This classic Italian Lasagna made with béchamel sauce is an insanely delicious, hearty, and cheesy lasagna recipe that you need in your life this Fall and Winter.
There’s nothing as comforting and satisfying as this classic lasagna with béchamel sauce. That’s right, white creamy sauce layered in with lasagna pasta sheets and bolognese meat sauce. Without ricotta but topped with loads of mozzarella cheese.
Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce – the best lasagna!
I am obsessed with lasagna, especially when it comes to lasagna with creamy béchamel sauce.
Nothing against ricotta. In fact, I love ricotta in a lot of things! Like this Baked Ziti, Spinach Lasagna, or even in sweet items like this yummy Italian cheesecake recipe.
But lasagna with béchamel sauce? Definitely the far superior lasagna.
Something about that creamy, yet still fairly light cream sauce sandwiched between chewy pasta and tomato meat bolognese sauce just takes lasagna from good to amazing.
Lasagna with béchamel sauce is also the more traditional Italian way of making lasagna. Here in the United States, most lasagna that you come across doesn’t have béchamel sauce in it, which is really unfortunate, because I personally believe béchamel sauce takes a lasagna from good to great.
This béchamel lasagna recipe is inspired by:
- My favorite childhood Italian restaurant’s lasagna: One of our favorite special-occasion restaurants growing up is this cute little Italian place with dim lighting, soft music, and white table cloths. My favorite thing on their menu is their melt-in-your mouth lasagna (yes, lasagna made with the best béchamel sauce).
- All the glorious lasagna in Italy: Italy is one of my favorite countries to visit and I have also completely fallen in love with their food and pasta. This lasagna recipe is a nod to all the incredible Béchamel Lasagna I’ve had the chance to indulge in in Italy.
I modeled this lasagna with béchamel sauce recipe after some of the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted, and I truly think it is some of the best lasagna recipe out there!
Kitchen Tools
To make this delicious lasagna recipe with béchamel sauce, you will need:
- 1 large pot – for the bolognese meat sauce
- 1 medium pot – to make the béchamel sauce
- 1 whisk – to mix up the béchamel ingredients
- 1 deep 9″ x 13″ baking dish – to assemble the lasagna in
Ingredients
There are basically three key groups of ingredients when making Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce:
For the béchamel sauce (white sauce):
- Butter – use unsalted butter and then add salt to taste to have a good control of the amount of salt in your béchamel
- milk – use 2% milk or whole milk for a creamier texture.
- flour – this is used as the thickening agent for the sauce
- salt – adjust accordingly to open up the flavors.
For the bolognese meat sauce (red meat sauce/ragu):
- peeled tomatoes (canned) – the base of the traditional red sauce.
- tomato paste (canned) – tomato paste intensifies the tomato flavor without adding too much liquid. You do not want your lasagna to sit in a pool of liquid when it bakes, so definitely use tomato paste and avoid substituting with something else.
- basil – a classic Italian herb. You can use dried or fresh basil
- oregano – classic Italian herb #2….again you can use dried or fresh oregano.
- garlic – so important to really flavor the sauce. Use fresh garlic cloves and mince it, and avoid using garlic powder.
- onions – white, sweet or yellow onions work well
- carrot – finely minced. You can do this by hand or with a food processor.
- celery – finely minced. You can do this by hand or with a food processor.
- beef bouillon – powder or paste is fine. If you don’t have it, chicken bouillon will work too. This is to bump up the flavor profile in the bolognese sauce.
- salt and pepper – to really open up the flavors in the sauce. Adjust to taste at the end as needed!
Others:
- lasagna pasta – there are actually two types of lasagna pasta:
- pre-boiled lasagna noodles: unless specified, most lasagna noodles will need to be boiled briefly before layering into the casserole. Be careful not to over-boil the lasagna noodles!
- oven-ready lasagna noodles – these noodles are still hard but can be layered into the casserole without pre-boiling or even soaking them. I love using these because they are so much easier, plus one less pot to wash! Make sure these noodles are well covered in sauce when layering them if not they will not be fully cooked in the oven.
