Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe (Video)
Published March 21, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe is layered with homemade pasta, bechamel, and bolognese for an unforgettable meal. Consequently, If you’re looking to get a lasagna recipe straight from Italy, then this version is exactly that.
Firstly, I’m Sicilian so making and eating pasta in my house is commonplace. If you want to try out some new recipes, you must try Ravioli or Penne all Vodka.
Lasagna Bolognese
Lasagna bolognese is a classic Italian dish consisting of many layers of wide flat pasta, bechamel, bolognese sauce, and cheese. It’s then baked until golden brown and bubbly. This is the authentic way to make lasagna and how it’s done in Italy. I personally believe the more layers, the better.
Instead of using the easier assembled Ricotta cheese, a thickened milk-based bechamel sauce is traditionally used. In addition, the sauce would be more of a beef-based sauce and not a tomato-based sauce, as you would see in a spaghetti sauce.
The cheese that is sprinkled in between the layers and on top would be a variety of mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano, or sometimes Pecorino Romano. There are many variations on this recipe, but if you’re looking for the correct way to do it, then this is the one for you.
Ingredients
- Pasta – Homemade pasta is the best to use in this recipe.
- Bechamel – You will need to make bechamel sauce which is used in between the layers of this lasagna.
- Bolognese – I make a bolognese in this recipe using mirepoix, garlic, olive oil, pork, beef, and tomatoes.
- Cheese – I use a combination of whole milk mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
How to Make Lasagna Bolognese from Scratch
Process the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a food processor until finely minced.
Pour 3 tablespoons of oil into a large pot over medium heat.
Add the minced vegetables and saute/sweat them for 4 to 6 minutes while frequently stirring.
Next, add in the ground pork and beef and cook until it is well browned and cooked throughout.
Deglaze with wine and then pour in the hand-crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and mix to combine. Simmer over low heat until it’s ready to be used.
In the meantime, make your pasta dough.
Once the dough is rolled out, cut each sheet into 9″ to 11″ long pieces. Set it to the side on a clean surface dusted with flour until it is ready to be boiled.
Make the bechamel sauce and keep it warm over low heat.
Boil about 6 to 7 pasta sheets at a time in a large pot of boiling salted water for 20 to 30 seconds.
Remove the pasta and set them on a clean kitchen towel separate from one another so that they are easy to grab.
Place a small amount of bechamel sauce to the bottom of a lasagna pan.
Next, do the same with the Bolognese sauce.
Add a layer of cooked pasta to completely cover both sauces.
Add on both of the sauces in the same manner and then sprinkle a 1/4 cup of mozzarella mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of parmesan.
Repeat the process until the pasta, sauces and cheeses have been used.
Save a good amount of the bechamel to pour over the top of everything at the end.
Add the remaining bolognese sauce over the top. Be sure there is plenty left to be able to do this. Finish by sprinkling on the remaining cheeses to cover every thing
Finally, bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until browned and crispy in the corners. Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: Assemble the lasagna entirely and place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before serving it. Place it in the oven directly from the refrigerator and bake at 400° for 55-60 minutes or until browned and cooked.
How to Reheat: Place the desired amount of lasagna into a small pan or in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through and hot.
How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Place covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw this for 1 whole day in the refrigerator before reheating.
chef notes + tips
- The wine in this recipe and all of my recipes are optional. However, you can also use red wine if you’d like.
- You can also use store-bought lasagna pasta when making this recipe.
- The best thing about using homemade pasta is that the shape of it does not need to be perfect outside of it being long enough to fit in the pan.
More Pasta Recipes
- Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
- Linguine White Clam Sauce
- Linguine and Prosciutto
- Pappardelle and Puttanesca
- Gnudi
Video
Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 peeled and roughly chopped yellow onion
- 4 peeled and roughly chopped carrots
- 4 roughly chopped stalks of celery
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds of ground pork
- 1 ½ pounds of ground beef
- 3/4 cup white wine (pinto Grigio, chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc)
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 recipes for bechamel
- 1 recipe for homemade pasta
- 10 ounces shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start making the Bolognese sauce by finely mincing using a chef's knife or processing the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a food processor.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of oil into a large rondeau pot (8 quarts) over medium heat.
- Add the minced vegetables and sauté/sweat them for 4 to 6 minutes while frequently stirring.
