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Lasagne is the ultimate home cooked dish, and this step-by-step classic recipe works every time. Pasta sheets layered with rich ragu and a delicious cheesy sauce with a crispy golden top – total heaven and so worth the effort!
It is a very proud moment when I deliver a beautiful Beef Lasagne into the centre of my table, knowing the time, effort and love that’s gone into feeding my nearest and dearest.
I often feel a classic Lasagne (or Lasagna if that’s how you spell it) is underrated. Because you can get it in most pubs and in microwave form, I think it goes under the radar as one of our most loved comfort dishes.
While you could throw one together pretty quickly and easily, I believe that we should take a little more time over this recipe – but I promise it’s still SO easy.
Made with the basic sauce we share with another classic – Spaghetti Bolognese – and the richness of a Ragu (but with beef mince instead of shin), there is much to savour here…
The rich, bold tomatoey base balanced with herby earthiness, as well as the creamy béchamel sauce with silky, soft lasagne sheets layered in between, not forgetting that finish of cheesy deliciousness – make it golden on top and it will give you lots of flavour too.
Simply perfect served alongside green salad or crunchy garlic bread.
While I urge you not to skimp on time when it comes to Lasagne making (we need that to get the depth of flavour), there are a couple of time-saving tips you can try:
I usually try to make the meaty sauce filling earlier in the day, then all that’s left to do later is assemble it, and cooking is a rather reasonable time of 30-40 minutes, so it seems like a breeze!
Secondly, I sometimes use pre-chopped vegetables for my base mix. You can buy frozen bags of soffritto (diced onions, carrots and celery) from the supermarket and these are so worth buying.
If there’s one thing I urge you to remember about making Lasagne, it’s please leave yourself an extra 15 minutes from taking it out of the oven before serving to cool a little.
This short time to stand (don’t worry, it will still stay hot) means we can then serve it into portions that stay intact and look impressive, rather than collapsing all over the plate and undoing all that work to layer it up!
If I’m serving this to guests and need a veggie alternative too, I accompany it with a more simplified meat-free Aubergine Parmigiana or Vegetarian Lasagne too.
Why is this the best Lasagne recipe?
⭐️ Rich, flavourful, meaty and comforting
⭐️ Great for batch cooking or making in advance
⭐️ Serve with extra sides for an Italian-style feast
Sarah’s Notes
This is the classic recipe I turn to time and time again. It’s a little more effort than, say, a quick one pan meal (I actually do have this version of a Lasagne in my One Pot cookbook!) but set aside a little time and enjoy the process.
As it does take a little while, I always like to double batch this recipe too and make one for the freezer.
While a quick lasagne is undoubtably delicious this lasagne, while taking a little extra time, is something else! Full of flavour and absolutely worth the effort.
This is my foolproof step-by-step guide to making the best homemade Lasagne (which I’ve been making for 25 years!) from scratch. Enjoy!
Lasagne Ingredients
For the ragu sauce:
- Oil – Go for olive oil or sunflower if you prefer.
- Pancetta – The thinly sliced type.
- Beef mince (ground beef) – Ideally I’d use 5% or 10% fat for this recipe, otherwise it might be a bit fatty, but it’s down to personal preference. You can drain some of the fat if you need to.
- Base vegetables – Chopped onion, carrot and celery. You can replace fresh with a frozen bag of ‘soffritto’, which comes already pre-chopped all together in one bag.
- Garlic – You’ll need 4 cloves for this recipe. It’s fine to use frozen or jarred as well as fresh if you like.
- Beef stock – Use a stock cube (bouillon cube) or fresh stock for extra flavour.
- Herbs – Rosemary, thyme, oregano and bay leaves (dried is OK).
- Red wine – About 150ml of anything you have makes all the difference to the resulting flavour.
- Tomato base – Tinned chopped tomatoes and tomato purée, the best quality you can. If you’re in USA/CAN: Tomato purée = tomato paste (the thick, concentrated kind in the small can).
- Sugar – Just a teaspoon makes a difference by balancing out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Worcestershire sauce – Two tablespoons give a deeper flavour.
- Season – Make sure you season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the Lasagne white sauce (béchamel sauce):
- Butter, plain flour (all-purpose flour), whole milk, grated parmesan and a little ground nutmeg.
To layer the Lasagne:
- Lasagne sheets – I use fresh pasta sheets as it helps give your dish lovely flat layers, but dried also works brilliantly.
- Grated mozzarella – This is not the same as mozzarella balls, which are much more liquidy! This type has a lovely creamy flavour and cheesy pull, but is a bit drier so won’t make the dish go soggy.
- Grated parmesan – A little of this stronger cheese brings the whole thing together for a golden brown topping.
How to make Lasagne from scratch
1. Add the sliced pancetta to hot oil and fry. Add the mince until browned, then remove, as per the recipe below.
2. Fry the onions and garlic, followed by the vegetables.
3. Add the meat back in, add the stock cube, herbs, wine, tomatoes and puree, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Season well and leave to simmer.
4. Make the white sauce: Melt the butter, stir in the flour, then add in the milk and whisk until smooth. Stir in the parmesan and nutmeg and season.
5. Layer the lasagne: Spread a thin layer of the ragu in the base of your dish, then cover with lasagne sheets, then ragu again, then a little white sauce and mozzarella. Repeat.
6. For the last layer, do ragu, lasagne sheets, bechamel, mozzarella then sprinkle the parmesan over the top. Cook as per the recipe below.
Leftovers & Storing
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or in the oven before serving. Add a splash of water if it needs it.
In the freezer Like most beef mince recipes, this is a fantastic make-ahead freezer recipe! Making a few batches at once is always a good idea if you have space.
