This Easy Homemade Lasagna is made with 3 Sauces: a hearty bolognese, a classic tomato sauce and a béchamel to tie it all together!
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Ingredients & substitutions
- Oven-ready lasagna sheets – gluten free lasagna sheets work great. Thin layers of eggplant and zucchini can be substituted, but will not produce the same texture.
- Chopped vegetables – veggies like peppers, mushrooms, and spinach are all great options.
- Bocconcini cheese – extra mozzarella can be used in place of bocconcini, if needed. Any semi-soft cheese will work.
- Mozzarella cheese – if mozzarella is not available to you, provolone or white cheddar can be used instead of mozzarella.
- Parmesan cheese – Piave or asiago cheese can be used in place of parmesan if needed. If cheese isn’t your favourite, nutritional yeast can work, too.
- Tomato sauce – if making homemade sauce is not your thing, store-bought or jarred also work. Any tomato-based sauce will do!
- Bolognese sauce – Ground beef can be switched for ground turkey or vegetarian mince. The wine can also be substituted for white wine vinegar, white grape juice, or any type of broth.
- Béchamel sauce – this sauce can be exchanged for store-bought alfredo sauce. This can also be made with lactose free cream, milk, and butter if that is more your style.
How to layer lasagna
To make your layers, you’ll be following a pattern of a thin layer of béchamel sauce, then a layer of lasagna sheets, bolognese sauce, a second layer of béchamel sauce, your shredded cheeses, then your roasted vegetables. This pattern will be repeated about four times, starting with your lasagna sheets and finishing with your cheeses. This can be topped with some tomato sauce and the remaining cheese. Some fresh basil is a nice touch on top, too.
How many layers is best for lasagna?
Depending on the depth of your baking dish, four layers is a good, safe number. Having too many layers can cause it to fall over sideways, as the height and weight may be too much. With four layers, you can be confident that every type of sauce and cheese used will be distributed evenly.
Is lasagna better with ricotta?
So when I went to the grocery store to round up ingredients for this dish, I realized that I forgot ricotta! Growing up on those freezer lasagnas, of course I thought lasagna needed ricotta cheese. I mean it's a staple, right? After doing some research, I stumbled onto this Lasagna recipe from Bon Appétit, which actually advises AGAINST using ricotta in a lasagna. As a lasagna virgin, I loosely followed some of the steps from this recipe and took the magazine's recommendation to instead create a béchamel sauce. Let me tell you, it was the right way to go!
Storing and reheating
Once your lasagna has been fully cooked and has cooled completely, store it in an air-tight container and refrigerate it for up to 3-5 days. When it’s ready to be eaten, heat it in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes or until hot. Sprinkling some fresh grated cheese and basil on top is a great way to keep those flavours strong and clear.
Freezing this lasagna
Freezing your lasagna works best when assembled but uncooked. To freeze your uncooked lasagna, I recommend assembling it in a foil or glass container in individual servings. You can also freeze the whole lasagna in a covered airtight container or tightly wrapped in aluminum foil. Your cooked lasagna can be frozen as well once cooled.
More lasagna-inspired recipes
Will you be trying my Easy Homemade Lasagna recipe? If you do be sure to tag me on Instagram and Twitter – I'd love to see your creations for holiday gatherings!
Easy Homemade Lasagna with 3 Sauces
Ingredients
- 8 oven-ready lasagne sheets
- 1 cup vegetables of your choice chopped (I used yellow and red pepper & mushrooms)
- 1 cup Bocconcini cheese sliced
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
Bolognese Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp dry red wine
- 1 (796mL) can crushed tomatoes
Bechamel Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cream
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 (650mL) jar passata (strained tomatoes)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh basil finely chopped
Instructions
Roasted veggies:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Slice peppers in half and drizzle in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove and chop up peppers.
Bolognese Sauce:
- In a blender or Magic Bullet, pulse onion, garlic, celery and carrots until finely minced.
- Heat olive oil in large pot over med-high heat, and add onion-carrot mixture. Add ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper, and cook for 20 minutes until fat begins to render. Add red wine and cook another 2 minutes, then add crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Set aside.
Bechamel Sauce:
- Melt butter in small pot over medium heat and add garlic, cooking for 30 seconds until beginning to roast. Add salt and pepper, then slowly whisk in flour. Add milk and cream, whisking to remove lumps. Continue until mixture is boiling and then remove from heat.
Tomato Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in a medium sized pot over med-high heat, then add garlic. Saute for about 30 seconds, then add strained tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, bringing to a boil then simmering for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil.
To assemble lasagna:
- Coat a 9x13' oven safe dish with butter and olive oil. Add a thin layer of béchamel, followed by lasagne sheets, bolognese sauce, more béchamel, the trio of shredded cheeses and then the roasted veggies. Repeat the same steps four times over, always beginning with the lasagne sheets and finishing with the cheese.
- When you've added the final layer and before you cover the top with cheese, pour tomato sauce over the top of the lasagna and make sure it goes down the sides of it, covering the entire dish. Finish with cheese and sprinkle some fresh basil overtop if desired.
- This lasagna can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Cook covered by tin foil at 425 degrees for 40-45 minutes and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Taylor Stinson says
That’s amazing, thank you Rick!! So glad you were able to try it out, the sausage would go amazing with this recipe! Thanks for stopping by and letting us know how it turned out 🙂
Laura @MotherWouldKnow says
I love this type of lasagna – much nicer than the heavier ricotta version. It’s sort of a lasagna cousin to moussaka – and they’re both incredibly tasty.
Taylor Stinson says
Laura – I’ve never had moussaka before!! I feel like I’m missing out but I never see it on the menu whenever I go out to eat and I haven’t a clue how to make it myself. If it’s anything like lasagna I’m in 😉
Carol Borchardt says
Wow. This looks absolutely divine!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Carol! 🙂