Traditional Lasagna Bolognese Sauce and Bechamel

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This traditional lasagna bolognese sauce and bechamel is made from scratch but with the use of the pressure cooker and no-boil lasagna sheets, it is very easy to make.

Lasagna as a quick meal

Making lasagna from scratch doesn’t have to be a long and complicated process, in fact, I usually make the lasagna when I know I will be home late and I will not have time to cook.

I prepare it beforehand and:

• I either leave it in the fridge and cook it when I return home, or;
• I cook it for 15 minutes only, and cook the remaining 5 minutes when we are all ready to eat.

The preparation is very simple as I use 3 shortcuts:

1. I made the Bolognese sauce with a pressure cooker and it only takes 30 minutes. Often I already have a batch ready in the freezer (You can read more about my Once a Month Freezer Meal Prep)
2. I buy ready-made Béchamel sauce which in Italy and France you can find already make in all supermarkets. Although, if you cannot find it, bechamel sauce is very easy to make, and if you make some extra you can freeze it to use it on busy days.
3. I use no-boil lasagne pasta sheets from De Cecco, Barilla or Rana. They don’t need to be pre-cooked. They will cook directly in the oven in only 20 minutes. As long as you use enough tomato sauce and bechamel, the lasagna sheets will cook with those juices while baking and will absorb all their flavours.

So I will show you step by step how to make a lasagna from scratch, and you can also find detailed recipes for the Bolognese Sauce and the Homemade Béchamel: white roux in these articles.

The Bolognese sauce I make in this recipe is a simplified version, you will find the traditional recipe and the difference between a ragu and a Bolognese in the article Bolognese sauce.

The ingredients are:

1lb – 500 gr of homemade Bolognese sauce

• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 large carrot diced
• 1 stalk of celery stalk diced
• 1/2 cup – 120 g of bacon
• 1 cube of beef stock
• 1 lb – 500 gr of lean minced beef ( for Bolognese use a mix of beef and pork)
• 1 lb – 500 gr of regular tomato sauce
• Black pepper
• ½ cup of Marsala wine or white wine, optional but highly recommended

1 cup – 300 ml of fresh Béchamel sauce

• 2 tbsp – 30 g flour
• 2 tbsp – 30 g butter
• 1 1/4 cup – 300 ml milk
• 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• salt & pepper

The rest of the ingredients

• 1 lb – 500 gr Lasagna pasta sheets – De Cecco, Barilla or Rana
• 1 cup – 100 gr of parmesan cheese grated
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 14 oz – 400 gr of Mozzarella
• Fresh basil if you like

Making the Bolognese sauce in the pressure cooker

1. Stir fry the onion, carrot and celery to make a soffritto, add the bacon and once cooked add the meat.
2. Stir the meat until it is all brown, then add a 1/2 cup of Marsala and let it evaporate.

3. Add the tomato sauce and the beef stock, stir and close the pressure pan.
4. Once the pressure is built, the sauce has to cook only 30 minutes.

N:B: If you don’t have a pressure cooker the sauce should simmer for 2 hours.

Making Béchamel: White Roux

1. Stir for 1 or 2 minutes the flour and the butter in a pan over low heat with a wooden spoon to create a white roux.
2. Remove from the heat and gradually add the warm milk making sure no lumps are formed.
3. Put back on the heat and bring to boil stirring constantly.
4. Lower the heat and keep stirring, till it reaches the right consistency.
5. Add salt and nutmeg at the end.

Composing the lasagna

1. Oil a baking tray and spread the first layer of lasagne sheets.
2. Add the Béchamel sauce and the Parmesan cheese to the Bolognese sauce.
3. Cut the mozzarella into thin slices.
4. Pour the sauce and lay the mozzarella over the sheets and start making the lasagne layers.
5. Continue until the last sheets are used.

6. In the last layer just add the mozzarella and sprinkle with olive oil.
7. Cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes at 355 F – 180 C and presto, the lasagna is ready!

More lasagna versions and similar recipes

This is the most classic lasagna, but many more variations exist. You can make white lasagna, filled with vegetables and cheese like mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, ricotta, provola. You can also make it with seafood and bechamel, no cheese.

