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Traditional lasagna Bolognese with fresh spinach pasta lasagna and an overlay banner stating "Lasagna Bolognese Numero #2).

Lasagna Bolognese (Authentic Lasagna alla Bolognese With Video)

This post has been updated to include, not one, but 2 authentic Lasagna Bolognese recipes (Numero Uno #1 and Numero Due #2) just as it’s made here in Italy AND to share our family’s favorite between the two!

You’ve already learned everything about how to make authentic Bolognese ragû In my Ultimate Guide to Bolognese Sauce and you’ve enjoyed countless bowls of tagliatelle al ragû and gnocchi Bolognese. Now you’re ready to step it up and try your hand at making the ultimate Italian lasagna! In this post, I’m sharing two authentic Italian Lasagna Bolognese recipes (Lasagna alla Bolognese) like what you enjoy in the best restaurants here in Bologna and the greater Emilia Romagna region. Video coming soon!

Why We Love These 2 Lasagne Bolognese Recipes

  • Bolognese sauce is as easy to make as spaghetti sauce, it just requires a longer simmer time
  • We live 1.5 hours from Bologna and have researched our favorite lasagne there and learned lots of tips from the locals
  • These two lasagna recipes are based on our favorite lasagne Bolognese we order from our favorite restaurants in Bologna
  • Each component of this recipe is super easy to make (and you can even skip the homemade pasta and use store-bought lasagna noodles instead)

What is Bolognese Lasagna (Lasagna Verde, Lasagna alla Bolognese)?

Lasagna Bolognese is a traditional authentic lasagna recipe that comes from Bologna, Italy and consists of 3 main components layered into a deep lasagne dish with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.

  • Bolognese sauce (ragù alla Bolognese) made of ground beef, pancetta, extra virgin olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, milk, beef or chicken stock, tomatoes, wine, and sometimes butter.
  • Spinach lasagna noodles (lasagne verdi all’uovo) with homemade fresh spinach lasagna being the gold standard (but store-bought spinach lasagna and even regular egg lasagna noodles make great substitutes).
  • Béchamel (white sauce) in the desired amount you prefer (some like it oozing out of the layers, while others prefer it to be more subtle to allow the Bolognese sauce be the star).

Lasagna Bolognese never uses mozzarella or ricotta cheese — it’s perfection without it! Your family’s favorite lasagna that you’ve probably been making for years is a variant of the Southern Italian lasagna recipe consisting of a Neapolitan ragû and layers of ricotta and mozzarella (also delicious!). 

What Makes an Authentic Lasagna Bolognese?

I’ve included 3 photos (above) of real-deal lasagna Bolognese we’ve ordered and eaten from different restaurants in Bologna, Italy. As you can see there are countless lasagne Bolognese variations. Some use béchamel to top the lasagna as the last layer, some also add more béchamel in between each layer. While others use less béchamel and top the lasagna with more grated Parmigiano cheese and/or ragû. Most traditional lasagne in Bologna have between 5 to 7 layers.

No matter what, each variation is rooted in culinary tradition and abides by the local’s requirements of creating an authentic Italian lasagna Bolognese recipe. This is why even when you eat Lasagna al ragù (what locals call this dish) in Bologna from 10 different places that all make it slightly different, it will still taste just like “Lasagna Bolognese”.

There isn’t much better than getting to research Bolognese sauce and Lasagna Bolognese in its birthplace of Bologna, Italy! And that’s exactly what we’ve done throughout the years learning from locals to bring you these trusted recipes.

Lasagna Bolognese Layer Comparison

Best Bolognese Lasagna Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

As with any dish, once you’ve eaten enough authentic Bolognese lasagna you can start to identify what you love most about your favorite versions. Then you get to recreate the recipe at home just the way you like it — which is exactly what I’ve done with not one, but two recipes.

These 2 slightly different lasagnas are delicious for different reasons. For our favorite, we’ve landed on using Bolognese Sauce Numero #2  as the foundation. This sauce is bright, and rich, yet subtle, and creamy all at the same time. Below are the other characteristics that make our family’s favorite Lasagna Bolognese recipe:

  • Use homemade fresh spinach pasta if you have time to make it and be sure to par-boil it for just a minute first to keep the noodles from soaking up too much ragû while the lasagna is baking.

