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The Best Lasagna Recipe is here, ready to impress! With layers of slow-cooked Ragù Bolognese and creamy parmesan Besciamella, this dish stays true to its authentic Italian roots. One bite, and you’ll see why it’s destined to become your new weekend favorite. For the ultimate comfort food experience, serve it with a bowl of Sausage Gnocchi Soup since the creamy broth and savory sausage perfectly complement the rich layers of lasagna. Lasagna holds a special place among the world’s most beloved comfort foods, and this Best Lasagna is no exception.
Ultimate Guide To The Best Lasagna
When it comes to the Best Lasagna, this recipe holds a special place in my heart—and for good reason. Inspired by my mom’s unbeatable best lasagna, perfected over years with tips from her Italian friends in New York City, it delivers authentic flavors that will keep you coming back for seconds (and thirds).
What truly sets this lasagna apart is the sauce. Slow-cooked Ragù Bolognese, packed with rich flavors, brings it all together—a secret shared with our Spaghetti Bolognese. Layered with creamy parmesan Besciamella, tender pasta, and melted cheese, this lasagna is not just a dish—it’s a heartfelt labor of love that promises joy in every bite.
The Best Lasagna: Key Ingredients
The secret to the Best Lasagna lies in the ingredients. Slow-cooked Ragù Bolognese delivers deep, rich flavor, parmesan Besciamella adds creamy indulgence, and layers of tender pasta hold it all together. Simple staples, incredible results every time!
- Ground Meat (Beef and Pork): Using a mix of ground beef and pork adds depth and richness to the best lasagna. Beef provides robust flavor, while pork adds sweetness and juiciness, creating a balanced and flavorful meat sauce. If you don’t eat pork, you can just use beef. For best results, use high-quality, grass-fed beef and free-range pork for tender, flavorful meat. This combination is the foundation of any ragù, similar to my Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce.
- Mozzarella: For gooey, melty cheesy goodness, use high-quality mozzarella, either shredded or sliced. Fresh mozzarella is a must. Consider buffalo mozzarella for its beautiful melt and creamy texture. Whole-milk mozzarella is richer and more flavorful than part-skim varieties.
- Tomatoes (for Passata): Choose ripe, vine-ripened tomatoes or high-quality canned tomatoes with no preservatives for your passata. They provide natural sweetness and acidity, balancing the meat and cheese’s richness. Opt for San Marzano tomatoes for superior taste and texture.
*Note: Please see Recipe Card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions And Substitutions
When it comes to crafting the Best Lasagna Ever, versatility is key. Whether you’re looking to elevate the flavors or adapt to what’s in your pantry, small tweaks can make a big difference. These substitutions and additions ensure every layer is tailored to your taste and truly unforgettable!
- Vegan and Lactose Intolerant Options: For those who are lactose intolerant or vegan, you can substitute traditional butter with vegan butter, which offers a similar creamy texture and flavor. Additionally, use lactose-free cheese or vegan cheese alternatives to maintain the cheesy goodness without compromising on taste.
How to Make The Best Lasagna: Step-By-Step
Making Mama’s Best Lasagna is easier than you think, with rich layers of slow-cooked Ragù Bolognese, creamy parmesan Besciamella, and perfectly cooked pasta. Follow these simple steps to create a comforting dish that’s as rewarding to make as it is to eat. Let’s dive into the layering!
- Sauté Vegetables: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, add onion and carrots, and cook until softened. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add beef and pork, cooking until browned.
- Simmer Sauce: Pour in Passata, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed bouillon, and dried herbs. Mix well, season with salt, pepper, and sugar if needed. Cover and cook, occasionally mixing, until the sauce thickens and the meat is tender.
- Melt Butter and Add Flour: In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from the hot plate; add flour and whisk for about 30 seconds, or until well blended.
- Whisk in Milk: Return the pot to the stove, reduce heat to low, and slowly whisk in milk until well combined, adding milk in increments until the sauce is creamy and free from lumps.
