The Best-Ever Lasagna Bolognese with Fresh Pasta and Béchamel
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For months, I’ve debated whether or not to share my lasagna bolognese recipe. After all, it’s top-secret and mark my words, a version of it will be served in my restaurant one day…
But after thinking it through, I’ve decided that it’s way too delicious not to share with you guys. Really, it would be cruel to keep something so good all to myself.
Now, if it’s credentials you want, I have ’em. For starters, every time I bring this lasagna bolognese to a party or family gathering, the people go crazy. It’s always the first thing to be devoured. It’s so good that someone has literally tried to pay me $100 to make them their own batch. Plus, bits and pieces of this recipe were picked up through my travels in Italy and then tweaked to perfection in my kitchen.
Essentially, the title “The Best-Ever Lasagna Bolognese” couldn’t be more accurate.
Layered with freshly made pasta sheets, my famous bolognese sauce, a ricotta-cheese-and-spinach mixture, topped with a cheesy béchamel sauce, and baked to golden-brown perfection, you are going to fall in love.
Guaranteed, you’ve never had better lasagna in your life.
Okay, so I know, I’ve hyped up this lasagna quite a bit. But the only way you’re really going to know is if you try it for yourself. (Do it, do it!)
If you’re ready to try my life-changing, best-ever lasagna bolognese with fresh pasta, ricotta-spinach layers, and ooey-gooey cheesy béchamel sauce, then let’s get started.
The Best-Ever Lasagna Bolognese with Fresh Pasta and Béchamel Sauce
In your decision to make this lasagna bolognese, you should know something. A lot of love, time, and effort is required.
This isn’t your average lasagna, and it doesn’t come together with an average amount of work. Oh, no.
We’re slow cooking this bolognese sauce so the flavors of the Chianti Classico, beef, pork, sweet carrots, aromatic black truffle, and San Marzano tomatoes can marry together into a rich, flavor-packed sauce.
We’re also making pasta from scratch, with a recipe that I picked up during a cooking class in Florence, Italy.
Then we’re layering everything together and baking it off in the oven until it’s brown, bubbly, and beautiful.
If you have six hours to spare for the best lasagna bolognese ever, then you’re in for a treat.
Special Ingredients & Equipment
To make this lasagna, there are a couple of special ingredients and pieces of equipment you’ll need, which you may not already have. I’ll list them here now.
Special ingredients:
Special equipment:
- Mercato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine (my favorite!)
- KitchenAid 3-Piece Pasta Roller & Cutter Attachment Set
- A lasagna baking dish with generous depth
The Best-Ever Lasagna Bolognese with Fresh Pasta and Béchamel Sauce
If there’s one thing I know in this life, it’s that you’re going to love this lasagna bolognese recipe.
Yes, it may take a little (okay, a lot) of time to make, but it couldn’t be more worth it.
This lasagna bolognese is perfect for taking to parties, serving at family gatherings, prepping your meals for the week, and my favorite: eating it on the couch, in your pajamas, while watching a movie.
I hope you love this lasagna bolognese as much as I do!
PrintLasagna Bolognese with Fresh Pasta and Béchamel Sauce
This lasagna is layered with freshly made pasta sheets, flavor-packed bolognese sauce, and a ricotta cheese and spinach mixture. Then it’s topped with a cheesy béchamel sauce, and baked to golden-brown perfection. So good.
- Prep Time: 100 minutes
- Cook Time: 250 minutes
- Total Time: 350 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove & Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
For the bolognese sauce:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 carrots (minced)
- 1 yellow onion (minced)
- 3 celery stalks (minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (left whole, smashed to release flavors, peeled)
- salt (to taste)
- black pepper (to taste)
- red pepper flakes (to taste)
- 1.5 pounds ground beef (80% lean)
- 1 pound ground pork (90% lean)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1.5 cups Chianti Classico red wine
- 2 28-oz. cans San Marzano tomatoes (puréed)
- 1 cup beef broth or water
- 1 parmesan (or pecorino) cheese rind
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp black truffle oil
- 1/2 tsp white granulated sugar
For the fresh pasta sheets:
- 3 cups “00” flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
For the ricotta-spinach filling:
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 10-oz. package frozen spinach (defrosted, water removed)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly cracked)
For the béchamel sauce:
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk (warm)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
Other ingredients:
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese (grated)
Instructions
For the bolognese sauce (make one day ahead):
- Heat your Dutch oven on the stove over medium-high heat. Add in olive oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add in carrots, onion, celery, whole smashed garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir frequently until onions are translucent.
- Add in ground beef and ground pork. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Stir and break up the meat into small chunks.
- When the meat is lightly browned, add in tomato paste, continue stirring, and cook the tomato paste down for two minutes.
- Add in wine. Stir in and scrape up all the browned bits from the Dutch oven. Let the alcohol evaporate for two minutes.
- Next, stir in San Marzano tomatoes, beef broth, and cheese rind. Season more with salt, pepper, and red hot pepper flakes.
- Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 3 hours.
- Remove the cheese rind and whole garlic cloves.
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar, sugar, and black truffle oil. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.
For the fresh pasta sheets:
- In your mixer bowl, add in the “00” flour and create a well in the middle with your hand. Crack eggs into the well, along with salt and extra virgin olive oil.
- Attach the paddle to your mixer and set it to the lowest speed. Mix until the ingredients incorporate and the dough comes together into small, sticky clumps.
- Gently knead the dough with your hands for about 10 minutes, until smooth. Add flour to your work surface as needed, to ensure your dough does not stick.
- Form the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into three even pieces.
- Replace the mixer paddle with the pasta roller. Set the mixer to the lowest speed. Run each piece of dough through the pasta roller. Start with setting #1 (the widest setting) and continue the process through setting #8 (the thinnest setting), until you’ve rolled out all the dough into pasta sheets for lasagna.
- Later, you may need to cut the sheets to fit properly in the pan.
For the ricotta-spinach filling:
- Defrost frozen spinach, and squeeze all of the excess water from the spinach with your hands.
- In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, spinach, parmesan, egg, nutmeg, and black pepper, and set it aside.
For the béchamel sauce:
- In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter completely, then whisk in the flour. Continue whisking vigorously for one minute to cook the flour.
- Add in a small splash of milk, and whisk. Continue adding in milk, a little at a time, whisking all the while. If any lumps form, just keep whisking. The sauce should become thick.
- Bring the sauce to a low boil, and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the mozzarella cheese, allowing it to melt. Turn off the stove.
To make the lasagna:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a lasagna baking dish, smooth a small spoonful of bolognese sauce over the bottom of the pan.
- Add one layer of pasta sheets. Smooth a thin layer of the ricotta-spinach mixture on top. Add a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Cover the cheese with bolognese sauce.
- Repeat this pattern until the pan is almost full to the top, ending with the bolognese sauce. Re-whisk the béchamel sauce and pour it over the top of the lasagna. Sprinkle on a bit more mozzarella.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, uncovered, until the top of the lasagna is bubbling and golden-brown.
- Allow the lasagna to set and cool down for at least 20 minutes before digging in. Enjoy!
Notes
For assembling the lasagna:
- Make sure you have a deep lasagna dish, such as this one. This will ensure you can add enough layers to your lasagna.
For the fresh pasta:
- You will need a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer with the Pasta Roller and Cutter Set OR the Mercato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine (I love this one!)
- THIS BLOG POST explains how to make the pasta by hand, without any equipment.
- You need a special kind of flour: “00” flour.
For the bolognese sauce:
- I recommend using this Chianti Classico wine.
- These whole-peeled and puréed San Marzano tomatoes are the best and worth splurging.
- If you don’t have any yet, then I recommend this black truffle oil.
Did you make our lasagna bolognese recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments section below and tag @maddysavenue in your photos on social media! If you have any other questions, leave them below.
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Did you cook the pasta before layering? It doesn’t sAy
You do not cook the pasta sheets before layering.
Thanks! I’ll let you know how it turns out. ????
I made this recipe yesterday and it is quite delicious. Next time I may not go so thin on the pasta because sometimes it tore a couple times when I was layering the lasagna. Will definitely will make again. I also have extra sauce for some homemade pasta another night.
Thanks!!
Making this recipe today????
Will it serve 12??
Can you make this ahead and reheat next day for a get together?
Can I make this the day before refrigerate and cook next day
You could, but that would not be my recommendation, as the pasta sheets could get soggy. It would be best to make the Bolognese sauce the day before and keep that in the refrigerator. Then I would recommend making the ricotta-spinach mixture and the bechamel sauce right before you would like to start layering the lasagna (these are both quick and easy to make). Then layer your lasagna and bake it. Hope that helps.
I am making this tomorrow and I want to Thank You for sharing your recipe. I have been searching for a version that includes fresh pasta, as I make my own and wanted to know about pre-cooking fresh pasta or not! Your recipe is the only one that explains how to make lasagna with fresh pasta. I am so excited to make and will share the results with you.
Again, Thank You for sharing your coveted recipe and allowing us to bring your version into our home. Love Italian food and could eat it every day.
Hi Bob, thank you for your kind comment! Please do check back in and let us know how it went! :)
As promised, I made this fabulous dish yesterday! What amazing flavor & fresh pasta makes this pretty great. I even went as far and used my meat grinder attachment & ground my own sirloin & pork. Will make again🙏
Awesome! So glad to hear that! Thank you for the update :)
Would like to make this without making fresh lasagna. What kind of lasagna should I buy and do you cook it before putting the recipe together?
Hi Glenda, use oven-ready / no-boil lasagna pasta sheets. Just layer them in (uncooked) in the order described in the recipe. Make sure the sheets are completely covered with sauce/cheese so they cook properly. Please report back with your results! :)