Best Lasagna Recipe Without Ricotta Cheese

5 from 4 votes

Best Lasagna Recipe Without Ricotta Cheese

This delicious pasta dish made with layers of lasagna sheet, tomatoey meat sauce, and cheesy béchamel is perfect for family gatherings or a lazy Sunday lunch.

Prep Time30

Cook Time3 30

Total Time4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Low Salt

Servings: people

Calories: 800kcal

Author: Ayla Clulee

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

750 g beef mince
2 tablespoon 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 tablespoon tomato paste
1 red chili (optional) (finely chopped)
800 g chopped tomatoes (use fresh or tinned) (2 tins chopped tomatoes)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon sugar
½ cup milk
1 cup beef stock
4 bay leaves
8 sprigs thyme (only leaves and finely chopped)
2 teaspoon salt

Béchamel Sauce

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

Lasagna

300 g lasagna sheet (fresh or no precooked dry sheet)
100 g mozzarella cheese (grated)
50 g cheddar cheese (grated)

US Customary - Metric

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, and sauté 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, chili, freshly ground black pepper, sugar, milk, beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme.
Give it a good stir, lower the heat, cover it 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 a 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 - 360° F (fan oven).
Spoon about ⅓ of the meat sauce on the base of a 33 cm x 22 cm x 9 cm (13" x 9" x 3.5") 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.

Notes

Always be careful when adding the salt if using store-bought beef stock or stock cubes as they contain salt already.

For this easy Homemade Lasagna recipe, 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.

Add a bit of sugar to balance the acidity in the tomatoey meat sauce.

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.

Stir occasionally while cooking the ragu to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan and to check if there is enough liquid.

Nutrition