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This here is the authentic Italian Lasagna Bolognese recipe (Lasagne alla Bolognese), the one you would eat in Italy in the best Italian restaurants.
It's the authentic recipe born in the city of Bologna, WITHOUT MOZZARELLA. Oh yes, because, contrary to popular belief, the authentic classic recipe of Lasagna Bolognese does NOT want mozzarella.
Lasagna with mozzarella is a VARIANT of this classic Lasagna recipe and you can find it mainly in southern Italy, often together with ricotta.
The authentic traditional recipe of lasagna Bolognese is made up of three main preparations: fresh egg pasta (Lasagna Noodles), Bolognese Sauce (Ragu alla Bolognese) and bechamel.
Now let's see together how to make Lasagna Bolognese classic Italian recipe step by step.
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Ingredients
- Prep Time: 30 Min
- Cook Time: 2 H and 30 Min
- Servings: 8
Doses for a 13x9 inch lasagna pan.
For Bolognese Sauce (Ragu alla Bolognese)
- 300 g (10 oz) of coarsely ground beef
- 150 g (5 oz) of sliced pancetta (you can replace pancetta with minced pork)
- 300 g (1 1⁄4 cup) of tomato passata or crashed peeled tomato
- 1 small carrot (about 50 g)
- 1 celery stalk (about 50 g)
- 1 small onion (about 50 g)
- 100 ml (1⁄2 cup) of dry white wine
- 100 ml (1⁄2 cup) of whole milk
- 300 ml (1 1⁄2 cup) of meat broth
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- fine salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For Lasagna Noodles
- About 14 lasagna: you can make fresh homemade lasagna noodles following our step by step recipe: how to make Homemade Pasta
- Or you can buy authentic Italian flat lasagna, oven ready (no cooking or boiling necessary), made with durum wheat (we recommend Tuscanini brand).
- Plenty of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese (at least 200 g = 2 ¼ cups).
For Bèchamel Sauce
- 1 liter (4 cups) of fresh whole milk
- 100 g (3.5 oz - ~1 stick) of unsalted butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz - ⅔ cup) of all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon of fine salt
- freshly grated nutmeg
Lasagna Bolognese Recipe: Instructions
The Bolognese Sauce
Are you ready to make some delicious homemade lasagna bolognese? So first you have to make Bolognese sauce, this delicious dish made with minced meat, soffritto and tomato passata, useful for seasoning any type of pasta, so make plenty. You can prepare the Bolognese sauce even 1 or 2 days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator.
For the complete recipe, with more details, information and suggestions, read how to make Bolognese sauce recipe.
Step 1) - First cut the carrot, celery and onion in very tiny pieces. The more the better. Set aside. Then cut the pancetta as finely as possible with a sharp knife or a food processor. Now place the minced pancetta in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time.
Step 2) - Add the extra virgin olive oil and the finely chopped vegetables. Stir and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring. Then add the ground beef.
Step 3) -Stir and cook for 5 minutes over medium / high heat. Now put the heat on high and add the white wine. Stir and let it evaporate.
Step 4) - Finally add the tomato passata. Cover with a lid and simmer over LOW heat for about 2 hours. If the sauce dries too much during cooking, add a little meat broth. Towards the end, add the milk to dampen the acidity of the tomato. Season with salt and pepper. Bolognese Sauce is ready when you can see an oily, creamy sauce on the surface.
The Bechamel Sauce
While the Bolognese sauce is cooking, make the béchamel. For the complete recipe, with more details, information and suggestions, read how to make Bechamel Sauce recipe.
Step 1) - In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat then add the flour - using a flour sieve - while mixing QUICKLY with a whisk. Cook for 30 sec/1 min stirring, so the flour becomes tastier and absorb the butter fats. The mixture of butter and flour is called roux and it should be a nice golden color. Now set aside and let it cool. Meanwhile heat the milk, without bringing to a boil.
Step 2) - Pour the milk slowly over the roux, while stirring vigorously with a whisk to prevent the formation of lumps. When the milk is completely poured over the roux sauce, put the saucepan back on low heat. Keep mixing constantly, until you have a fairly thick consistency (about 10/15 minutes). The sauce is ready when it sticks to the back of a wooden spoon. Finally, add a pinch of fine salt and grated nutmeg to taste.
If you have used a whisk and stirred at supersonic speed you shouldn't have any lumps in the sauce. If any lumps form, beat them out with an immersion hand blender until they dissolve. You can make Besciamella ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator for ⅔ days.
