Italian Lasagna Bolognese

A lasagna Bolognese is a traditional Italian pasta dish, consisting of broad pasta sheets, a minced meat and a creamy béchamel sauce & everything baked with Parmesan cheese.

In today’s post I will show you a classic recipe for lasagna Bolognese & will also show you how to do the pasta sheets for the lasagna. Have fun cooking!




Cooked/Baked today: Italian Lasagna Bolognese
Difficulty: Medium – Difficult
Preparation Time: 3 hours
Category: Main Dishes, Lunch Recipes, Meat Dishes, Pasta & Noodle Recipes, Italian Recipes
Our Recipe rating:

Ingredients for 6 – 8 servings:

…for the noodle dough:

• 300 grams flour
• 3 eggs
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Additional flour for the countertop

…for the ragout:

• 750 grams minced meat (half beef/half pork)
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 small piece celeriac
• 1 small stick leek
• 1 clove of garlic
• 250 milliliters white wine
• 300 grams sieved tomatoes
• Each 1 – 2 sprigs rosemary & thyme
• 1 liter of water to pour on the sauce
• About 50 milliliters milk
• Salt & pepper

…for the white sauce:

• 400 milliliters milk
• 400 milliliters vegetable stock
• 80 grams butter
• 80 grams flour
• Pepper
• Nutmeg

…more ingredients:

• 100 grams grated Parmesan Cheese
• Oil for frying

Kitchen Helper/Gadgets:

• Large pan or pot to cook the ragout
• Mixing bowl
• Cling film
• Saucepan to cook the white sauce
• Whisk
• Fork
• Rolling pin
• Baking dish

Instructions:




…for the noodle dough:

In a mixing bowl combine 300 grams of flour along with 3 eggs, a good dash of olive oil & a pinch of salt. Mix all ingredients with a fork until you got a lumpy & crumbly dough. Then continue by kneading the dough with your hands for at least 10 minutes until a smooth noodle dough. After kneading wrap the finished dough into cling film & allow to rest for about 30 – 45 minutes in the fridge.

…preparations for the ragout:

Peel carrot and celeriac, then dice finely. Peel onion and garlic, then chop finely. Cut the leek into fine rings.

…for the ragout:

Heat up a large pan adding a dash of oil and sweat the finely chopped vegetables (carrot, celeriac, onion, garlic & leek) for 4 – 5 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally. Then increase the heat to high, add the minced meat and brown for about 5 – 6 minutes until crumbly, stirring from time to time.

As soon as the minced meat is done deglaze everything with 250 milliliters of white wine & 300 grams of sieved tomatoes, also season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Then give the ragout a good stir & allow to simmer for a few minutes.




Next, add a few sprigs of thyme & rosemary, also pour in 1 liter of water. Then bring the ragout to a boil & allow to simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Finally (just before building up the lasagna), season with salt and pepper, also stir in a small shot of milk.

…for the lasagna sheets:

Get the noodle dough out of the fridge, cut into 4 to 6 pieces of the same size (depending on how big the baking dish is) and then roll out each dough piece with a rolling pin (alternatively use a pasta machine) to the size of the baking dish. Dust the finished lasagna sheets with some flour, put on top of each other and set aside.

…for the white sauce:

Heat up a saucepan adding 80 grams butter over low to medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted & starts foaming add 80 grams flour & mix together immediately with a whisk. Lightly sauté the flour-butter mixture while stirring for about 1 – 2 minutes, then pour in 400 milliliters of cold milk and stir in with a whisk until free of lumps.




Now add 400 milliliters of vegetable stock and bring the white sauce to a boil. Then allow to simmer for about 1 minute, remove from heat, season with pepper and nutmeg to taste and set aside (possibly covered with cling film).

…for the lasagna:

Timely preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat). Spread the bottom of the baking dish with 2 – 3 tablespoons of white sauce, then gently press the first lasagna sheet onto it. Continue with the first layer: First 2 – 3 dippers ragout, then top with another 2 – 3 tablespoons of white sauce (briefly mix the white sauce into the ragout layer) and finally sprinkle everything with a small handful of grated Parmesan cheese.

For the next layer, continue with another lasagna sheet & build up the lasagna in the order of ragout, white sauce, a bit grated Parmesan cheese & lasagna sheet. Do that until the ragout is completely used up.

Finally top the lasagna with the last pasta sheet & spread with the remaining white sauce. Sprinkle everything with the rest of the Parmesan cheese & then bake the lasagna in the preheated oven at 200°C (top/bottom heat) for about 30 – 35 minutes.




Get the lasagne out of the oven, allow to rest for 5 – 6 minutes at room temperature, then cut into pieces and arrange on plates. Bon Appetite!

Video Tutorial:

Watch the video tutorial to see the recipe and the preparation method precisely (German Audio only, English Subtitles available):