5 Layers of pasta with a tomato meat and a béchamel sauce, a crunchy golden cheesy topping, all baked to perfection.
This is how we make our gourmet lasagna, and you can do so as well with my recipe.
TL;DR
The lasagna contains 5 juicy layers of béchamel and tomato meat sauce, and everything is prepared from the base up.
In the recipe I first show you how to make the meat sauce, then the béchamel sauce and at last we get to the assembly of this baked lasagna masterpiece.
The meat sauce is infused with a selection of herbs and spices, and one particular spice can take it to another level.
I add dried allspice berries, a small brown hard spice that needs to be crushed fine. You can skip it, if you don't have it in your spice pantry, but I recommend try adding allspice for an extra yummy lasagna.
Ingredient Notes
For The Meat Sauce:
- Onion
- Carrot
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Bay Leaf
- Tomato Sauce — unflavored.
- Ground Beef — or you can use ½ beef and ½ pork. This is a common mix in Europe and Italy. The lasagna will turn out juicier thanks to the meat filling.
- Broth — beef or vegetable broth, OR mix bouillon cubes or powder into boiling water.
- Salt and Black Pepper
- Dried Herbs — oregano, basil, thyme
- Allspice — optional but adds flavor.
For the Béchamel Sauce:
- Butter — unsalted.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Milk
- Nutmeg
- Salt and Black Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese — finely shredded.
- Cheese — finely shredded pizza or mozzarella cheese.
To Assemble:
- Lasagna Sheets — oven-ready so that you don't need to pre-boil them.
- Parmesan Cheese — finely shredded.
- Cheese — finely shredded pizza or mozzarella cheese.
Process Overview
Step 1
Dice the onion, chop garlic and dice carrot.
Step 2
For the tomato meat sauce, sauté onion, carrot, and garlic in the olive.
Stir in the bay leaf and tomato sauce.
Step 3
Continue to add the ground beef, broth, and seasoning (salt, pepper, oregano, basil, thyme and crushed all spice.
Step 4
Mix it all well and simmer down the sauce for 10 minutes or so, so that it gets infused.
When done cooking, take out the bay leaf and discard it. Keep aside.
Step 5
For the Béchamel sauce, melt the butter over a medium-low heat setting and stir in the all-purpose flour until it starts to bubble.
Then pour in the milk while you keep on whisking so that no lumps form.
Step 6
Season with grated nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
Whisk in the shredded cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cook down to desired consistency.
Step 7
Assemble the lasagna in the baking dish. It's a 5 layer lasagna and these are the layering steps in order, starting with the Béchamel sauce:
1. Béchamel sauce, 2. Pasta sheets, 3. Béchamel sauce, 4. Meat Sauce, 5. Pasta sheets, 6. Béchamel sauce, 7. Meat sauce, 8. Pasta sheets, 9. Béchamel sauce, 10. Meat sauce, 11. Pasta sheets, 12. Béchamel sauce, 13. Meat sauce, 14. Pasta sheets, 15. Béchamel sauce, 16. Meat sauce, 17. Cheese topping.
Step 8
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes at 320 Fahrenheit (160 Celsius).
Uncover and finish baking for another 25 minutes, or until the top is golden crisp.
Step 9
Cut into 6 portions and serve up hot.
📖 Recipe
5 Layer Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Tomato Meat Sauce
- 1 Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Carrot
- 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Bay Leaf
- 15 Ounces Tomato Sauce unflavored
- 1 Pound Ground Beef
- 1 Cup Broth beef or Veg
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Teaspoon Basil Dried
- 1 Tablespoon Oregano Dried
- 1 Teaspoon Thyme
- 2-3 Allspice Whole crushed, Optional
Béchamel Sauce
- ½ Stick Butter unsalted
- 5 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
- 2½ Cups Milk
- pinch Nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Shredded Cheese pizza cheese or mozzarella
- ½ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
To Assemble Lasagna
- 15 Lasagna Sheets oven-ready
- ½ Cup Shredded Cheese
- ¼ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese or Pecorino Cheese
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- Dice the onion, chop garlic small and dice carrot.1 Onion, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 Carrot
- In a pan, sauté first the onion slightly soft with the olive oil. Stir in carrots and slight cook them before adding the garlic.1 Onion, 2 Cloves Garlic, 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 Carrot
- Throw in the bay leaf and pour in the tomato sauce in one go. Keep on a medium heat setting.1 Small Bay Leaf, 15 Ounces Tomato Sauce
- Continue to stir in the ground beef and the broth. Mix it all.1 Pound Ground Beef, 1 Cup Broth
- Season the tomato meat sauce with salt, black pepper, basil, oregano, thyme and some crushed allspice (secret ingredient). Mix it all well.½ Teaspoon Salt, ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper, 2 Teaspoon Basil Dried, 1 Tablespoon Oregano Dried, 1 Teaspoon Thyme, 2-3 Allspice Whole
- Simmer down the sauce for 10 minutes or so, so that the seasoning infuses the meat sauce.
- Take from the heat when the meat sauce is ready, and take out the bay leaf, so to discard it. Keep meat sauce aside.
Béchamel Sauce
- Keep a sauce pan over a lower heat setting and melt the butter.½ Stick Butter
- Stir in all-purpose flour with a whisk and keep on stirring to create the roux.5 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
- The flour and butter will mix up, and it will start to bubble and that is when you gradually pour in the milk with a whisk so that no lumps are formed. Increase heat to a medium flame if needed.2½ Cups Milk
- Add ground nutmeg, black pepper and salt to season.pinch Nutmeg, ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper, ½ Teaspoon Salt
- Whisk in the shredded cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese and cook down the sauce to desired consistency. The sauce is ready when it appears thicker and when it sticks to your whisk.½ Cup Shredded Cheese, ½ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
To Assemble Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 320 Fahrenheit (160 degree Celsius).
- The lasagna contains 5 pasta layers. The bottom needs to be layered first, always with béchamel sauce, so that the pasta sheets soak up and get soft. Each layer starts with pasta sheets, then you follow with a thin layer of béchamel sauce and at last the tomato sauce over that.15 Lasagna Sheets
- The full assembly order for the lasagna layers: 1. Béchamel sauce, 2. Pasta sheets, 3. Béchamel sauce, 4. Meat Sauce, 5. Pasta sheets, 6. Béchamel sauce, 7. Meat sauce, 8. Pasta sheets, 9. Béchamel sauce, 10. Meat sauce, 11. Pasta sheets, 12. Béchamel sauce, 13. Meat sauce, 14. Pasta sheets, 15. Béchamel sauce, 16. Meat sauce, 17. Cheese topping.
- The shredded cheese and Parmesan are spread across and form the topping at the end.½ Cup Shredded Cheese, ¼ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum and bake first for 30 minutes covered at 320 Fahrenheit (160 degree Celsius).
- Take out the baking dish from the oven and uncover the dish. Take it back to the oven and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes or so at the same temperature uncovered. The lasagna is ready when it's slightly crispy and golden at the top.
Notes
Equipment
- 8" Chef Knife
- Small Pot
- 1 8x13 Rectangular Baking Dish or 9x13 Rectangular Baking Dish
- Aluminum Foil to cover the baking dish
Nutrition
Serving
We serve the lasagna with a small side salad topped with a simple vinaigrette to balance all the cheesy meat flavors.
I like to serve along either salad:
Storing
Keep leftover portions in rectangular glass containers and store for up to 4 days in your refrigerator.
To meal prep, the portions can be frozen too in the same glass containers. To thaw and reheat, place the dish into the oven and heat up (check maximum heat at the bottom of your dish).
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