- Thicken Sauce and Add Cheese: Increase heat to medium and continue cooking the sauce while stirring occasionally until it thickens and coats the back of your wooden spoon. Add parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, and mix until the cheese melts through. Remove from heat.
- Assemble Lasagna: Preheat oven to 350°F | 180°C. Spoon meat sauce on the base of a baking dish, then cover with lasagna sheets (trim if needed). Layer with meat sauce, white sauce, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, leaving the remaining cheese for the top.
- Top and Bake: Pour the remaining meat sauce and white sauce over the last layer of lasagna sheets and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish with parsley and let stand for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Once you’ve nailed Mama’s Best Lasagna, it’s time to shake things up and get creative. If you thought I’d leave you to dream up variations all on your own—think again!
While I definitely encourage you to experiment, here are a few twists to inspire your culinary creativity: try a hearty Beef and Pumpkin Lasagna or a delightful Chicken Pumpkin and Ricotta Lasagna. Feeling adventurous? Dive into an Easy Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup, Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats, or even Easy Lasagna Stuffed Burritos.
Recipe FAQ’s
Once you’ve layered your lasagna, make sure your final layers finish in this order: pasta, meat sauce, white sauce, and mozzarella cheese. This sequence results in a golden, crunchy, and cheesy top with a layer of juicy meat sauce underneath
We prefer fresh lasagna pasta sheets, which you can find in the refrigerator section of most grocery stores. But if you can’t get your hands on fresh sheets, no worries—dried ones work just as well!
You can store lasagna in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Make sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or store it in an airtight container to maintain freshness. If you need to store it for a longer period, you can freeze lasagna for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then bake it in the oven until it’s heated throug
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Mama’s Best Lasagna
Ingredients
Meat Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic cloves minced
- 24 ounces ground beef mince
- 10 ounces ground pork mince or beef
- 24 ounces Passata
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 3 tomato paste heaped tablespoons. I use garlic and herb flavoured.
- 2 beef bouillon cubes or vegetable, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar if desired
- 1/4 teaspoon salt season to your tastes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper season to your tastes
White Sauce (Béchamel):
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour all purpose or plain
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup shredded parmesan fresh
Lasagna:
- 13 ounces fresh lasagna sheets
- 17 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
Meat Sauce:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add in the onion and carrots and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until softened. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add beef and pork (if using) and cook while breaking it up with the end of your spoon, until browned.
- Pour in the Passata, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed bouillon and dried herbs. Mix well to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Season with desired amount of salt and pepper (I use about 3/4 teaspoon each) and sugar if needed. Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes, occasionally mixing, until the sauce has thickened slightly and meat is tender.
- Adjust salt, pepper and dried herbs to your taste.
Parmesan White Sauce:
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from hot plate; add the flour and whisk for about 30 seconds, or until well blended.
- Place pot back onto stove, reduce heat down to low and slowly whisk in 1 cup of the milk until well combined. Once well blended, add the remaining milk in 1 cup increments, mixing well after each addition, until all the milk is used and sauce is free from lumps. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk until it turns into a nice and creamy consistency.
- Increase heat to medium and continue cooking sauce while stirring occasionally until it thickens (about 6-7 minutes) and coats the back of your wooden spoon.
- Add in the parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and mix until the cheese is melted through.
To Assemble:
- Preheat oven to 350°F | 180°C.
- Spoon about 1 cup of meat sauce on the base of a 9×13-inch baking dish, then cover with lasagna sheets. (Trim sheets to fit over the meat if needed.) Layer with 2 cups of meat sauce (or enough to cover pasta), 1 cup of white sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers (leaving the remaining cheese for the top).
- Pour the remaining meat sauce and white sauce over the last layer of lasagna sheets and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
- Garnish with parsley and let stand for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sooo…looking for a good lasagna recipe and fell upon this one. Over the years my lasagna always had a new twist, something added or taken away. Always good but my mom still talks about one that I made 20 years ago that I haven’t been able to replicate since because I try to get creative. Fast forward to 2 years ago finding this recipe…..haven’t looked back then. There is no innate desire to change anything! It truly is perfect as it is (except I only use beef, no pork).