  • Use thin layers of béchamel as opposed to having it oozing out from each layer. This allows the ragù to be the star of the lasagna while still being perfectly creamy.

  • We like to include a few layers that have all of the ingredients melding together (ragû, béchamel, Parmigiano cheese) and a few layers that consist of only ragû and Parmigiano. You can also add a layer or two of just béchamel sauce and Parm if you want an extra creamy version. How you layer your lasagna is up to you, but it will affect texture and taste.

  • For a crispy top, sprinkle the last layer of lasagna noodles with ragû and grated Parmigiano instead of béchamel and Parm. This makes the top super crispy and a great contrast to the soft layers of lasagna tucked in below. It tastes great no matter how you decide to top it, but if you love those crispy corners on homemade lasagna, top it with cheese and ragû!

How to Meal Prep Lasagna Bolognese

When you’re making lasagna Bolognese and plan to make the spinach pasta from scratch, I recommend breaking up the tasks and making each component over a couple of days (or even weeks if you want). You can make the Bolognese sauce up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it, or even months in advance and keep it in the freezer and simply reheat it just before using.

If you’re going all out and making homemade lasagna noodles you can make them the same day you’ll assemble and bake the lasagna, but I prefer to make them ahead and freeze them with a layer of parchment paper in between each sheet. This feels like a lot less work to me. Once you have the ragû and the pasta made, the only thing left is to make a quick batch of béchamel sauce (which takes about 15 minutes), then assemble and bake!

Now, let’s get started so you can see just how easy it is step-by-step to make this classic Italian Lasagna Bolognese recipe!

Read More:

Overview: Lasagna Ingredients 

Here’s a brief overview of all the ingredients you’ll need to make my family’s favorite Lasagna Bolognese recipe (aka Lasagna Bolognese Numero Due #2). You can find the full list of measurements in the recipe card below. If you want to know all about the ins and outs of traditional Bolognese sauce, click here to learn more.

For the Bolognese Sauce 

  • Pancetta and beef together make Bolognese sauce extra flavorful.
  • Extra virgin olive oil is essential for making Bolognese. Don’t skimp and use canola or other vegetable oils which don’t have the flavor or antioxidants EVOO does.
  • Butter adds flavor and acts as an emulsifier helping to create a velvety sauce.
  • Soffritto is mandatory as the foundation for this rich ragû. Do not skip on the onion, carrot, or celery!
  • Tomato passata and tomato paste add an overall brightness to this Bolognese while still letting the beef and pancetta be the star and developing a rich ragû.
  • Red wine brings out the flavor of the tomato and overall finished ragù. You may use white wine, but we prefer red wine Bolognese sauces.
  • Chicken Stock (or beef stock) is not only easy to make (30 minutes in a pressure cooker) but homemade tastes more delicious than anything in a can or a box. That said, low-sodium or unsalted stock is really convenient and works great in this recipe!
  • Whole Milk adds richness and helps soften the meat depending on when you add it to the sauce (in the beginning, or towards the end of cooking). It gives the ragù a melt-in-your-mouth feel without being heavy.
  • Salt and Pepper 

For the Homemade Spinach Lasagna Noodles (sub 12 to 14 ready-to-bake egg lasagna noodles)

  • Frozen or fresh spinach, blanched and puréed or finely minced
  • 00 flour (sub King Arthur’s all-purpose flour only in a pinch)
  • Eggs (preferably ‘pasta gialla’ eggs, but any eggs will do)

For the Béchamel Sauce

  • unsalted butter
  • 00 or all-purpose flour
  • whole milk
  • salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • whole nutmeg, freshly grated

For Assembling the Lasagna alla Bolognese

  • Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese is a must so don’t skimp! If you can’t find these in your local store (or can’t afford them) substitute a good Parmesan (not the green shaker kind though). 

In the recipe card notes, you’ll also find the full list of ingredients to make the recipe for my Lasagna Bolognese Numero Uno (#1) if you prefer an ultra creamy, and rich lasagna.

