This easy Lasagna recipe is completely elevated, with a flavorful red sauce, béchamel white sauce, and ground beef and sausage. It’s the only recipe you need!
Looking for more Italian recipes? Try this Tomato Basil Pasta, Manicotti, or Calzones!
Not your average Lasagna recipe.
Can I tell you what makes this Italian lasagna recipe so special? It’s the easy béchamel sauce (just a fancy name for a white sauce made from flour, butter and milk), that makes it SO much tastier and more authentic (at least in Northern Italy), than using ricotta. I’m convinced it’s the best way to make homemade lasagna!
I always double the recipe when making lasagna, so I can freeze a second pan for another day, or give the meal to a friend with homemade breadsticks and a salad.
How to make Lasagna:
Cook Meat: Brown the ground beef and sausage, using a meat chopper or spatula. Drain grease then transfer meat to a food processor and pulse only 3-4 times to chop it into very small pieces (I love this step because it makes the sauce more smooth and delicious). Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Make Red Sauce: Add olive oil in the same skillet and add garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add onion, spinach, and bell pepper and cook on medium high until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Pulse in the food processor until almost puréed then pour back in pan. Add canned tomatoes and sauce, squishy the tomatoes to break them down and stir to combine. Add Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir in meat and fresh basil.
Cook Lasagna Noodles: Reduce noodle cooking time by half what the box says, then drain and lay on a greased baking sheet so they don’t stick together. Or, if you’re using no-boil noodles, don’t cook them.
Make Béchamel Sauce: Melt butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat then add the flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually pour in milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Season with salt and pepper then cook over medium heat, stirring regularly so it doesn’t burn. Cook until it thickens, about 5-7 minutes.
How to Layer Lasagna: There will be 3 layers of lasagna, so mentally split the sauces into thirds as you layer them to make sure you have enough at the end. Lightly grease a 9×13 dish then layer 3 lasagna noodles in the bottom. Spoon ⅓ of the red sauce over the noodles, followed by ⅓ of the white sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all the way to the edge. Repeat with another layer of noodles, red sauce, white sauce, then cheeses. Finish the lasagna layers with the final layer of noodles, red sauce, white sauce, and cheeses.
Bake: Cook lasagna uncovered at 350°F for at least 40 minutes, or longer, until golden at the edges and bubbly. It’s important to let the lasagna cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.
Serve this traditional lasagna recipe with homemade breadsticks or Artisan bread and a green salad like this pomegranate and pear one!
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Both the white and red sauces can be made in advance. You can also assemble the entire lasagna and cover it with plastic wrap then tinfoil and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bake as directed.
To Freeze Lasagna: Freeze the lasagna before or after baking (if freezing an unbaked lasagna, you don’t need to pre-cook the noodles. Just add them dry). Cover pan with plastic wrap and a double layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw lasagna in the fridge before removing covering and baking as directed. Or, bake lasanga from frozen (if in an aluminum disposable pan) for 1 ½ hours, just keep it covered with foil, but remove the plastic wrap. Uncover and bake for another 45 minutes, or until it’s hot and bubbly.
Recipe Variations:
- Bottled Pasta Sauce: Substitute a 48oz jar of pasta sauce, in place of the homemade red sauce. Heat it in a large skillet and stir in cooked meat and chopped basil.
- Fresh Mozzarella: Use thin layers of fresh sliced mozzarella cheese instead of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Lasagna Soup
- Crock Pot Lasagna
- Lasagna Stuffed Shells
- One Pan Skillet Lasagna
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Homemade Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
Lasagna:
- 9 regular lasagna noodles (or no-boil noodles)
- 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese*
- 8 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese
Red Sauce:*
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 large onion , chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 1/2 bell pepper (red or green), chopped
- 28 oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes* , undrained
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 container fresh basil leaves , finely chopped (about 10-15 leaves)
White Sauce (béchamel sauce):
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Brown meat: In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and sausage over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When cooked through, remove the grease. (Optional) Add meat to a food processor and pulse just 3-4 times until it’s broken up into very small pieces. Remove to a bowl.
- Sauté Veggies: In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When oil is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add the onion, spinach and bell pepper. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are softened –about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer them to the same food processor. Pulse several times until they’re nearly pureed. Return mixture to the skillet.
- Finish red sauce: Add whole peeled tomatoes, squishing them into the sauce, and tomato sauce and stir to combine. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Cover and allow the sauce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved crumbled ground beef and sausage, and fresh basil.
- Cook Pasta: While the red sauce simmers boil the lasagna noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Drain into a large colander and sprinkle them with a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. (You can skip this step if you are using no-boil noodles).
- Béchamel white sauce: Add the butter to a medium size saucepan or large skillet. Over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine 2 minutes. Gradually add in the milk, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, whisking often so it doesn’t burn on the bottom, until it thickens– about 5-7 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Keep in mind that there will be 3 layers of lasagna, so mentally split the sauces into thirds as you layer them to make sure you have enough at the end.
- Assemble: Start by layering the bottom of your greased pan with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread the red sauce over the noodles, followed by the white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges. Top with another layer of noodles, then red sauce, white sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Add the final layer of noodles, then red sauce, white sauce and cheeses.
- Bake for at least 40-50 minutes, or until lasagna is hot and bubbling. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes or longer, before serving, so it can set up to slice.
- Serve with garlic bread or homemade breadsticks and a green salad.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe in February 2016. Updated December 2017, September 2022 and September 2024.
