eating it for two days, and I just reheat in the microwave by the serving.
To freeze it, go all the way up to assembly and stop there. Freeze the assembled pan. On the day you want it, cook it until it’s thawed through and golden brown on top.
Tips
- Blanch, then ice bath, then dry. Skipping the ice bath means the sheets keep cooking and turn soft.
- Take the béchamel off the heat before the parmesan goes in. Cheese added to a boiling sauce gets grainy.
- Chiffonade the basil so it distributes instead of clumping.
- Rest for 15 minutes minimum. Longer is better if you can stand it.
If you like this style of baked, cheese-heavy pasta, my rigatoni D runs on a similar richness even though the build is completely different.