This beef lasagna recipe is a game changer, it’s made with a delicious meat sauce and béchamel sauce/white sauce. It’s the perfect lasagna dish.
This Beef Lasagna recipe has a delicious meat base, which is followed by an amazing cheesy béchamel sauce. Which I love!
I have been trying to put together a good beef lasagna recipe for years and when I finally constructed this one, I was very happy with myself. I loved every single piece of this dish and everyone told me that it was my best lasagna recipe by far.
To make a bomb lasagna you must get one thing right. You need to sort of master the meat sauce, a lasagna is not a lasagna without a flavourful meat sauce. I made this delicious meat base with tomato sauce and tomato paste, I don’t use crushed tomatoes because I feel like it is too overwhelming. That is just my opinion.
I used lean ground beef and ground pork sausage because it pairs very well together. I also think that the pork brings something extra to this dish. But you can either do without it or substitute it with ground turkey.
One thing I learned about myself is that I am not a fan of ricotta cheese in my lasagna. I know it’s the traditional Italian way to do it and I have tried to make it that way but I was never really satisfied. But when I swapped out the ricotta mixture for the cheesy béchamel sauce I knew this was the way to go.
The béchamel sauce/white sauce is very simple, I made it with parmesan, milk, flour and butter. I seasoned it lightly and let it thicken. To know when the sauce is ready, pass a finger on the back of your spoon, if it stays separated then it’s done. Be sure to let the sauce simmer over low heat, you don’t want to burn it nor make a mess.
I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Now let’s get into it.
Classic Beef Lasagna
Ingredients
- 6-8 lasagna pasta
Meat sauce:
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 8 oz Mozzarella cut into small chunks
- 2 cups Tomato sauce (15 oz can)
- 1+1/4 cups Beef broth
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup Tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- 2 tsp Fresh or Dried oregano
- 2 tsp Fresh or Dried parsley
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Fresh or Dried thyme
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 Yellow onion diced
- 1 Bell pepper diced
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
For the white sauce:
- 1+1/2 cups Parmegiano
- 1+1/2 cups Whole milk at room temperature
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp Black pepper
Instructions
Meat sauce:
- In a medium size pot over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and then add the onion bell pepper and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and ground pork sausage, brown the meat and drain the excess grease before moving on.
- Once the excess grease has been removed add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, paprika, brown sugar, oregano, salt, black pepper, thyme and parsley. Finally stir in the beef broth, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes. Until the sauce has thickened and the meat is soft and tender.
White sauce:
- Over medium-low heat in a pot, add the butter and let it melt then stir in the flour. Stir until both the flour and butter have clumped together. Gradually whisk in the milk, it's okay to have lumps at first but continue whisking until there aren't any.
- Stir in the black pepper, salt and nutmeg and let the sauce thicken for 5-7 minutes. Finally, add the parmesan and remove from the heat once it is well incorporated.
The assembly:
- Cook the pasta until al dente. (This step may be unnecessary if you are using no-boil lasagna)
- Preheat oven at 375°F/180°C.
- In a 9x9 inch pan, start by adding the sauce followed by at the pasta noodles, being sure to cover the meat base then top with the white sauce followed by the meat sauce and top with more white sauce. Repeat layer.
- Add the remaining white sauce on top followed by the meat sauce then the cheddar cheese and finally the mozzarella chunks. Cover the top with the cheddar cheese and mozzarella.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let it cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe video:
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