Name: Homemade Lasagna Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 210 min
Total time: 240 min
Ingredients: 750 g beef mince; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 large onions ((finely chopped)); 4 cloves garlic ((finely chopped)); 1 large carrot ((finely diced)); 2 sticks celery ((finely diced)); 1 cup red wine; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 red chili (optional) ((finely chopped)); 1200 g chopped tomatoes (use fresh or tinned) ((3 tins chopped tomatoes)); 1 TSP freshly ground black pepper; ½ TSP sugar; ½ cup milk; 1 cup beef stock; 4 bay leaves; 8 sprigs thyme ((only leaves and finely chopped)); 2 TSP salt; 80 g butter; 80 g all-purpose flour; 800 ml milk ((semi skimmed or full fat)); 1 TSP nutmeg; ½ TSP salt; 100 g grated parmesan cheese; 350 g lasagna sheet ((fresh or no precooking dry sheet)); 100 g mozzarella cheese ((grated)); 50 g cheddar cheese ((grated))

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This rich and hearty Homemade Lasagna is made with layers of tomatoey meat sauce, lasagna sheets and velvety bechamel sauce topped with cheese. It is the perfect dish to gather your family or friends around the dinner table. This world-famous classic Italian dish is absolute comfort food and probably is everyone’s favourite food.

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The tasty meat lasagne recipe is very easy to follow and makes around 8 portions, so it’s an absolute crowd pleaser! If you think it’s a lot of lasagnas, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. My ideal way to serve this delicious dish is to serve it with a side of Rocket and Parmesan Salad and cheesy garlic bread slices.

How to Make Homemade Lasagna?

Making the best homemade lasagna is quite straightforward but it requires some time and patience. To achieve the best results, you need to follow few simple steps:

Start with cooking the meat sauce – First thing first, get the meat sauce cooking. The secret to a tasty and hearty sauce is slow cooking. Don’t rush it, give it at least 2.5 hours for the best result. If you don’t cook the meat sauce long enough, you will end up with a bland watery sauce. To make the meat sauce, put a large pan or dutch oven on medium heat and brown the mince. Stir occasionally and break the mince using a wooden spoon to make sure there are no lumps left. Add olive oil if necessary and lower the heat. The mince will release some fat so you might need less oil than stated in the recipe. Add the onions along with the garlic and cook until they are soft and translucent then add the carrot and celery. Cook for 5 more minutes until the vegetables start softening. Deglaze the pan with red wine and let it evaporate. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes, chilli, freshly ground black pepper, sugar, milk, beef stock, bay leaves and thyme. Give it a good stir, lower the heat, cover the lid and gently simmer for 2 hours. Remove the lid and cook for another half an hour until the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender. Stir occasionally while cooking to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan and to check if there is enough liquid.

Make the bechamel sauce – Start making the bechamel sauce when the meat sauce is ready. If you cook the bechamel too early, it will start to thicken and will be more difficult to spread. To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat and stir in the flour. Mix well using a wooden spatula or a whisk and cook for two minutes stirring all the time. Whisk in a little of the warm milk at a time stirring continuously until you have a smooth, velvety sauce. Cook on low heat for few minutes stirring all the time until the sauce has thickened and the flour taste has disappeared. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the salt, nutmeg and 100 g grated Parmesan cheese.

Assemble the lasagna – Preheat the oven to 180 °C (fan oven) and start assembling the lasagna using a rectangular dish approximately size of 33 cm x 22 cm with a minimum of 9 cm depth. You need a large and deep enough dish to fit 3 layers of deliciousness without overfilling it. Make sure there is at least 1 cm space left on top of the dish to avoid spillage while baking the lasagna. To assemble the lasagna, spoon about ⅓ of the meat sauce on the base of the dish and cover it with lasagna sheets. Brake them gently if necessary to fit in the dish, they don’t need to be perfectly layered. Top with a ⅓ of the béchamel sauce and gently spread it over the lasagna sheets. Repeat two more layers, and then top the last layer of pasta with the rest of the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle on the grated mozzarella and cheddar and cook for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes to let the bechamel sauce set before slicing and serving.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious Homemade Lasagna as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

Homemade Lasagna Recipe

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 3 hrs 30 mins

Total Time 4 hrs

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

750 g beef mince
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions (finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 large carrot (finely diced)
2 sticks celery (finely diced)
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 red chili (optional) (finely chopped)
1200 g chopped tomatoes (use fresh or tinned) (3 tins chopped tomatoes)
1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
½ TSP sugar
½ cup milk
1 cup beef stock
4 bay leaves
8 sprigs thyme (only leaves and finely chopped)
2 TSP salt

Béchamel Sauce

80 g butter
80 g all-purpose flour
800 ml milk (semi skimmed or full fat)
1 TSP nutmeg
½ TSP salt
100 g grated parmesan cheese

Lasagna

350 g lasagna sheet (fresh or no precooking dry sheet)
100 g mozzarella cheese (grated)
50 g cheddar cheese (grated)

Instructions

Cooking the Meat Sauce

Put a large pan or dutch oven on medium heat and brown the mince. Stir occasionally and break the mince using a wooden spoon to make sure there are no lumps left.
Add olive oil if necessary, the mince will release some fat so you might need less oil than stated in the recipe.
Add the onions and garlic, saute until soft and translucent then add, celery and carrots, saute for another 5 minutes.
Add the red wine, deglaze the pan and let it totally evaporate.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes, chilli, freshly ground black pepper, sugar, milk, beef stock, bay leaves and thyme.
Give it a good stir, lower the heat, cover with the lid and gently simmer for 2 hours. Remove the lid and cook for another half an hour until the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender. Stir occasionally while cooking to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan and to check if there is enough liquid.

Cooking the Béchamel Sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat and stir in the flour.
Mix well using a wooden spatula or a whisk and cook for two minutes stirring all the time.
Whisk in a little of the warm milk at a time stirring continuously until you have a smooth, velvety sauce.
Cook on low heat for few minutes stirring all the time until the sauce has thickened and the flour taste has disappeared.
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the salt, nutmeg and 100 g grated Parmesan cheese.

Assembling the Lasagna

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (fan oven).
Spoon about ⅓ of the meat sauce on the base of a 33 cm x 22 cm x 9 cm oven dish.
Cover the meat sauce with lasagna sheets. Brake them gently if necessary to fit in the dish, they don't need to be perfectly layered.
Top with a ⅓ of the béchamel sauce and gently spread over the lasagna sheets. Repeat two more layers, and then top the last layer of pasta with the rest of the béchamel sauce.
Sprinkle on the grated mozzarella and cheddar and cook for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.