Homemade Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce
This homemade lasagna with bechamel sauce or white sauce is rich, cheesy, and absolute comfort food. Made with homemade meat sauce, cheesy bechamel sauce, and no-boil lasagna noodles this one is absolute perfection.
When I lived in Singapore, my Italian neighbor once invited my flatmate and me over for dinner. Back then, I traveled a lot, and home-cooked meals were rare for me. When I mentioned that I loved lasagna, he decided to make me one from scratch. I still remember that first bite—it was the best lasagna I had ever tasted. Instead of the ricotta I was used to, he used béchamel sauce, and it completely changed the way I looked at lasagna.
Of course, after that meal, I couldn’t resist asking him to teach me more about authentic Italian cooking. He was incredibly generous with his knowledge, and over the next two years that we lived as neighbors, he taught me so many incredible dishes—different variations of lasagna, fresh pasta-making, and classic Italian sauces. In return, I introduced him to Indian cooking, and together, we exchanged flavors, techniques, and stories from our cultures.
To this day, every time I make lasagna with béchamel, I think back to those evenings in my neighbor’s kitchen, learning, laughing, and creating dishes that have stayed with me forever.
Why make this lasagna?
- The recipe is very simple and easy to make with classic lasagna ingredients.
- I am making the lasagna meat sauce from scratch, but you can also use the ready-made marinara sauce and add browned ground meat.
- The meat sauce takes about 40 minutes to make, and the bechamel cheese sauce takes only 10 minutes to make. Of course, I am using no-boil lasagna sheets.
- In addition, you can make everything on the day, or plan ahead and make some components a few days beforehand, like the meat sauce.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Meat – I am using lean ground beef with Italian sausage meat. But you can also use all ground beef.
- Tomato sauce – I am using three different varieties of canned tomatoes. This adds a nice flavor and texture to the sauce.
- Tomato paste – Adds a nice thickness, color, and depth of flavor to the sauce without too much liquid.
- Noodles – I prefer to use the no-boil Barilla lasagna noodles, but you can use any, including fresh lasagna sheets. I will leave instructions for the other noodles below.
- Cheese – I am using a bechamel sauce with Italian cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan, which makes it creamy and cheesy.
Step-by-step: Easy lasagna with bechamel sauce
Lasagna meat sauce (beef ragout)
- In a Dutch oven or heavy-bottom saute pan, over medium heat, add olive oil. Sauté garlic, carrots, celery, and onions until translucent.
- Then, add ground beef and pork. Break apart the beef into smaller pieces. Sauté on medium-high heat until the meat is no longer pink.
- Add the Italian seasoning, thyme, and bouillon. Followed by canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Add the water, whole basil sprigs, and chopped parsley.
- Cover and cook for an hour on low, stirring every 15 minutes until you have a thick, delicious meat sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the basil sprigs and discard them. Set aside to cool completely before using.
Bechamel Sauce
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or pot, add the oil and butter. Melt butter, add the flour, and cook on medium to low heat for two minutes.
- Next, add 1 cup of milk and continue cooking until the flour thickens, then add 1 cup of the remaining milk at a time. Then, add the grated cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and a generous sprinkle of nutmeg.
Layering the lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C/ Gas Mark 5.
- In a 9 x 13 baking dish or casserole dish –
- Spread one cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan
- Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles
- Spread about 1/2 cup of bechamel sauce on top with an offset spatula
- Sprinkle on some Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
- Repeat the process three more times until you have used up the meat sauce and bechamel sauce.
Pro tip – It is important to plan the amount of each component you will use ahead of time. Otherwise, you will have uneven layers in your lasagna.
- After the last layer, sprinkle any remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
Pro tip – Place the baking dish on a baking sheet for easy cleanup, just in case of any spillover.
Bake the lasagna
- Bake for 30 minutes covered, remove the aluminum foil, and cook another 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.
- Allow the lasagna to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving. This will give you nicer slices that won’t fall apart when cut.
Frequently asked questions
Lasagna is best served when freshly baked. Leftover lasagna will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. It can also be frozen for up to a month.
Ideally, the best combination is three layers of
Sauce followed by noodles, then cheese
Sauce – noodles – cheese
and more sauce – noodles – cheese
all remaining sauce and cheese. I prefer to add more sauce to my noodles, so you will see in the video that I have
sauce, noodles, sauce, cheese, and repeat.
Freezing unbaked lasagna – I like to layer my lasagna in a freezer-safe aluminum tray. Then, wrap well with aluminum and plastic wrap. Once frozen, you can remove the lasagna block from the aluminum tray and freeze it for up to a month. Remove from the freezer and place in a baking dish. Thaw overnight, then bake as directed
Freezing baked lasagna – layer and bake the lasagna in a freezer-safe aluminum tray. Once baked, cool completely in the fridge, then put it into the freezer. Once frozen, you can remove it from the aluminum tray and wrap it in aluminum or plastic wrap. To thaw, place in the baking dish and in the fridge overnight.
I like to bake the lasagna covered for 30 minutes, then remove the aluminum foil and cook another 20 to 25 minutes.
Covering with the foil will help the noodles cook in the steam created in the pan, which gives soft, melt-in-your-mouth noodles. Also, baking uncovered will ensure you have a nice golden top that looks appetizing and delicious.
Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce
This homemade lasagna with bechamel sauce is rich and cheesy. It is an absolute comfort food. Made with homemade meat sauce, cheesy bechamel sauce, and no-boil lasagna noodles, this dish is absolute perfection.
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ cup Onions finely chopped
- 1 tsp Garlic thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Carrots finely chopped
- ¼ cup Celery finely chopped
- 1 lb (500 g) Ground beef
- 4 oz (100 g) Ground pork or pancetta
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar (optional)
- 2 cans (30 oz) Tomatoes (15 x 2 oz or 4 cups) crushed
- 4 tbsp (65 g) Tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp Dried thyme Or 1 tbsp fresh
- ½ cup (120 ml) Water
- 1 tbsp Bouillion chicken or beef
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 2 sprigs Basil fresh
- 2 tbsp Parsley finely chopped
- 4 tbsp (60 g) Butter unsalted
- 1 tbsp Cooking oil large
- ¼ cup (4 tbsp) Flour (all-purpose flour)
- 3 cups (700 ml) Milk
- ½ cup (56 g) Mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup (50 g) Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Nutmeg freshly grated
- 1 lb (500 g) No-boil lasagna noodles
- 2 cup (225 g) Mozarella cheese grated
- ½ cup (50 g) Parmesan cheese grated
Method
- Add olive oil to a Dutch oven or heavy bottom saute pan on medium heat. Saute garlic, carrots, celery, and onions until translucent.2 tbsp Olive oil, ½ cup Onions, 1 tsp Garlic, ¼ cup Carrots, ¼ cup Celery
- Then, add the ground beef and pork. Break apart the beef into smaller pieces. Sauté on medium-high heat until the meat is no longer pink. Add the brown sugar and let it caramelize.1 lb Ground beef, 4 oz Ground pork , 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- Next, add the Italian seasoning, thyme, and bouillon. Followed by the canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Add the water, whole basil sprigs, and chopped parsley.2 cans Tomatoes, 4 tbsp Tomato paste, 2 tbsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp Dried thyme, ½ cup Water, 1 tbsp Bouillion , ½ tsp Salt, ½ tsp Pepper, 2 sprigs Basil, 2 tbsp Parsley
- Cover and cook for an hour on low, stirring every 15 minutes until you have a thick, delicious meat sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the basil sprigs and discard them. Set aside to cool completely before using.
- In a heavy-bottom saucepan, add the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and cook on medium to low heat for two minutes.4 tbsp Butter, 1 tbsp Cooking oil , ¼ cup Flour
- Next, add 1 cup of milk and continue to cook until the flour thickens. Then, add the remaining milk, one cup at a time. Finally, add the grated cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and a generous sprinkle of nutmeg.3 cups Milk , ½ cup Mozzarella cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, ¼ tsp Pepper, ¼ tsp Salt, ⅛ tsp Nutmeg
- Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5.
- In a 9 x 13 baking dish or casserole dish. – Spread one cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan– Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles – Spread about 1/2 cup bechamel sauce on top with an offset spatula – Sprinkle on some parmesan and mozzarella cheeseRepeat the process three more times until you have used up the meat sauce and bechamel sauce.1 lb No-boil lasagna noodles, 2 cup Mozarella cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- After the last layer, sprinkle any remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered, remove the aluminum foil, and cook another 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling. Allow the lasagna to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. This will give you more excellent slices that won't fall apart when cut.
Notes
- Use a Dutch oven or deep soup pot when making tomato-based sauces as tomato spatters while cooking
- Don’t make haste, give every step the time it needs to saute, sweat, and stew.
- Cook the carrots and onions until they are soft and translucent so later they will almost disappear in an effort to thicken the sauce.
- Use a variety of canned tomatoes – different types of tomatoes bring different flavors and sweetness
- The sauce is very delicious, make extra and save some in the freezer for later.
- Lasagna noodles – I am using no-boil lasagna noodles but you can also use boiled and drained noodles. Simply follow the package directions for boiling the pasta in salted water until al dante. It is better to undercook than over-cook as these will continue to cook when baked in the layers. Drain and leave in cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.
- How to layer lasagna – Ideally the best combination is three layers of
- Sauce followed by noodles then cheese
- Sauce – noodles – cheese
- and more sauce – noodles – cheese
- all remaining sauce and cheese
- Spinach lasagna – thaw and drain well the frozen spinach. Then add them to the lasagna over the ricotta layer along with the cheese.
- Freezing unbaked lasagna – I like to layer my lasagna in freeze safe aluminum tray. Then wrap well with more aluminum and plastic wrap. Once frozen you can remove the lasagna block from the aluminum tray and freeze it for up to a month. Remove from the freeze and place in a baking dish. Let thaw overnight then bake the next day.
- Freezing baked lasagna – layer and bake the lasagna in a freezer-safe aluminum tray. Once baked cool completely in the fridge then into the freezer. Once frozen you can remove it from the aluminum tray and wrap it well in more aluminum foil or plastic wrap. To thaw, place in the baking dish and let thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating lasagna – my kids reheat their lasagna in the microwave. Place the slice of lasagna on a plate and cover it with a wet paper towel. Then heat on high for a minute or more until hot. The steam created by the wet paper towel will hydrate the noodles making them soft as freshly made lasagna.
Alternatively, you can reheat leftover lasagna in the oven. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5 for about 25 minutes.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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Can this be prepped the night before & cooked the following day?
You can assemble the night before and then bake the next day, or bake and warm up as you do leftovers.