Our easy lasagna recipe made with layers of ricotta, rich ragù and smooth béchamel is the ultimate comfort food and perfect for entertaining.
Homemade meat lasagna with Italian ragù sauce is the ultimate comfort food, bringing family and friends together.
This is a classic meat lasagna with intensely rich meat sauce and creamy béchamel layered between tender lasagna noodles and a generous sprinkling good quality cheeses.
We developed this lasagna recipe over several years and believe this version is the best because not only is this lasagna insanely delicious, it is easy to make and comes together fairly quickly. So after many requests we are finally sharing our very popular homemade ragù (ragù=meat sauce) lasgana.
This is a recipe you'll want to save and make on repeat for informal get togethers, Sunday lunches or over the holidays.
Traditional and older ragù recipes use chunks of fatty meat such as chuck which soften and pull apart after several hours of slow cooking to produce a rich and absolutely delicious sauce.
This lasagna recipe uses ground meat which we feel is more suitable for modern day home cooking as it does not take as long to cook but also produces a rich and incredibly tasty sauce.
Serve this classic meat lasagna with a refreshing bean salad, a side of cavolo nero or Italian braised cabbage.
Learn how to make authentic lasagna with beef ragù with simple ingredients, detailed tips and flavourful results.
We would love to know how your lasagna turned out, drop us a note in the comments below.
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Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
Type of meat for the sauce
This recipe uses ground beef with fat for a rich sauce full of flavour.
If you need to use lean ground meat, reduce the cooking time by a third and bear in mind the sauce won't be as rich and flavoursome.
Ground beef will dry out if overcooked so take care not to overcook the ragù on the stovetop, 30 minutes in total should be enough.
Which pasta sheets are best
For this recipe we use ready made lasagna sheets - either fresh pasta or dry boxed lasagna sheets.
When baking the lasagna follow the recommended time on the packaging and cook till the lasagna sheets are fork tender. For this recipe we use dry lasagna sheets from Marks and Spencer which take 35 - 40 minutes to cook at 180℃/350℉. Fresh pasta sheets will take 5-10 mins less time to cook.
We will have a recipe to make lasagna sheets from scratch coming out soon. Subscribe to get our latest recipes straight to your inbox.
Note: The ragù and béchamel sauce provide sufficient moisture to cook the dried lasagna sheets till tender.
What kind of tomato sauce
Use our tomato sauce made from scratch or a store bought passata - our favourite brand is Mutti or Cirio.
Best cheeses to use
A classic lasagna is made with finely grated parmesan cheese but this recipe gives you the option of using it combined with two more cheeses for extra creaminess.
Together the three cheeses are ricotta, mozzarella (low moisture for cooking) and parmesan.
Mix the cheeses together and dot small amounts evenly over the bechamel for extra creaminess.
Alterntively you could use only parmesan, adding a sprinkling on top of each layer of bechamel.
Type of lasagna dish
Our recipe makes 12 servings so you will need a large 20x30 cm or 9x13 inch pan.
Use a baking dish made of metal, glass or stone, we have have made some delicious lasagnas using pans in all three types.
Note: glass and stone bakeware take longer to heat up compared to metal pans and will retain heat for longer. This won't really affect cooking times but may make the lasagna slightly more 'done' around the corners. Some people prefer these more 'well done' corner squares of lasagna while others like the softer slices from the middle.
How to assemble layer by layer
Assemble the lasagna in thin layers from the bottom up, after buttering/oiling the bottom of the pan:
- a thing layer of ragù
- cover with lasagna sheets (do not overlapping)
- spread ragù over the lasagna sheets
- add a layer of béchamel
- sprinkle cheese over the top
- lasagna sheets
Repeat till you have 4-5 layers finishing with a layer of bechamel and cheese on the top.
Step by step visual instructions
Tip: prepare all the ingredients ahead so everything is to hand as you cook.
- Heat oil in a saucepan and add diced ingredients. Sauté till softened but not browned.
- Add ground beef, cook till the meat is browned stirring occasionally breaking up any clumps.
- Add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Tear basil leaves and stir into the sauce, cover and set aside till ready to use.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta, grated mozzarella and parmesan, cover and set aside. Stir in a tiny bit of milk if mixture is too dense.
- Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium heat and stir in flour to make a smooth roux.
- Slowly pour in a third of the warmed milk at a time, stirring to make a smooth creamy sauce. Season with salt, a pinch of nutmeg, then mix and set aside.