- mozzarella cheese – this is used to top off the lasagna at the end!
How to make it
Lasagna may seem like a daunting task to take on, but let me assure you it is not as difficult as it seems!
My goal is to break this recipe into a few key parts so you will find this more digestible (pun intended).
In all seriousness, follow along and you will see that you can totally make this delicious Lasagna Béchamel Sauce. And when you taste the fruit of your labor, you will know why I say this is totally worth it!
Bolognese Meat Sauce
First, make the meat sauce by sautéing the aromatics and beef in a pot first, then adding carrots and celery and sauté until they are tender.
After that, add the tomatoes and tomato paste, followed by the other seasonings including basil, oregano, beef bouillon, salt and black pepper.
Bring everything to a boil, lower to medium low heat and cook till the sauce thickens.
Bolognese sauce should come out chunky and not watery.
Béchamel Sauce (White Sauce) for Lasagna
Next, let’s make that glorious béchamel sauce that I have been raving about non stop.
Bring a medium pot onto the stove, and melt the butter on medium heat.
Add flour, followed by milk.
Whisk the sauce and keep stirring while it cooks. Whisking will remove the clumps formed by the flour and continuous stirring will prevent the béchamel sauce from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Béchamel sauce should come to a boil and then slowly thickens (lower to medium low heat once it boils). Add salt and adjust to taste. P/S: You’ll need quite a bit of salt and you’ll find that it will really open up the flavors of the béchamel.
When sauce is done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Lasagna Pasta
Cook the lasagna pasta according to instructions. Easier still, use oven-ready, no-need-to-precook pasta and save yourself a pot!
Assembling lasagna
Once the béchamel sauce, meat sauce, and pasta are prepared, it’s time to start assembling your lasagna with béchamel sauce!
You will need a deep 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Start with a thin layer of red sauce to coat the bottom of the casserole dish.
Then add on these layers (in this order):
- Lasagna noodles (bottom)
- Bolognese sauce
- Béchamel sauce (top)
Then repeat the layers.
There should be a total of three sets of the noodle-bolognese-béchamel layers.
Once all the layers are completed, last but not least, sprinkle the top with shredded mozzarella cheese before sending it into the oven to bake.
When it is done, Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce should be bubbly, gooey, slightly charred on the top. 😍
Let it sit for 20 minutes so that the layers would settle and the lasagna cools.
Takes a little patience to wait on this yummy Béchamel Lasagna, but it’ll be easier to cut into it that way – trust me. 😉
How to Serve
My favorite thing to serve with this lasagna with bachemel sauce? Red wine. It pairs together like a dream.
A simple bread and salad side is also goes perfectly with pasta.
More delicious recipes to pair this with:
– Roasted Lemon Garlic Broccoli
– Cheesy Garlic Rolls
– Honey Butter Rolls
– Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar
– Italian Caprese Salad (by Savor The Best)
Reheating and Storage
If you want to make this lasagna a few days ahead, I recommend cooking it entirely, letting it cool, and then freezing it whole. Bring lasagna to a complete defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in the oven (you probably want to cover it halfway through baking
If you have refrigerated leftovers, simply cut out slices you want to eat and reheat in the microwave. Good news is lasagna keeps and reheats in the microwave really well!
Tips and Tricks
A few things to note while you make this classic béchamel Lasagna:
- Drain Excess Grease: A fattier ground beef can bring access liquid to the sauce so drain the excess grease from the meat before adding carrots and celery when making the bolognese sauce.
- Consistency of Bolognese Sauce: Bolognese sauce should be nice and thick so that lasagna will not turn out watery. Cook bolognese sauce for longer if it is still runny – take your time to let all the flavors meld together!
- Whisk Bechamel While Cooking: When making béchamel sauce, whisk continuously using a whisk so that lumps are removed and sauce will be smooth. Whisking also prevents burning at the bottom of the pot. Once sauce thickens, remove from heat promptly to prevent it from thickening further.