Overview: How to Make Authentic Italian Lasagna Bolognese Recipe

First, you have to cook the Bolognese sauce (a delicious pasta sauce made with minced beef, pork, wine, soffritto, and tomato passata). This can be made up to 4 days in advance and refrigerated (or made way ahead and frozen). For the complete recipe, with the best tips and techniques, and all the information (including substitutions), read this Ultimate Guide for How to Make Bolognese sauce recipe.

Make the Bolognese Sauce (Make the ragù in advance or on the same day you intend to bake the lasagna)

  1. Sauté the vegetables in butter and olive oil adding them one at time and allowing them to cook a few minutes before adding the next.
  2. Add the pancetta to the vegetables and cook (about 10 minutes).
  3. Add 1/2 the beef and cook until no longer pink and it’s lost most of its moisture (about 5 minutes). 
  4. Add the last 1/2 of the beef and cook until no longer pink and it’s lost its moisture (about 10 minutes). 
  5. Deglaze the pot with wine and cook for 20 minutes.
  6. Add the tomato passata and the tomato paste diluted in chicken stock and milk. Cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours stirring occasionally. 

 

Make the Béchamel sauce. Make the béchamel (also called besciamella) during the last 20 minutes of the Bolognese sauce cooking time. This way it’s still nice and hot and easily spreadable. You can make it 2 days in advance and refrigerate it, just reheat it gently with a little extra milk if needed before using. Get the complete recipe including the best tips (like how to make sure it’s lump-free and how to customize the flavor) and more suggestions by reading this How to Make Béchamel Sauce Recipe

  1. Prepare the roux and heat the milk. 
  2. Add the hot milk and whisk vigorously.
  3. Adjust the seasonings. 

Make the Spinach Lasagna Noodles (or skip this step and use store-bought lasagna noodles instead). Nothing tastes better than homemade spinach pasta and it can even be made in advance or on the same day you bake the lasagna, but sometimes you need convenience. If you’re not making homemade pasta, try to find fresh sheets of egg lasagna, or even dried ready-to-bake egg lasagna noodles which don’t need to be boiled before being layered into the lasagna and baked. 

  1. Blanch the frozen or fresh spinach in boiling water.
  2. Form the dough by creating a well in the flour, adding the spinach and eggs to the center, and combining everything.
  3. Knead the dough until smooth.
  4. Rest the dough for 30 minutes and cut it.
  5. Roll out the dough, trim the desired lasagna noodle size, and dry for 10 to 30 minutes.
  6. Par-boil (blanch) the lasagna noodles for around 15 to 30 seconds in boiling water, remove to an ice bath, then dry on a clean kitchen towel.

Assemble & Bake the Lasagna Bolognese

  1. Assemble the lasagna. Use a deep lasagna dish (or 9×13 baking pan)
  • Spread 1/2 cup bolognese sauce evenly across the bottom of the dish and cover with lasagna noodles slightly overlapping.
  • Add more Bolognese sauce and spread it out evenly across the top of the noodles, then add béchamel and spread it out and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano.
  • Add a layer of lasagna noodles, then add ragù and Parmigiano only.
  • Add a layer of pasta noodles, then add ragù, béchamel, and parm.
  • Repeat layering the ingredients in this order until there is no more Bolognese sauce left. Finish the top layer with Bolognese sauce and a generous handful of grated Parmigiano for a crispy lasagna crust.

    2. Bake the lasagna. Cover the lasagna tightly with aluminum foil and bake covered in a preheated oven at 350°F/176°C for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbling and hot. Remove the aluminum foil, turn on the broiler, and cook the lasagna under the broiler for a few more minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 20 minutes before cutting into it, Enjoy!

(above left: Classic American Lasagna vs. Italian Lasagna Bolognese)

What is the Difference between Classic Lasagna and Lasagna Bolognese?

Generally speaking, both of these lasagna recipes use Parmigiano cheese and include a meat sauce. But the main difference between classic lasagna and lasagna Bolognese is how long the sauces are cooked, the type of lasagna noodles used, and the use of béchamel vs. ricotta and mozzarella. The only thing these two lasagne really have in common is that they’re both delicious. Besides that, they’re not similar in taste or texture.