Thanks Karina for sharing this family recipe with my family. Everyone LOVES it and my mama is no longer wishing for the one lasagna from days long gone…lol. I do share your website with others when they ask me what I do to “my lasagna” to make it taste so incredible 🙂 ( This recipe is worth breaking any diet for at least a day!)
This was the BEST lasagna recipe I’ve tried. It feels like it came straight out of Italy. I’m not a fan of ricotta so it was great to find a recipe that uses bechamel instead. I used Mutti brand for the tomato products, which added a superior flavor, and used sweet Italian sausage rather than ground pork. On their own, the bechamel and the sauce were so flavorful and rich, without any sharpness. The end product was incredible and I’ll be using this recipe in the future. I think the sauce would be great as a ragu with papardelle as well.
I love so many of your recipes, I have been using them for years! Your chimichurri is one of my most favourites from your collection. This lasagne has quickly become my go-to recipe! I adapt it slightly by making a “Sunday Sauce” with beef short ribs (when I have them on hand) and it’s such a delicious, indulgent comfort food. Everyone comes back for seconds and even thirds! I can’t believe I made lasagne with ricotta all those years. I’ll never go back! Bechamel is a game changer. Thank you so much for sharing.
Just made a huge pan of this, is a keeper recipe for me. Can’t seem to PIN in though, so I will just print it. i added cottage cheese mixed with egg and mushrooms, red peppers and chopped spinach. Quite delish, thnx.
I made this today and used 1 lb ground beef snd 1 lb ground pork. I has been searching for a great lasagna recipe and decided to test this one and so glad I did as it turned out great! My husband loved it. I had never heard of passata but found it at supermarket and believe it helped enhance flavor. The only thing I will say is that I waited 20 minutes after it came out of oven and it was still too soupy. I left it out and cut another piece after 45 minutes and it was still warm and the piece came out good after that time so next time I will wait before serving it to guests.
All right then. I’ll give this 5 stars. I was a bit concerned about the Alfredo/Béchamel hybrid sauce. However, it was fine. Not sure if the bullion is necessary, but I followed the recipe anyway. However, I used 1 pound of a beef/pork mix and 1 pound of Italian sausage. That’s what I had. Also, I only used 2 1/2 cups of milk in lieu of 3 1/2. I thought 3 1/2 was a bit much. The white sauce turned out fine. For those of you that read these reviews prior to making the dish, you have to bring the white sauce to a simmer and let it thicken. Once it starts to thicken, remove it from the heat and add the parmesan. I used tomato sauce in lieu of Passata, because that’s what I had. This recipe made a four layer Lasagna in my deep dish pan 9×13 baking dish. I’ve been making Lasagna for years. Thought I would try something new. This is a good recipe. Thanks!
I’m already planning for Christmas Eve 2023! I’d like to master this lasagna recipe by then so I can wow my family. The recipe calls for shredded fresh mozzarella. Is this the soft type of mozzarella? If so, how do I shred it? Thank you!
Hi. I just wanted to say that since I’ve found this recipe online that this has become my favortite food. I follow directions completely. Everoyone now loves when I cook lasagna. I get asked my the neighbors to make it for them. If anyone reads this comment please try this out. I picked it because I dont like ricotta cheese. So glad I found it. Thanks so much to u and ur mama.
It turned out fantastic!! I only added some spinach for a little green in the mix
Wonderful recipe, best lasagna ever. My husband and kids asked me to make it again with extra for the freezer, which I did today.
Only modifications were that I cooked the meat separately from the veg so I could drain the fat through a sieved spoon as I combined them for the sauce. Plus I roasted some red peppers and put some in the middle layer for extra flavour plus some spinach in one of the other layers. Fantastic. Ive never really loved ricotta in lasagna and the parm bechamel is divine!
One question – any advice re:
Packaging to freeze and on cooking from frozen (instead of cooking first and then freezing). Many thanks and grazie mille to your mama!