- Spread a thin layer of ragù over the bottom of the pan.
- Cover with a single layer of lasagna sheets.
- Add a layer of ragù over the lasagna sheets.
- Cover with a layer of bechamel sauce and cheese over the top.
- Cover with lasagna sheets, ragù, béchamel, then cheese. Repeat layering till just below the rim of the pan. The last layers should be: meat sauce, the bechamel (and cheese mixture), then a final grating of parmesan.
Top Tip
Red meat dishes such as lasagna taste better when made ahead as the collagen in the meat breaks down further building even richer flavours.
Making ahead & leftovers
To make the lasagna ahead, assemble it as described above, then cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. See our post on best practices for storing meat.
Before serving bring the lasagna to room temperature and bake at 180℃/350℉ for 30-40 minutes.
To check the lasagna is done, insert a knife anywhere into the pasta sheets to ensure they are soft and tender.
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost before reheating, cover with parchment paper and heat in the oven at 180℃/350℉ till warmed through.
Lasagna side dish ideas
These are our favorite sides to serve with lasagna:
Recipe
Easy Lasagna Recipe With Ricotta
Ingredients
- olive oil 2 tablespoon
- onions - diced small 2 small
- celery - diced small 2 sticks
- carrots - peeled, diced small 2 small
- ground beef - 2 kg 4½ lbs
- Italian tomato sauce - 42 ounces or 3 x 400g cans 5¼ cups
- salt 2 teaspoon
- black pepper 1 teaspoon
- lasagna sheets - fresh or dried * 1 box
Three cheeses
- ricotta - 250g 1 cup
- mozzarella - 100g, freshly grated 1 cup
- parmesan - 30g, finely grated ¼ cut
Bechamel
- butter - ⅓ cup or 5½ tablespoons or 70g ⅓ cup
- all-purpose flour - 70g ½ cup
- whole milk - 900ml 4 cups
- salt ½ teaspoon
- nutmeg - (a grating) ⅛ teaspoon
Topping
- parmesan - 50g, grated 3 tablespoon
- basil - divided 10 leaves
- butter 3 teaspoon
Instructions
Make the meat sauce
- Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan and add diced ingredients (2 small onions, 2 sticks celery, 2 small carrots). Sauté till softened but not browned.
- Add 4½ lbs ground beef and cook on medium heat till the meat is brown, stirring occasionally and breaking up any clumps.
- Pour in 5¼ cups Italian tomato sauce add 2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Stir well, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and taste for seasoning. Tear half the basil leaves and stir into the sauce then cover and set aside till ready to use.
Combine the cheeses
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cut parmesan, cover and set aside. Stir in a tiny bit of milk if mixture is too dense.
Prepare the bechamel sauce
- In a small saucepan heat 4 cups whole milk to almost boiling then pour into a heat proof measuring jug or bowl.
- Melt ⅓ cup butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat and stir in ½ cup all-purpose flour to make a smooth roux . Slowly pour in a third of the warmed milk at a time stirring to make a smooth creamy sauce. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon nutmegmix and set aside.
Assemble and cook the lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/350℉ and grease a large (20x30 cm or 9x13 inches) deep oven proof lasagna dish.
- Spread a thin layer of meat sauce over the bottom of the pan and cover with 1 box lasagna sheets. Add another layer of meat sauce, then a layer of béchamel and top with the cheese mixture. Cover with lasagna sheets, ragù, béchamel, then the cheese mixture. Repeat layering till just below the top of the pan. The last layers should be meat sauce then béchamel.
- Finish with 3 tablespoon parmesan (finely grated), 3 teaspoon butter dotted over the top and rest of the basil leaves.
- Place in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes till the lasagna sheets are soft and the cheese is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Only you will see your notes and you can edit them anytime.
Nutrition
Nutritional information calculated automatically per serving, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe?
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Maya says
Delicious lasagna! I made this once for my family and now it's all they ever ask for.
Maya says
Absolutely delicious!
I stumbled across this recipe recently and decided to give it a try for a weekend family dinner, and wow, it did not disappoint. Everyone at the table went back for seconds and kept asking where I'd found the recipe. The layers were perfect, the seasoning just right, and honestly, it tastes something straight out of an Italian kitchen. I've already passed the link along to a few friends and relatives who insisted they need it in their rotation.
This one's a keeper; thank you so much for sharing!
Nicole Shroff says
Thank you so much Maya for your lovely review!