Prepare the mix you want to add, just make sure there are enough juices for the no-boil sheets to cook. If you are making a seafood lasagna, I would suggest you don’t cook the fish before you assemble it otherwise the fish will be overcooked. You can get some inspiration from the recipe Fish pie with a Mediterranean twist.

If you want to try something similar to the lasagna but made with different ingredients than lasagna sheets, you can try eggplant Parmesan, where eggplants slices are used instead of pasta, rice timbale or bake pasta.

If you are making this Easy lasagna with Bolognese and bechamel, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

📋Traditional Lasagna Bolognese Sauce and Bechamel

This traditional lasagna bolognese sauce and bechamel is made from scratch but with the use of the pressure cooker and no-boil lasagna sheets, it is very easy to make. #yourguardianchef #italianfood #dinner #pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

⏲️Total Time 30 minutes

Servings: 8 people

Print Pin Rate

Author: Laura Tobin

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US Customary – Metric

For the Bolognese sauce

• 1 lb lean minced beef
• 1 lb regular tomato sauce
• 1 onion diced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 celery stalk diced
• 1/2 cup bacon
• 1 cube beef stock
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup Marsala or white wine

For the bechamel

• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• salt & pepper

For the lasagna

• 1 lb lasagna sheets De Cecco, Rana or Barilla
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan grated
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 14 oz mozzarella cucina
• 20 leaves fresh basil leaves

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker
• Cutting board set
• Measuring mugs
• Mini Measuring Set
• All-Clad Sauce Pan 3-Quart
• All-Clad Roaster with Nonstick Rack
• Wooden Turner Set

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Instructions

Make the Bolognese sauce

• Stir fry the onion, carrot and celery to make a soffritto, add the bacon and once cooked add the meat.
• Stir the meat until it is all brown, then add a 1/2 cup of Marsala and let it evaporate.
• Add the tomato sauce and the beef stock, stir and close the pressure pan.
• Once the pressure is built, the sauce has to cook only 30 minutes

Make the bechamel

• Stir for 1 or 2 minutes the flour and the butter in a pan over low heat with a wooden spoon to create a white roux.
• Remove from the heat and gradually add the warm milk making sure no lumps are formed.
• Put back on the heat and bring to boil stirring constantly.
• Lower the heat and keep stirring, till it reaches the right consistency.
• Add salt and nutmeg at the end.

Making the lasagna

• Oil a baking tray and spread the first layer of lasagna sheets.
• Add the Béchamel sauce, the basil leaves and the parmesan cheese to the Bolognese sauce. Cut the mozzarella into thin slices.
• Pour the sauce and lay the mozzarella over the sheets and start making the lasagna layers. Continue until the last sheets are used.
• In the last layer just add the mozzarella and sprinkle with olive oil.
• Cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes at 355 F – 180 C and presto, the lasagna is ready!

Video

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Notes

• no-boil lasagne pasta sheets don’t need to be pre-cooked. They will cook directly in the oven in only 20 minutes. As long as you use enough tomato sauce and bechamel, the lasagna sheets will cook with those juices while baking and will absorb all their flavours.
• If you want to prepare the lasagna ahead of time you can:
  • either leave it in the fridge for a few hours and cook it when you need it or;
  • cook it for 15 minutes only, and cook the remaining 5 minutes when you are ready to eat.
• You can prepare ahead of time the bolognese sauce and the bechamel and freeze it.
• If you don’t have a pressure cooker the sauce should simmer for 2 hours.
• The lasagna if made fresh can be frozen, not if you use ingredients that have been frozen already.
• You can put some mozzarella between each lasagna sheet layer, but you will not be able to cover the entire surface. So I prefer to put a full covered layer in the middle and one on top so the mozzarella is well distributed. Once you serve the lasagna every serving of lasagna will have two mozzarella layers.
• You can make white lasagna, filled with vegetables and cheese like mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, ricotta, provola. You can also make it with seafood and bechamel, no cheese.
• Prepare the mix you want to add, just make sure there are enough juices for the no-boil sheets to cook.
• If you are making a seafood lasagna, I would suggest you don’t cook the fish before you assemble it otherwise the fish will be overcooked.

Nutrition

Calories: 657kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 898mg | Potassium: 654mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2169IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 474mg | Iron: 3mg

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