Lasagna Bolognese
The BEST Lasagna Bolognese! Layers of lasagna noodles baked with alternating layers of slow-cooked Bolognese sauce, bechamel, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Equally stunning & delicious, this Lasagna Bolognese is the perfect dish to make for any special holiday dinner this season.
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 4 hours
Makes: 12 servings
Ingredients
Lasagna Bolognese
- 6-7 cups Bolognese Sauce
- 20 sheets egg lasagna noodles
- 5 tablesoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk, warmed
- 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan, divided
- 16 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
Bolognese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6 oz pancetta diced small
- 1 lb ground sirloin 90/10
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 – 28 oz can high-quality crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups medium-bodied red wine
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan rind
- Kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
Bolognese Sauce
- Crisp up the pancetta. Melt the butter and olive oil in a dutch oven over medium low heat. Add the pancetta, and cook while occasionally stirring, until crispy. This process takes about 10-12 minutes, don't rush. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pancetta from the pot and transfer to a small bowl.
- Finely mince the veggies. While the pancetta cooks, Add all the veggies and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until everything is finely minced. This saves tons of time!
- Cook the beef and sausage. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage to the pot and keep the heat low. Cook while stirring often until the meat is cooked through and really finely broken up. Don't brown the meat, just cook low and slow until it's cooked through.
- Add the veggies. Increase the heat to medium and add the finely chopped veggies to the pot. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are soft. Add the tomato paste to the pot and really mix it in. Cook until it's darkened in color, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Add the wine to the pot and use it to help scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the milk, tomatoes, bay leaves, crispy pancetta, and parmesan rind to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot.
- Simmer. Simmer on low for 2 1/2 – 3 hours, stirring every hour or so. The sauce should be thick and deep red in color. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaves. You can store the sauce in an airtight container up to 1 week after it's cooled to room temperature.
Lasagna Bolognese
- Boil the noodles. To cook the lasagna noodles, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add 5-6 lasagna noodles at a time and cook them until al dente, in the case of the brand I used I boiled them for about 4 minutes. Store them on a baking sheet between layers of parchment that have been drizzled with olive oil.
- Make the bechamel. In a non-reactive 2 qt saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is hot and foamy, sprinkle in the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly. Whisk in the warm milk 1 cup at a time, whisking constantly until all the milk is added. Bring to a simmer until thick and stir in 1/2 cup of parmesan, salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste plus the nutmeg. Cool for 10 minutes.
- Assemble the lasagna. Lightly grease a deep 9x13 baking dish (see notes below). Spread a thin layer of bechamel. Use 4 noodles and lay them on top of the bechamel. Spread 1 1/2 cups bolognese sauce over the noodles. Drizzle 3/4 cup of bechamel over the bolognese. Sprinkle with some of the diced mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the parmesan. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. On the top layer, just spread the bechamel with mozzarella and parmesan. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the unbaked lasagna overnight.
- Preheat an oven to 375 F.
- Bake. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 1 hour, covered. Remove the cover and bake for 15 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbly. Rest the lasagna for 20-30 minutes before serving. Top with freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
- If you use no-boil noodles, let the lasagna rest at room temperature, covered, for 1 hour before baking.
- When assembling your lasagna, make sure to use the right size pan. I used a deep (3 1/2") 9x13 ceramic baking dish (linked above). This keeps your lasagna from bubbling over. You also want to use only stainless steel, ceramic, or pyrex baking dishes. DO NOT USE ALUMINUM. The acidity of the sauce will react with the aluminum and give the lasagna an off flavor.
- If you're using a smaller pan, decrease the amount of ingredients used accordingly.
- Once the lasagna is assembled, it can be covered and stored in the fridge overnight before baking.
- Follow instructions in the above blog post for storage and freezing instructions.