Servings
Font
Back
0 from 0 votes

5 Layer Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce Recipe

A comforting lasagna with creamy béchamel, flavorful meat sauce, and perfectly baked pasta layers that come together in every delicious bite.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 15 mins
Total Time
1 hr 40 mins
Servings: 6 portions
Calories: 787 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Tomato Meat Sauce
  • 1 onion
  • 2 Cloves garlic
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Small bay leaf
  • 15 Ounces tomato sauce unflavored
  • 1 Pound ground beef
  • 1 Cup broth beef or Veg
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 Teaspoon basil dried
  • 1 Tablespoon oregano dried
  • 1 Teaspoon thyme
  • 2-3 Allspice Whole crushed, Optional
Béchamel Sauce
  • ½ Stick butter unsalted
  • 5 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2½ Cups milk
  • pinch nutmeg
  • ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • ½ Cup shredded cheese pizza cheese or mozzarella
  • ½ Cup shredded Parmesan cheese
To Assemble Lasagna
  • 15 lasagna sheets oven-ready
  • ½ Cup shredded cheese
  • ¼ Cup shredded Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Cheese

Instructions

Meat Sauce
    Cup of Yum
  1. Dice the onion, chop garlic small and dice carrot.
  2. In a pan, sauté first the onion slightly soft with the olive oil. Stir in carrots and slight cook them before adding the garlic.
  3. Throw in the bay leaf and pour in the tomato sauce in one go. Keep on a medium heat setting.
  4. Continue to stir in the ground beef and the broth. Mix it all.
  5. Season the tomato meat sauce with salt, black pepper, basil, oregano, thyme and some crushed allspice (secret ingredient). Mix it all well.
  6. Simmer down the sauce for 10 minutes or so, so that the seasoning infuses the meat sauce.
  7. Take from the heat when the meat sauce is ready, and take out the bay leaf, so to discard it. Keep meat sauce aside.
Béchamel Sauce
  1. Keep a sauce pan over a lower heat setting and melt the butter.
  2. Stir in all-purpose flour with a whisk and keep on stirring to create the roux.
  3. The flour and butter will mix up, and it will start to bubble and that is when you gradually pour in the milk with a whisk so that no lumps are formed. Increase heat to a medium flame if needed.
  4. Add ground nutmeg, black pepper and salt to season.
  5. Whisk in the shredded cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese and cook down the sauce to desired consistency. The sauce is ready when it appears thicker and when it sticks to your whisk.
To Assemble Lasagna
  1. Preheat oven to 320 Fahrenheit (160 degree Celsius).
  2. The lasagna contains 5 pasta layers. The bottom needs to be layered first, always with béchamel sauce, so that the pasta sheets soak up and get soft. Each layer starts with pasta sheets, then you follow with a thin layer of béchamel sauce and at last the tomato sauce over that.
  3. The full assembly order for the lasagna layers: 1. Béchamel sauce, 2. Pasta sheets, 3. Béchamel sauce, 4. Meat Sauce, 5. Pasta sheets, 6. Béchamel sauce, 7. Meat sauce, 8. Pasta sheets, 9. Béchamel sauce, 10. Meat sauce, 11. Pasta sheets, 12. Béchamel sauce, 13. Meat sauce, 14. Pasta sheets, 15. Béchamel sauce, 16. Meat sauce, 17. Cheese topping.
  4. The shredded cheese and Parmesan are spread across and form the topping at the end.
  5. Cover the baking dish with aluminum and bake first for 30 minutes covered at 320 Fahrenheit (160 degree Celsius).
  6. Take out the baking dish from the oven and uncover the dish. Take it back to the oven and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes or so at the same temperature uncovered. The lasagna is ready when it's slightly crispy and golden at the top.

Notes

  • 15 Ounces = 1 can Tomato Sauce. For Europe and the rest of the world, use 440 ml cans.
  • 1 Stick Butter = 4 Tablespoons
  • 9 Ounces oven-ready Lasagna from Barilla contains 15 Sheets. That's 250 grams, by the way.
  • You need to either use oven-ready lasagna sheets that don't need to be pre-boiled, or you need to pre-boil your sheets (which is extra work), or you use fresh lasagna sheets made from scratch or bought in store (but the dimensions will be different).
  • Tip: You can switch the ground beef with ½ ground beef and ½ ground pork. This meat combo is common in Europe.
  • The Allspice is optional because not everybody has them at home, but it is a cool seasoning, that adds so much flavor to this dish. Try it with finely crushed allspice!

Nutrition Information

Calories 787kcal (39%) Carbohydrates 71g (24%) Protein 37g (74%) Fat 39g (60%) Saturated Fat 18g (90%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 15g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 107mg (36%) Sodium 1249mg (52%) Potassium 886mg (25%) Fiber 5g (20%) Sugar 11g (22%) Vitamin A 2651IU (53%) Vitamin C 8mg (9%) Calcium 551mg (55%) Iron 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6portions

Amount Per Serving

Calories 787

% Daily Value*

Calories 787kcal 39%
Carbohydrates 71g 24%
Protein 37g 74%
Fat 39g 60%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 15g 75%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 107mg 36%
Sodium 1249mg 52%
Potassium 886mg 19%
Fiber 5g 20%
Sugar 11g 22%
Vitamin A 2651IU 53%
Vitamin C 8mg 9%
Calcium 551mg 55%
Iron 4mg 22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.