- Next, add in the ground pork and beef and cook until it is well browned and cooked throughout.
- Deglaze with the white wine and reduce the amount of liquid by one half. Pour in the hand-crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and mix to combine. Simmer over low heat until it's ready to be used.
- In the meantime, make your pasta dough. Once the dough is rolled out, cut each sheet into 9" to 11" long pieces to fit inside of the 13×9 casserole dish we will use. Set it to the side on a clean surface dusted with flour until it is ready to be boiled.
- Make the bechamel sauce and keep it warm over low heat.
- Boil about 6 to 7 pasta sheets at a time in a large pot of boiling salted water for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Remove the pasta and set them on a clean kitchen towel separate from one another so that they are easy to grab when assembling.
- Place a small amount of bechamel sauce to the bottom of a lasagna pan. Next do the same with the Bolognese sauce.
- Add a layer of cooked pasta to completely cover both sauces.
- Add on both of the sauces in the same manner and then sprinkle a 1/4 cup of mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of parmesan over the sauces.
- Repeat the process until the pasta, sauces and cheeses have been used.
- Save a good amount of the bechamel to pour over the top of everything at the end. Add the remaining bolognese sauce over the top. Be sure there is plenty left to be able to do this.
- Finish by sprinkling on the remaining cheeses to cover every thing and bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until browned and crispy in the corners.
- Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
I forgot to check this recipe out until after I attempted to recreate the ricotta based lasagna that my Mom made for decades. “Oh, you need me to bring food to the gathering? OK. I’ll make lasagna.” It was that kind of a thing, and every school that I went to got more than a few.
Unfortunately, she has dementia and has forgotten how to cook pretty much everything. Tonight was my third attempt. Today, in the store, I decided to use ground pork instead of Italian sausage links cut into chunks. I used 3+ pounds of meat total with 32oz of sauce, which worked much better than the usual 2 pounds and 28oz.
My question is this: While seasoning every step to taste (noodles during cooking and Bolognese), how do we account for the salt in the cheeses? I had to season the Bolognese 3x before it was good enough. I had another cup of Ricotta and more Bolognese, so I used it for a thin 4th top layer (which is unheard of in our house). The completed lasagna seemed a little salty to me, so I don’t know if it was in the noodles, the Bolognese or in the cheeses.
Seasoning comes with practice and knowing how much to use. I didn’t use ricotta in mine so it’s hard to know exactly where all the salt came from.
Out of this world!!!
many thanks!
This is a fantastic recipe. first time for me trying a bechamel sauce and absolutely love it. will be my go to
excellent!
This is now my go to lasagna recipe. I buy fresh lasagna sheets but other than that I follow the recipe and it’s a hit every time.
that’ll still work!
I made this Lasagna Bolognese for dinner last night-it was heaven on a plate! Served it with sliced Jersey tomatoes and crispy Italian bread. Made the sauces, as written, over the course of two days due to time constraints then put it together the night we ate it. Adding the onion with bay leaf and clove to the bechamel sauce really elevated the flavors. Made a few extra “baby” lasagnas to freeze.
love it!
Wow, I hard a hard time imagining using clove in lasagna.
This bolognese sauce is delicious! I didn’t have any celery and used a dry Riesling. I didn’t make the layered lasagna or the bechemel, but I have tried my hand at the homemade noodles which my family of picky eaters say are the best! So I put this meat sauce on the homemade noodles and it was delicious! My house still smells like bolognese the next morning, I love it! Billy all your recipes so far are my favorites!!
my pleasure! thanks for giving it a shot!!
One of my sisters, favorite recipes that she asked to be made many times
thanks for giving it a shot!!
I made this because I have never had it that way. I liked it and could see how that would have been a loved dish. I however have to revert back to my ricotta I’m sure it’s because it was the one I was raised on. I do see myself making it this way if I have someone that requests it.
Billy is a genius. This is THE BEST lasagna I’ve ever made. Billy continues to knock it out of the park with his superb recipes. His great great Nona would be so darn proud!!! Thanks BP!
Appreciate it.
Chef Billy, I have a question. I’ve been making your recipe for about a year and a half now, and the original recipe calls for simmering your Bolognese sauce for 90 minutes and there is no mention of deglazing the pan with white wine. Did you change the recipe?
it’s optional as stated in the video 🙂