The Layers
Now that you have all the main preparations, we can start assembling the layers of our lasagna bolognese. If you are using fresh pasta lasagna made with our recipe, DO NOT FORGET to dip them 1 minute in boiling salted water and let cool and dry on kitchen towels before using them for your lasagna recipe. If you are using the lasagna noodles that we have recommended in the ingredients, you do NOT NEED TO COOK them. They will cook in the oven thanks to the liquids of the meat sauce and bechamel.
Step 1) - Preheat the oven at 190° (380 F). Spread on the bottom of a baking dish (better ceramic or pirex) two tablespoons of bechamel. Then put a lasagna noodle over it, trying to cover the entire bottom of the pan. If one lasagna is not enough for you, use another one, whole or in half, depending on the size of the lasagna. Layer on two tablespoons of bolognese sauce and two of bechamel sauce.
Step 2) - With the help of a tablespoon, cover the entire surface of the lasagna. In the end, sprinkle two tablespoons of grated Parmigiano.
Step 3) - Repeat these steps for at least five layers (lasagna - bolognese sauce - bèchamel - parmigiano), in any case up to fill your baking dish.
The Baking
Step 4) - Finish by covering the last layer with plenty of Parmigiano cheese, that cooking make a crispy crust. Bake at 190° (380 F) for about 30 minutes.Let cool Lasagna Bolognese out of the oven for 10 minutes before serving.
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- Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
- Meatballs in Tomato Sauce | Polpette al Sugo
- Pizzoccheri Recipe | Buckwheat Pasta with Cabbage and Potatoes
- Gnocco Fritto | Emilian Fried Puffy Bread
- Baked Pasta Roses Recipe
Storage
Make Lasagna Bolognese Ahead of Time
So, as you can see, there are three different recipes, which you can make at different times. For example you can make Bolognese sauce a few days ahead and freeze it. Even 1 mounth ahead of time and keep it in the freezer.
Fresh lasagna noodles and béchamel sauce can be made the day before. After you have prepared them, you can start assembling the layers of this delicious and rich Italian dish.
So yes! It's possible to make ahead of time lasagna Bolognese recipe: it can be made a few hours earlier, for example early in the morning to bake them for lunch, but even the evening before.
In this case, wrap it in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. When you want to cook it, you must leave it at room temperature for half an hour: in the meantime, preheat the oven to a cooking temperature of 190° C (380 F).
How to Freeze Lasagna
You can freeze lasagna bolognese both uncooked and cooked, whole or in pieces. In all cases you will get an excellent result by following these tips:
Freezing Uncooked Lasagna
For example you can make a lasagna pan or two and want to freeze to have them ready for the next time. This is typical when you have a dinner or lunch with many guests and you want to make ahead the main dish. So just defrost the lasagna the night before so that it thaws perfectly and the cooking in the oven remains uniform. Then bake at 190° (380 F) for about 30 minutes.
Freezing Cooked Lasagna
If you have a cooked lasagna pan or some leftovers you can think of freezing them. In this case you will have to let the lasagna cool before freezing. When you want to reheat them, just defrost some hours ahead then heat up at 190° C (380 F) for about 10 minutes. TIP: just cover the surface with aluminum foil to prevent it from further toasting.
For both freezing options it's better using fresh products that have not already been frozen.
Variations
In Italy each region has its own version of lasagna recipe and every family makes his own personal changes, thus increasing the number of possible variations in an incredible way.
- MUSHROOMS: The gastronomic tradition of each region has significantly influenced the development of the local version of lasagna. In mountain areas, for example, it's not uncommon to find mushrooms as a filling, instead of meat sauce.
- EGGPLANT: In Sicily, lasagna is very often stuffed with ricotta and eggplant, they call it Lasagne alla Norma
- PESTO: In Liguria, pesto genovese is obviously inevitable. With this great green sauce they make the Pesto Lasagna with potatoes and green beans.
- RADICCHIO: While in Veneto the filling is prepared with red radicchio from Treviso.
- MOZZARELLA: When you add grated Parmigiano, add a little mozzarella cut into small pieces. This is a variant widely used in Italy, especially in the southern regions. This version is often found with the addition of ricotta instead of bechamel.
- RICOTTA: you can replace bechamel with ricotta cheese.
- LASAGNA VINCIGRASSI: In Marche and Umbria, famous is lasagna “vincigrassi”, in which the sauce is enriched with chicken livers, sweetbreads, bone marrow, bovine brain or truffle.