- Layering Lasagna Well: When layering the lasagna, if using oven-ready lasagna sheets, make sure they are well covered in sauce if not they will not soften when baked.
- Catch Drippings in Oven: If lasagna is filled up to the brim, place a cookie sheet underneath the casserole dish in the oven to catch drippings.
- Let Lasagna Cool Before Cutting: Let your cooked lasagna sit for 15-20 minutes so it can set before cutting it. This will make it much easier to cut into without the insides oozing out too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Or, you can use half and half if prefer.
Yes! Nutmeg is a common add to béchamel sauce and can really open up the flavors so feel free to add it if you’d like and have it at hand. It is not necessarily to go out of the way to get the ingredient if you don’t already have it.
Yes you can layer everything ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to two days before cooking it in the oven. Let it sit in room temperature for an hour or two before baking. If it is still cold when you bring it to the oven you will need to extend the cook time.
You can also layer and freeze, but with how large the casserole is it will take a while to defrost completely, and you want to defrost completely before baking the lasagna.
Not necessary! I don’t usually, and don’t find the tops burning. But you can if you’d like.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
Other delicious Italian Recipes
If you like this lasagna recipe, you will probably enjoy these as well!
- The Best Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Creamy Tomato Pasta with Italian Sausage
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Bruschetta with Tomatoes, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar
- Lemon Garlic Parmesan Pasta
- Baked Ziti
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce (without ricotta)
Equipment
- 1 Large pot
- 1 Medium pot
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5-8 cloves garlic
- 1 medium white onion
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 cup carrot finely minced
- 1 cup celery finely minced
- 28 oz canned peeled whole tomatoes
- 6 oz canned tomato paste
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp beef bouillon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Béchamel Sauce
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 6 cups 2% milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Other
- 9 lasagna sheets boiled or oven ready
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped, garnish
Instructions
Bolognese Sauce
- Heat a large pot under medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic and onions. Sauté until fragrant, for a minute or two, avoid browning. Then add ground beef.
- Sauté ground beef until it is no longer pink. Add carrot and celery, and sauté for about one minute.
- Add the liquids – peeled tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Heat it on medium high heat and let it come to a boil.
- Add the rest of the seasonings – basil, oregano, beef bouillon, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Lower heat to medium heat and let it cook for another ~10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Béchamel Sauce
- Add butter to a medium pot and heat under medium heat.
- Once butter is melted (avoid browning butter), add flour to pot. Using a whisk, whisk to combine. Mixture will be slightly clumpy.
- Immediately add milk into the pot and bring to medium high heat so that it comes to a boil. Whisk continuously until mixture thickens and is smooth.
- Once mixture reaches desired thick consistency, add salt and pepper. Stir to combine, then remove from heat.
Assemble Lasagna
- Pre heat oven to 375°F.
- Bring a thin layer of bolognese sauce to the bottom of a deep 9" x 13" dish.
- Start layering with three sheets of rectangular lasagna sheets (see Note 1), then add 1/3 of the bolognese sauce, and then 1/3 of the béchamel sauce.
- Repeat Step 2 two more times. There should be a total of three sets of lasagna sheets/bolognese sauce/béchamel sauce layers.
- The top layer should be béchamel sauce. Sprinkle it with mozzarella cheese to top it off.
- Bring casserole dish to oven and place a cookie sheet under the casserole dish to catch any potential drippings. Bake for 45 minutes, then (optional) broil for 2 minutes to brown the top.
- Remove dish from oven and let it sit for 20 minutes before cutting into lasagna.
- Garnish with parsley and serve! Enjoy!
Do I cover the casserole or not for the 45 min bake?
You do no need to cover the casserole!
Probably a silly question… but do you have to chop the whole peeled tomatoes for the bolognese sauce?
You can if you want to! I typically break it up with a wooden spoon after adding to the pot. And not a silly question at all! 🙂
I use a food processor or an immersion blender to puree the sauce before adding the meat!!
best lasagna ever, thank you so much for posting this!
