Beef And Pumpkin Lasagna with Béchamel (White) Sauce. This lasagna is extra special. Pumpkin slices throughout the layers give this lasagna an extra sweet and creamy pumpkin flavour…the perfect comfort meal!
I love weekends. Sundays mean refuelling with the whole family. And they also mean…carbs with zero guilt. Especially when making a lasagna that has half the calories of regular lasagna…with a better flavour and fresh ingredients.
With an easy to make Béchamel sauce, this lasagna will meet all of your expectations and exceeded them by 5 million. That pumpkin! So creamy between the layers of the perfect beef sauce, melted stringy mozzarella cheese, soft pasta sheets, and the creamy white sauce over the top.
Serve with a side of Garlic Bread to mop up the sauce that’s left over on the plate.
It doesn’t get better. Really.
Beef And Pumpkin Lasagna
Ingredients
Lasagna:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 large brown onion roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 large red capsicum/bell pepper diced
- 2 lbs lean ground beef mince
- ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
- 24 oz bottle of Passata
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Vegeta or any other vegetable stock powder
- 4 cups pumpkin , peeled, deseeded and finely sliced (½ cm - ⅛-inch slices)
- 6 sheets wholemeal/spelt or whole grain lasagna sheets
- 1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
- 4 cups grated light Mozzarella
Béchamel:
- 4 tablespoons light/reduced fat butter of choice or margarine
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat/wholemeal flour or light spelt
- 2 cups skim milk or almond milk
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Lasagna:
- Preheat the oven to 200C | 390F. Heat the oil in a large sized pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and panfry until onion is transparent (1-2 minutes).
- Add the carrots and capsicums/peppers, pan frying until soft; add the beef, and cook stirring while breaking up the meat until browned. Stir through parsley, Passata, tomato paste, sugar and stock powder. Season with salt to taste; remove from heat and set aside.
Béchamel:
- Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan on low heat. Add the flour and whisk the butter until lump free and smooth. Add a small amount of milk at a time (about ¼ cup each time), whisking until smooth and combined between each interval. (Add ¼ cup more than the suggested 2 cups to reach your desired consistency if you need too). Stir through salt to taste.
To assemble lasagna:
- Spray a large oven proof baking dish with nonstick spray and wipe excess over with a paper towel
- Spoon about 1 1/ 2 cups of the beef sauce around the base of the pan.
- Layer with 3 sheets on top and about 1½ cup of meat sauce over the sheets. Arrange pumpkin slices over the meat sauce; spoon half the ricotta evenly over the sauce and half the mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat to create another layer with the 3 remaining lasagna sheets; the remaining sauce; remaining pumpkin slices and ricotta. Spoon the Béchamel over the ricotta and top with the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and change the oven setting to grill/broil on medium heat to brown the top. Remove from oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Amerie says
I think it’s better not to cover with Aluminium foil. The taste is great but if everything is pre cooked, just leave the lasagna at a low heat and let it bake like a normal lasagna.
I tried the aluminium and the entire top layer of cheese stuck to the aluminium and peeled off after. Disaster. Other than that, very tasty.
Jessalyn says
Would it be possible to use canned pumpkin instead of sliced pumpkin?
Kal says
Two questions…What is passata and have you tried butternut squash instead o f pumpkin? I know I can always find that. This sounds divine.
Karina says
Hey Kal. Yes I have tried butternut squash in this and its just as good! Passata is similar to tomato sauce, or marinara sauce can also be used!
Robin Baur says
Hi Karina – how thin is thinly sliced pumpkin? I sliced it maybe 1/3 inch and it was still hard when the dish came out of the oven.
Karina says
Hi Robin. I slice them about 1/2 a centimetre thin (roughly 1/8-inch)! For slices bigger than that, I’d definitely suggest steaming or boiling prior to building the lasagne. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you! I hope you try it again at some point. The flavour is incredibly creamy! 🙂
Robin Baur says
Thanks for responding Karina! I will definitely try again with thinner slices.
Karina says
You’re welcome Robin 🙂
Amy says
I love the simplicity of this recipe! Quick question though, do the lasagna sheets need to be cooked al dente before the assembly?
Karina says
Hi Amy! No I don’t precook them as there is enough sauce in there to cook them through, but you can precook them if you like!
Elena Shetty says
I’m glad you love it. Though it’s just a small thing, it’s my passion. Just like you, i guess.
Elena Shetty says
This lasagna is out of this world. Even right now i can feel its softness and fragrant on over me. Thank you for sharing such an amazing dish, Karina.
Karina says
Aw Elena you’re so welcome. Thank you for coming by and leaving a beautiful comment. I love your blog btw. Very addictive! Xx