Just wait until it’s totally cold and then portion into freezer-proof containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Recipe Tips
Shortcuts
There’s no denying that this is a long recipe, but it really is worth it. We’ve used the classic Taming Twins Bolognese recipe for the meat sauce as it’s just so tasty, but you could speed the prep up a little by using pre-diced pancetta and 350g frozen soffritto mix.
This might be called ‘vegetable base mix’ or something similar in some supermarkets. If you are using frozen, make sure you give it a little more time to brown and cook until all the water has evaporated.
Lasagne sheets
I like to make mine with fresh lasagne sheets, but if you would prefer to use dried, make sure that the ragu is saucy enough.
If your sauce has gaps in the pan when you stir it, it may need a little more stock to soak into the dried pasta.
Common mistake
The mistake most people (myself included) probably make with Lasagne is serving it too quickly.
Leaving it to sit for 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven, before slicing, will make serving it so much easier. It will also keep its nice layers instead of melting everywhere, and don’t worry – it will still stay very hot!
More homemade classics…
FAQs
Yes, definitely! This is a really simple recipe. If you’re not used to cooking, my advice would be to take this one step at a time. Concentrate on the ragu first. It will be fine to leave to cool while you then concentrate on making the white sauce and layering. Then all that’s left to do is pop it in the oven!
If you’re wanting a good veggie option, follow my easy Vegetarian Lasagne recipe here. It’s so good! Or something similar, go for Aubergine Parmigiana instead.
After assembling, it takes about 30-40 minutes in the oven, depending on your oven temperature. Just until it’s golden and bubbling, and cooked through.
The origins of this dish go back centuries, and versions of it differ even in region to region in Italy. This recipe is my take on a classic recipe, and contains most of the flavours we’ve come to know and love – tomatoey beef ragu sauce, sheet pasta and a cheesy topping, with important flavour-builders of vegetables, pancetta and red wine.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Classic Lasagne Recipe
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 100 g (4 oz) Pancetta, The thinly sliced type
- 500 g (1.1 lb) Beef mince (ground beef), 5% fat
- 1 Onion, Finely chopped | See notes
- 4 Garlic cloves, Peeled and crushed
- 1 Large carrot, Finely diced
- 1 Celery stick, Finely diced
- 1 Beef stock cube
- 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp Dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 3 Bay leaves
- 150 ml (0.75 cup) Red wine
- 400 g (14 oz) Tinned chopped tomatoes, Plus 1/2 tin of water
- 2 tbsp Tomato purée (tomato paste in USA/CAN)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the white (béchamel) sauce:
- 50 g (2 oz) Butter
- 50 g (2 oz) Plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 600 ml (2.5 cups) Whole milk
- 60 g (2 oz) Grated parmesan
- 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg
For the lasagne:
- 300 g (10 oz) Fresh lasagne sheets, 10-12 | See notes
- 200 g (7 oz) Grated mozzarella
- 60 g (2 oz) Grated parmesan
Instructions
Make the ragu:
- Fry the pancetta first: Heat 1 tbsp of oil in large pan. Very thinly slice the pancetta. Add it to the pan and fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes until it's starting to colour and brown.
- Brown the mince: Add the mince and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, breaking up as it cooks, until it's browned all over.
- Set them aside now: Remove the mince and pancetta into a bowl and set aside.
- Time to cook the veggies: Put the remaining oil in the pan and add onions and garlic. Cook for 5 mins until they're starting to soften.
- Add the remaining veg and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until it's starting to soften.
- Everything in together: Add the mince and pancetta back to the pan. Add the stock cube, dried herbs, salt, bay leaves and stir well. Add the wine, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and plenty of pepper.
- Long simmer: Bring to a simmer, pop a lid slightly ajar on the pan and cook for 1hr-1.5 hours over a medium-low heat until thick and rich. Leave to cool a little.
Make the white sauce:
- Butter and flour first: Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat then stir in the plain flour. Cook this for a minute, stirring the whole time.
- Gradually add milk until thick: Add in the milk, little by little, and whisk to make a nice smooth sauce. When you have added all the milk, whisk constantly for around 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
- Cheese, nutmeg and season: Stir in the parmesan and nutmeg and some salt and pepper then set to one side.
Layer the lasagne:
- Preheat the oven: 180℃/350F fan, 200℃/390F, Gas Mark 6.
- First layer: Spread a thin layer of the ragu in the base of your baking dish (roughly 20x30cm), then cover with lasagne sheets. Top with 1/3 of the remaining ragu, a 1/3 of the bechamel, then 1/3 of the grated mozzarella.
- Repeat these layers again: Lasagne sheets, ragu, bechamel, mozzarella.
- For the last layer: Do ragu, lasagne sheets, bechamel, then mozzarella, then sprinkle the parmesan over the top.
Cook:
- Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling, then remove from the oven and leave to sit for 15 minutes before slicing. This will make slicing the lasagne so much easier and it will stay very hot!
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on January 5, 2026 and updated later to make improvements.
Outstanding, we really enjoyed this lasagne, a very easy to follow recipe and an excellent tip on letting it sit for 15 minutes,
Best lasagne recipe and instructions I’ve used! My husband loved it. I added mushrooms to mine with Quarn mince and my husband’s was the original recipe. Thank you 😊
Incredible.
Have faith with the white sauce, it does thicken to the perfect texture.
Beautiful lasagne recipe
Made last night. Brilliant recipe so flavoursome family loved it! I’m a Worcester girl myself and will now be buying your recipe books. Thankyou Sarah. X
Tasty and creamy! superb recipe.
love all your recipes thank you
This looks amazing as I always struggle making lasagne. Can I ask which plant based milk you would recommend for the white sauce? Thank you, 😊
Great recipe made a double batch and halved the right for bolognaise and the other half for lasagne.
Such a tasty recipe
Absolutely spot on recipe 👌 my new go-to lasagne!