  • Lasagna Bolognese from Emilia Romagna gets its creaminess from béchamel sauce and grated Parmigiano cheese while Neapolitan lasagna (classic Italian lasagna) from Naples uses ricotta cheese and mozzarella.
  • Most Americans grew up eating a version of Lasagna that includes tomato sauce (with or without ground beef), and a mixture of ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese), mozzarella, and parmesan. Béchamel sauce is not to be found in this typical American-Italian style Lasagna which is based on the Neapolitan classic lasagna that immigrants brought with them to America. Often, this Southern Italian lasagna will also include hard-boiled eggs stuffed inside.

 

Freezing Cooked Lasagna

This lasagna Bolognese recipe is a perfect make-ahead pasta dinner. If you have any leftovers, portion it, wrap it in parchment paper and seal it in an air-tight container. When you want to have lasagna Bolognese, thaw it in the freezer overnight and reheat in a 375°F/190°C preheated oven covered with aluminum foil for 15 minutes or until hot.

Alternatively, you can slice and reheat lasagna in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through or microwave it for 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes depending on the model of your microwave.

Best Wine With Lasagna Bolognese

The best wine to pair with lasagna Bolognese is a dry red wine with low tannin like Sangiovese, Chianti Classico, Dolcetto, Nero d’Avola, Pinot Noir, Pinot Nero.

 

Looking for More Pasta Recipes to Make?

If you love pasta as much as we do, here are a few more recipes to inspire your next dinner.

Let’s Get Started!

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A large serving (a square) of Authentic homemade lasagna alla Bolognese with fresh spinach pasta lasagna.

Lasagna Bolognese (Authentic Lasagna Verdi alla Bolognese)


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 4 hours
  • Yield: 8 servings depending on hunger level 1x

Description

This is the ultimate lasagna recipe and I’m sharing two of our favorite authentic Italian recipes from our home in Italy and researching this beloved pasta in its birthplace, Bologna, Italy!  It’s cozy, warm, saucy, meaty, and creamy all layered between spinach egg pasta noodles served up in one delicious dish. Lasagna Bolognese is easy to make, but you’ll need a little bit of time to pull it off. Luckily you can make each component in advance if you want.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Bolognese Sauce (Numero Due #2 Sauce)

  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (75g)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (100g)
  • 1 medium onion (7 ounces) (200g)
  • 1 medium carrot (3 1/2 ounces) (100g)
  • 1 rib of celery (1/4 cup) (85g)
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (700g) (well-marbled cuts like the neck, skirt, chuck, or sirloin)
  • 11 ounces pancetta finely minced or chopped in a food processor (300g) (sub pork belly)
  • 1 1/2 cups dry red wine such as Sangiovese di Romagna (330g) (sub cabernet, merlot, pinot nero, or other dry red wine)
  • 1 cup chicken broth (plus more as needed up to 2 full cups total) (225g)
  • 1 cup whole milk (240g)
  • 17 1/2 ounces tomato passata (500g)
  • 2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste (30g) (sub regular tomato paste)
  • 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or more or less to taste (8 g)
  • black pepper to taste

For the Spinach Lasagna Noodles (you can skip this step and use store-bought ready-to-bake lasagna noodles)

  • 4 ounces frozen or fresh spinach (115g)
  • 14 ounces 00 flour (about 3 1/4 cups) (400g)
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten (50g)

For the Béchamel

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, (60g)
  • 6 tablespoons all-purpose or 00 flour (60g)
  • 3 cups milk (725g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
  • freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

To Assemble the Lasagna 

  • 1 1/4 cups (3.5 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano cheese (100g) (sub Grana Padano or Parmesan Cheese)


Instructions

Make the Bolognese Sauce (Numero #2) 

