Pasta, Ragù

Homemade lasagna – Lasagne fatte in casa

The classic homemade and authentic lasagna recipe. No ricotta cheese or mozzarella cheese involved! Follow all my tips and advice to get a mouth-watering dish!

Prep time: 15 min (considering the meat sauce and the besciamella already ready)
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min

$12-15 total*

8-10 people

Ingredients

1 lb (454 g) dry lasagna noodles (in the shape I chose, it corresponded to 30 lasagna noodles – unbroken)
4 cups homemade white sauce (Besciamella)
4 cups homemade ragù Bolognese (ragù alla bolognese)
1 and 1/4 cups (about 4 oz, 120 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
4 small pieces of butter

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° and place a rack in the middle.

Cook the dry lasagna noodles in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes each (I usually place 4-5 noodles at a time and make sure they do not stick on top of each other). Drain with a perforated spoon and place each noodle on a clean kitchen towel. Do not overlap the noodles!

Spread 4 tbsps of ragù and 4 tbsp of besciamella into an ungreased 13×9-inch casserole.

Layer with 6 noodles (or as many as necessary to cover the surface of the casserole).

Cover the noodles with 3/4 cup of ragù and 3/4 cup of besciamella. Spread well the ingredients and sprinkle with 4 tbsps of Parmesan cheese.

Repeat the procedure until you obtain 5 layers (each layer has 6 noodles).

Top the last layer with remaining ragù, besciamella, and parmesan cheese. Add oil on the surface and the four pieces of butter in the four corners. This will prevent them from burning.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Tips & notes

If you have time, let the lasagna rest for 30-40 minutes before baking. This will allow the noodles to absorb the meat sauce and the besciamella.
You can store the lasagna in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To prepare the lasagna, I usually cook the ragù in advance (even the day before) and the besciamella before cooking the lasagna noodles.
For best results, do not cheat on the ragù and the besciamella. Follow my linked recipes!