Honored for the compliment! Thank YOU!
Sorry, this was very disappointing for me, I only used 2/3 ‘s of the bechamel, but it was stilll way too much. It really took away from the red sauce. My bad for thinking I needed to change things up
I’m sorry to hear that this isn’t to your liking, Julia. One of the reasons why I like this is because it’s lighter and less heavy than a ricotta lasagna, but it’s too bad it didn’t work out for you!
I hear you, the red/white/noodle ratio was off for me as well. It was totally tasty, but way to wet for my taste. I’ll alter it next time!
We love this!! When I make it, my friends want me to make enough for them!! I make my pasta from scratch and it is the icing on the “lasagna”, thanks for the recipe as my husband HATES ricotta cheese!!
So glad to hear that Teri! Thank you for sharing!
This is a very good recipe. My husband hates ricotta, so glad to find this. I found the bechemel to be the perfect amount, but I did add more seasoning than called for (nutmeg, white pepper, salt). I browned the meat well and added to vegetables, then added tomatoes and seasonings. I cooked the bolognese for a couple of hours barely simmer. This was a test for a family special meal, so next time I will make a few minor changes to suit our taste. I will reduce the oregano and use fresh basil. I also added fresh Parmesan, between layers and on top. Excellent, thank you for sharing this!
Hi Sherrie, thank you for sharing your modifications and I love how you’ve made changes to suit your tastebuds! Can’t wait for you to share it for your family special meal. <3
Very good I haven’t made a classic lasagna since I was in culinary school and needed to confirm how simple I thought it was.
I am surprised though, with your emphasis on classical preparation, that you didn’t make the roux before adding the milk to the bechamel. I followed my training.
But I’m sure it works fine this way too and I appreciate someone putting this out there.
Thanks for sharing, Jude! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
This recipe just created nostalgia for me. My mom used to buy frozen lasagna from Costco that tasted exactly like this and we can’t find it anymore!
Makes me happy to hear that, Tiff! <3
I made it for family and friends and everyone loved it!!
That’s fantastic!
Too much bechamel and not enough tomato. Otherwise pretty good!
I’m glad you liked it, even though the ratio was not to your preference. I would encourage those who prefer less béchamel to simply leave out some of the béchamel – never feel like you have to load it up and use it all ! 🙂
Can this be frozen?
Yes!
Im not a fan of lasagna with ricotta. a coworker recently told me about Lasagna with Bechemel she had while in Italy. I was interested in trying and found this recipe.
This is the best I have ever had. I did make a small change and use two 24oz cans of tomatoes and one didnt seem like enough.
I followed the directions and rested for 20 minutes. It was still molten hot and didn’t stay layered nicely. Luckily the appearance didnt change the taste.
Thank you so much for the feedback and sharing your modifications. So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Bechamel sauce is totally the way to go in lasagna 🙂
This was my first time making lasagna and it was a hit. A few adjustments I made:
Used my own bolognese recipe
Added 1/8 tsp of nutmeg to the bechamel
Sprinkled garlic powder and dried oregano over the mozzarella
Only used about 2/3 of the bechamel and froze the rest for future mac & cheese
Note: If you have trouble multi-tasking, leave yourself way more time than what’s listed.
It’s already a fan favorite and I know I’ll be making it for special occasions for years to come. Thank you!
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your modifications and tips! <3
So good .. I prefer this recipe without the ricotta.. so much lighter!!😋😋
Yes! So true, it is much lighter! One of the many reasons why I like it more too <3
can I male this in the crockpot?
I would not recommend it personally! Oven works best 🙂
This was quite delicious. I did tweak it and added nutmeg to the Bechamel and used 1 pound of Italian sausage and 1 pound of ground beef. I missed the taste of the parmesan, though, so I’ll probably toss some in next time, but I did not miss the ricotta. Great recipe, and it was a huge hit with my family. Thanks for posting!
Great modifications! Love the addition of nutmeg <3 Thank you for sharing!
I made it dairy free gfree an was excellent
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Great
Glad to hear it!