  1. Cook the soffritto. In a large Dutch oven set over medium-low heat, add the butter, olive oil, and onions, season with salt, and sauté until translucent but not browned and most of the moisture has evaporated (about 10 minutes). Turn up the heat to medium, add the carrots, and cook for 5 minutes. Next, add the celery and cook for 5 minutes more.
  2. Cook the pancetta. Add the ground (or finely diced) pancetta to the pot and sauté until cooked through and most of the fat has been rendered (about 10 minutes).
  3. Cook the beef. Add 1/2 of the beef to the pot breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a spoon, season with salt, and cook until no longer pink and some of the moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the beef, season with salt, and cook until the moisture has evaporated (about 10 minutes).
  4. Deglaze the pot with wine. Add the wine while scraping the browned bits (the fond) from the bottom of the pot. Let the mixture cook for at least 20 minutes and up to 25 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
  5. Add the milk, tomato, and broth, and finish the ragù. Add the tomato passata to the pot. Stir the tomato paste into the chicken stock and milk, and add it to the pot. Season with a little salt and black pepper, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer covered, stirring occasionally for approximately 2 1/2 hours. You may add chicken stock a 1/4 cup at a time to thin it out only as needed. Turn off the heat, adjust the seasonings, and set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.

*You will need approximately 1 liter (or 4 cups) of this bolognese sauce for the lasagna recipe. Refrigerate or freeze the remaining Bolognese sauce to serve over gnocchi or with tagliatelle pasta. 

Make the Spinach Lasagna Noodles (or skip this step and use ready-to-bake store-bought egg lasagna noodles)

  1. Blanch the spinach. Add the spinach (frozen or fresh) to a pot of boiling water and cook it (blanch it) for about 3 minutes. Strain it reserving the liquid being sure to squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to purée the spinach to a fine paste and set aside. *Alternatively, finely mince the spinach. 
  2. Make the dough. Add the flour to a countertop or large bread bowl and make a “well” in the middle. Add the eggs, and spinach to the center and begin agitating the mixture to combine it with the flour being sure to keep everything in the center of the “well”. Work in a circular motion incorporating more flour into the center until the mixture is combined and forms a shaggy dough. 
  3. Knead the dough.  Remove the dough to a work surface and knead it by turning it clockwise a quarter turn and repeating until the dough becomes softer and more pliable, or about 10 to 12 minutes. It should be much smoother and more elastic at this point.  *Alternatively, you may knead the dough using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment on medium-low speed (speed #2 on a KitchenAid). 
  4. Rest the dough. Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes. 
  5. Roll out the dough. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and work with one piece at a time covering the other pieces so they don’t dry out.  Press down to form a disc just thin enough to be fed through the pasta machine’s widest setting (0 or 1 depending on your pasta machine). Feed the dough through the rollers while turning the crank. If needed, lightly dust both sides of the pasta sheet with flour, and fold it like a letter (bringing in the two ends to the middle) to form a more even rectangle. Feed the pasta sheet back through the rollers on (0) until it is long and rectangular. Set the adjustment knob to 1 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 2 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 3, pass the pasta sheet through it, and continue adjusting the knob setting and passing the dough through until you’ve reached the desired thickness (I recommend number 6). 
  6. Rest the lasagna noodles. Trim the lasagna to the desired size and sprinkle each sheet with semolina (or other flour).  If using immediately, allow the noodles to dry for 10-30 minutes.
  7. Par-boil (blanch) the lasagna noodles. Add the noodles (lasagna sheets) 2 or 3 at a time to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 seconds. Remove them to an ice bath to stop the cooking and then dry them on a clean kitchen towel and lay them out (try not to stack them all on top of each other if possible so they don’t stick together). Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles as needed. 

Make the Béchamel

  1. Prepare the roux. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat bring the milk to almost to a boil and turn off the heat. In a second larger pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour a little at a time whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Continue whisking and stirring until the flour is cooked and the roux is light golden brown (about 3 to 4 minutes).
  2. Add the hot milk. When the roux is golden brown and fragrant, turn the heat down to low and add one ladle full of hot milk whisking vigorously to incorporate it into the roux. Continue adding ladles of milk one or two at a time and whisking to combine until fully incorporated and the bechamel is smooth. At this point, the bechamel will be somewhat runny. Continue cooking and whisking for about 3 to 4 more minutes or until the bechamel starts to thicken it creates ribbons when dropped from a spoon into the pot. It’s ready when the béchamel is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but is still easily spreadable.
  3. Adjust the seasonings. Add more salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. If you’re not using it right away, cover the top of the sauce with sustainable cling film to keep a skin from forming.