- CARASAU BREAD: Finally, in Sardinia, they use carasau bread in place of lasagna noodles.
Of all these variants, however, only two are competing for the title of Italian lasagna in the collective imagination all over the world: that of Emilia Romagna (lasagna Bolognese) and that of Naples (classic lasagna).
Curiosities
Classic Lasagna vs Lasagna Bolognese
Meat sauce (obviously with the due differences in cooking methods) and grated parmigiano cheese are common in both the recipes. But the difference between classic lasagna and lasagna Bolognese are more consistent. Both recipes come from two famous Italian recipes, born in two different cities: Lasagna Bolognese (from Bologna) and Classic Lasagna (from Naples) known in Italy as Neapolitan Lasagna.
Classic Lasagna mix the meat sauce with fresh ricotta while the Bolognese version uses the Béchamel to bind the filling.
In Italy, traditional Lasagna Napoletana presents a greater “richness” of the filling, which includes (not necessarily all together) semi-hard cheeses, diced salami, hard-boiled eggs and fried meatballs.
What matters is that lasagna, which started from two points in Italy (Naples and Bologna), has become one of the gastronomic symbols of Italy in the world, especially in the United States.
Recipe Recap
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL RECIPE WITH PHOTOS, TIPS AND VARIATIONS ABOVE!
Authentic Italian Lasagna Bolognese
This here is the authentic Italian Lasagna Bolognese recipe (Lasagne alla Bolognese), the one you would eat in Italy in the best Italian restaurants.
It’s the authentic recipe born in the city of Bologna, WITHOUT MOZZARELLA. Oh yes, because, contrary to popular belief, the authentic classic recipe of Lasagna Bolognese does NOT want mozzarella.
Lasagna with mozzarella is a VARIANT of this classic Lasagna recipe and you can find it mainly in southern Italy, often together with ricotta.
Course Lasagna
Cuisine Italian
Keyword authentic lasagna bolognese recipe, lasagna bolognese
Prep Time 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
Total Time 3 hours hours
Servings 8
Calories 747kcal
Ingredients
For Bolognese Sauce (Ragu alla Bolognese)
- 300 g beef 10 oz, coarsely ground
- 150 g pancetta 5 oz, sliced. Or minced pork
- 300 g passata 1 ¼ cup, or crashed peeled tomato
- 1 carrot small
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 onion small
- 100 ml white wine ½ cup, dry
- 100 ml milk ½ cup
- 300 ml broth 1 ½ cup, meat
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- salt
- black pepper
For Lasagna
- 14 lasagna sheets
- 200 g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 2 ¼ cups
For Bèchamel Sauce
- 1 liter milk 4 cups, fresh and whole
- 100 g butter 3.5 oz or ~1 stick, unsalted
- 100 g flour 3.5 oz or ⅔ cup
- ½ teaspoon salt fine
- nutmeg freshly grated
Instructions
Make the Bolognese Sauce
Place the minced pancetta in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time.
Add the extra virgin olive oil and the finely chopped vegetables. Stir and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring. Then add the ground beef
Stir and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Now put the heat on high and add the white wine. Stir and let it evaporate.
Add the tomato passata. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours, adding broth when needed. Towards the end, add the milk to dampen the acidity of the tomato. Season with salt and pepper.
Make the Bechamel Sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat then add the flour – using a flour sieve – while mixing quickly with a whisk. Set aside and let it cool. Meanwhile heat the milk, without bringing to a boil.
Pour the milk slowly over the butter+flour, while stirring vigorously with a whisk to prevent the formation of lumps. When the milk is completely poured put the saucepan back on low heat. Keep mixing constantly, until you have a fairly thick consistency (about 10/15 minutes). Add a pinch of fine salt and grated nutmeg to taste.
Make the Layers
Spread on the bottom of a baking dish two tablespoons of bechamel. Then put lasagna noodles over it, trying to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Layer on two tablespoons of bolognese sauce and two of bechamel sauce.
Sprinkle two tablespoons of grated Parmigiano. Repeat these steps for at least five layers (lasagna – bolognese sauce – bèchamel – parmigiano -repeat), in any case up to fill your baking dish.
Cover the last layer with plenty of Parmigiano cheese. Bake at 190°C (380°F) for about 30 minutes. Let cool Lasagna Bolognese for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 100g | Calories: 747kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 999mg | Potassium: 715mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2291IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 507mg | Iron: 3mg
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