Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce
“This Lasagna with béchamel sauce is made with layers of lasagna noodles, rich beef and tomato sauce, creamy parmesan white sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese. Your whole family will enjoy it!”
This lasagna with béchamel sauce is a classic Italian recipe that uses white sauce rather than the American version that uses ricotta for the white layer. With the combination of rich beef and tomato sauce plus the creaminess of white sauce and cheese, you’ll definitely come back for more.
When you are on a diet, this recipe is not exactly ideal to look at and salivate over. But once in a while you can indulge from it to satisfy your cravings for a pasta dish.
You can enjoy this lasagna with bechamel sauce recipe as a meal with the entire family and you can even serve it on special occasions. It will definitely be a hit.
How to make lasagna with béchamel sauce
The meat sauce is made by sautéing ground beef and adding the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Using tomato paste results in thick and rich sauce, so don’t skip it.
This recipe uses béchamel sauce with parmesan cheese. A béchamel is a classic white sauce that is thickened with a roux. A roux is a butter and flour mixture and creates a smooth sauce that adds a lovely richness to the dish.
So to make the white sauce, you only need butter, flour and milk, seasoned with salt and pepper (if you prefer). I added parmesan cheese to give that extra creaminess. Although you can add parmesan cheese while assembling the lasagna, it is good to add it to the sauce at this time.
What sheets to use with some tips
There are types of lasagna sheets available in the supermarket.
You can use no cook or instant pasta sheets, they can be used without pre-boiling it (check the instruction label). You can assemble it normally but you have to make sure that the pasta has enough liquid to cook through while the lasagna is baking.
When using this kind of pasta, you need to break them to fit in the baking dish in a single layer and they don’t usually break so perfectly. You just need to be patient when cutting them or better yet, overlap them with the other sheets. The pasta will still cook in the 30 minutes baking time.
I used in this type of pasta in this recipe, which I find very convenient to use. They tend to be also affordable and can be found in most grocery stores here in UAE.
Another type of lasagna sheetis fresh lasagna pasta sheets which are hard to find here. You can find fresh lasagna sheets in the refrigerator section of the supermarkets.
They tend to get softer than instant lasagna. You will find that your lasagna is more of a mixture of pasta and sauce rather than the defined layers. The advantage of using fresh lasagna is that you can easily cut it to fit your baking dish.
You can also use the pre-boil or pre-cooked pasta sheets. This type needs to be boiled first before assembly. In a boiling water, add ample amount of oil to prevent the sheets from sticking together. Stir occasionally and carefully transfer cooked lasagna sheets in a large bowl or pot filled with cool water to stop the cooking process. Leave them in the water until ready to use to prevent them from sticking together and drying out.
As much as possible try to avoid this pasta sheet. It will be a difficult process. As you have to ensure that each sheet doesn’t stick to one another when you are boiling them. Just my opinion, but it is up to you if you prefer to use this kind of pasta.
How to assemble the lasagna with béchamel sauce
You begin to layer your lasagna with a thick layer of lasagna sauce, then add the lasagna sheets. Add another layer of the meat sauce, topped with white sauce then add another layer of pasta sheets. Repeat this until it reaches almost the top of your pan. You just need to make sure that the final layer will be pasta, meat sauce, white sauce then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Then it’s ready to bake! You’ll get a golden, crispy edges and a gooey, cheesy top with a layer of meat sauce underneath. Oh so yummy!
Try this lasagna with béchamel sauce in your next pasta dish, you and your whole family will definitely enjoy it!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and tell me how you liked it in the comments section below; I love hearing from you! Happy tummy!
Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
- Cooking pan and stirring spoon
- Baking Tray
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
Meat Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic. minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 900 grams minced beef
- 400 grams tomato puree
- 400 grams chopped tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 medium carrot, shredded
- 2 pieces beef cubes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar — optional
White Sauce/ Bechamel Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons (56g) butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 and ½ cups milk
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Lasagna:
- lasagna sheets
- 300 grams mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
Cooking the meat sauce:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion and cook until fragrant.
- Add beef and cook while breaking it up in a spoon until it turns brown or no longer pink.
- Pour the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well to combine and bring to a simmer.
- Add the shredded carrots, beef cubes, dried oregano and basil. Season with salt and pepper, and add sugar, if using.
- Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and meat is tender.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Making the Bechamel/ White Sauce with Parmesan cheese:
- Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add the flour and whisk for about 30 seconds or until combined.
- Slowly whisk in 1 cup of milk until well blended. Once blended, add the remaining milk in 1 cup increments, mixing well until well after each addition. Season with salt and pepper. Note: If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk until it comes to a creamy consistency.
- Increase heat to medium and continue cooking the sauce until it thickens and coats the back of your spoon.
- Add the parmesan cheese and mix until the cheese is melted. Set aside.
Assembling the Lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180 °C.
- In a 9"x9" baking pan, spoon about 1 cup of meat sauce on the base, spreading evenly. Cover with lasagna sheets (trim sheets if needed to cover the meat). Layer around to 2 cups (enough to cover the pasta) of meat sauce, followed by the white sauce and some mozzarella cheese. Repeat the same process until it comes to the top layer.
- Pour remaining meat sauce and white sauce over the last layer of lasagna sheets. Top with mozzarella cheese and chopped parsley.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let it sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
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