Assemble & Bake the Lasagna Bolognese

  1. Assemble the lasagna. Use a deep lasagna dish (or 9×13 baking pan)
  • Add 1/2 cup ragù and spread it evenly across the bottom of the dish and cover with lasagna noodles slightly overlapping each one so there are no gaps.
  • Add ragù and spread it out evenly across the top of the noodles, then add béchamel sauce and spread it out evenly across the top of the ragù and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano cheese.
  • Add another layer of pasta noodles, add more ragù and more parm.
  • Add another layer of pasta noodles, then add ragù, béchamel, and parm.
  • Repeat layering the ingredients in this order until there is no more ragù left. Finish the top layer with the ragù and a generous handful of grated parm for a crispy top or for a soft and creamy top, finish the lasagna with béchamel and parm.

    2. Bake the lasagna. Cover the lasagna tightly with aluminum foil and bake covered in a preheated oven at 350°F/176°C for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbling and hot. Remove the aluminum foil, turn on the broiler, and cook the lasagna under the broiler for a few more minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 20 minutes before cutting into it, Enjoy!

 

 

Notes

  • When you’re making lasagna Bolognese and plan to make the spinach pasta from scratch, I recommend breaking up the tasks and making each component over a couple of days (or even weeks if you want). You can make the Bolognese sauce up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it, or even months in advance and keep it in the freezer and simply reheat it just before using.If you’re making homemade lasagna noodles you can make them the same day you’ll assemble and bake the lasagna, or make them ahead and freeze them with a layer of parchment paper in between each sheet. . Once you have the ragû and the pasta made, the only thing left is to make a quick batch of béchamel sauce (which takes about 15 minutes), then assemble and bake!
  • Use as little or as much of the béchamel sauce as desired. I like to use about 2/3 of the full amount of the recipe.

How to Make Lasagna Bolognese Numero Uno #1 Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

For the Bolognese Sauce Numero Uno #1

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (28g)
  • 2 medium onions, finely diced (9.5 ounces) or (270g)
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced (3.5 ounces) or (100g)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled, finely diced (6 ounces) or (170g)
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Mutti finely chopped canned tomatoes (118g)
  • 1 pound ground beef (454g)
  • 6 1/2 ounces cubed pancetta, finely chopped (188g)
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) dry red or white wine (118g)
  • 2-3 cups homemade beef stock, or low sodium store-bought (240-720g)
  • 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste (28-42g)
  • 1 cup whole milk (240g)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Béchamel Sauce

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, but into cubes (70g)
  • 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour (70g)
  • 4 cups whole milk (980g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste (3.5g)
  • freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
  • whole nutmeg freshly grated, to taste

For Assembling the Lasagna alla Bolognese

  • 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano (100g)
  • 12 to 14 ready-to-cook spinach egg lasagna noodles (or your favorite egg lasagna noodles)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make the Numero Uno #1 Bolognese Sauce

  1. Render the fat from the pancetta. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the pancetta and cook for approximately 15 minutes to allow some of the fat to render.
  2. Make the soffritto. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until soft and onions are translucent. Season with salt to taste
  3. Cook the beef. Add the beef breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes, and be sure to season with salt.
  4. Deglaze the pan with wine. Add wine while scraping the browned bits (the fond) from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, and salt to taste and stir to blend. Reduce heat to very low, cover tightly, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Add the milk. Add milk to the sauce, cover it with a lid left slightly ajar, and continue simmering over low heat, stirring occasionally, until milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes, adding more stock 1/4 cup at a time to thin it out if needed. Turn off the heat, adjust the seasonings, and set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna.

