Lasagna With Bechamel Sauce
This easy Lasagna With Béchamel Sauce has layers of noodles, creamy white sauce, meaty tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. It's a classic Italian comfort food dinner that everyone will enjoy!
Servings: 8
Estimated Calories: 486
Ingredients
For the Meat Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound ground beef, I use 80/20
- ½ pound bulk mild Italian sausage, or sweet Italian sausage (if you can only get links, just remove the meat from the casings)
- 1 cup diced onions
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup beef broth or stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the Béchamel Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the Lasagna
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles, also called oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded is best
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, freshly shredded is best
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Make the Meat Sauce
- In a medium saucepan (I use a 3-quart saucepan), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef, Italian sausage and onions; cook until the meat is no longer pink, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you go. Drain off any excess grease.
- Add the garlic; cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, sugar, oregano, basil, dried parsley, salt, and pepper; stir to combine.I use about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper at this point.
- Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and/or sugar, if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Make the Béchamel Sauce
- In another medium saucepan (I use a 3-quart saucepan), melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the flour and whisk to combine (it will look like a loose paste). Cook, whisking constantly, for one minute.
- While whisking, slowly add the milk; continue whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper.I use about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper at this point.
- Increase the heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer, again whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the salt and/or pepper, if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Assemble & Bake the Lasagna
- Spread ½ cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2-inch baking dish.
- Top the sauce with 3 of the lasagna noodles, then ⅓ of the remaining meat sauce (about 1⅓ cups), ⅓ of the béchamel sauce (about ¾ cup), and ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese (about ⅔ cup) and parmesan cheese (about 2½ tablespoons).
- Repeat the layers 2 more times: noodles, meat sauce, béchamel sauce, cheeses, noodles, meat sauce, béchamel sauce, cheeses.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese starts to turn lightly golden in spots.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing and serving (this will help ensure that the lasagna stays together nicely rather than falling apart).
- Slice into 8 equal pieces. Top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- To use your time most efficiently, make the béchmel sauce while the meat sauce is simmering.
- Use whole milk for the best creamy béchamel. Reduced-fat milk or skim milk will result in a less-creamy sauce.
- Whisk the béchamel constantly while cooking to prevent lumps and to help keep it from sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot.
- When assembling the lasagna, make sure that the no-boil noodles are completely covered in sauce so that they cook through properly.
- Also, don't worry if the dry no-boil noodles don't go all the way to the edges of the baking dish; they will expand during baking.
- To help prevent the top layer of cheese from sticking to the foil, you can spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray.
- Please refer to the post for step-by-step photos, substitutions and variations, storage, reheating and freezing instructions, and serving suggestions.
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