Make the Béchamel sauce

  1. Prepare the roux. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat bring the milk to almost to a boil and turn off the heat. In a second larger pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour a little at a time whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Continue whisking and stirring until the flour is cooked and the roux is light golden brown (about 5-7 minutes).
  2. Add the hot milk. When the roux is golden brown and fragrant, turn the heat down to low and add one ladle full of hot milk whisking vigorously to incorporate it into the roux. Continue adding ladles of milk one or two at a time and whisking to combine until fully incorporated and the bechamel is smooth. At this point, the bechamel will be somewhat runny. Continue cooking and whisking for about 5 more minutes or until the bechamel starts to thicken it creates ribbons when dropped from a spoon into the pot. It’s ready when the béchamel is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but is still easily spreadable.
  3. Adjust the seasonings. Add more salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. If you’re not using it right away, cover the top of the sauce with sustainable cling film to keep a skin from forming.

Assemble the Lasagna

  1. Assemble the lasagna. 
  • Using a deep lasagna dish (or 9×13 baking pan), spread 3/4 cup of the Bolognese sauce evenly across the bottom of the dish.
  • Add lasagna noodles slightly overlapping each one so there are no gaps.
  • Add one more layer of Bolognese sauce.
  • Add the béchamel sauce and spread it out evenly across the top of the ragù.
  • Sprinkle it with grated Parmigiano across the top of the béchamel.
  • Add another layer of pasta noodles and repeat layers in this order until there is no more ragù left. Finish with béchamel sauce and sprinkle generously with more grated Parm.

    2. Bake the lasagna. As instructed above. 

A collage of 14 step by step photos for how to make Lasagna Bolognese from start to finish.

  • Prep Time: 90 minutes
  • Cook Time: 150 minutes
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Oven Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/8 of the recipe
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Italian Lasagna Bolognese FAQ’s

  • How do I get a nicely browned and crispy cheesy top on my lasagna alla Bolognese? The trick to getting a perfectly golden brown cheesy béchamel top on your baked lasagna is to place it under the broiler (set to high) during the last 10 minutes of baking time. Just be sure to watch it so it doesn’t burn.  Remove it from the oven when it’s reached the desired color.
  • Where was Bolognese invented (Where does Bolognese come from)?  The birthplace of the original recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese can be traced back to the end of the 1700s.  The chef of the Cardinal of Imola (just outside of the city of Bologna) cooked the first real tomato-based meat sauce and was served with a plate of macaroni pasta. By the 1800s, recipes for tomato-based ragù start to show up in a few cookbooks from the Emilia-Romagna region, but the official Ragu alla Bolognese (meaning, ragu of Bologna or ragù the Bologna way) was registered by the Italian Academy of Cuisine at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on October 17th, 1982.
  • When was ragu alla Bolognese invented?  It shows up in history as early as the 1700s, but the official recipe as we know and love it today was officially registered on October, 17th, 1982 in the Italian Academy of Cuisine at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce.
  • Where was lasagna invented and when was it invented? Different countries claim to be the inventors of lasagna, Greece, Italy, and even the UK! There are lots of types of layered dishes being eaten even in the B.C. era, but wouldn’t be considered a lasagna and didn’t even have cheese or tomatoes. Napoli (Naples) is said to have been the first city to incorporate tomatoes into a layered pasta and meat dish around the 1600s because, by this time, they would have been heartily cultivating tomatoes that weren’t native to Italy. So, it’s possible that around 1692 we start to see something similar to what we know as lasagna.  However, no one knows if lasagna Bolognese came first and was imitated or if it might be the other way around. No matter which came first, the Emilia-Romagna version of lasagna (the lasagna Bolognese) is the version of lasagna that has been imitated all over Italy and the rest of the world.

 

2 Comments

  1. I haven’t made the recipe but I’m happy at least someone is putting out a recipe for bolonese lasagna with fresh spinach pasta. Looks nice! Though I would recommend going light on the bechamel sauce, my favorite lasagna from the city does that at least.






    • Hi Walser, thanks for the comment/rating! It’s funny because I have just hit “update” on this post and have included the homemade spinach pasta AND less béchamel (which we also prefer). The original lasagna (even with the extra béchamel) is tasty, but we agree…less béchamel lets the ragù be front and center and feels more balanced. If you give the recipe a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!😊

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