ultimate meat lasagna with béschamel sauce
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Did someone ask for comfort food? This week I’ve got a delicious dinner for the whole family that blows the store-bought version out of the water! We’ve got a meat sauce packed with savory flavor, enough cheesy goodness to satisfy even the most demanding of palates, beautiful crispy edges and a bubbly golden crust. It’s worth the effort, I promise!
This recipe doesn’t call for any specific tomato sauce or variety of pasta, because I know everyone has their favorites and I wanted this to be just as reasonable to make for a weeknight as it is for a cozy Sunday dinner. Feel free to use your preferred jarred red sauce or go all out and make it from scratch, and oven-ready noodles would be just as delicious as boiled or fresh!
Ingredients:
For the Meat Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound italian sausage
2 jars (about 48 oz) your favorite tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
For the Beschamél Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
⅓ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
For the Lasagna:
1 package lasagna noodles, prepared to package directions
⅔ cup parmesan cheese, grated
⅔ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
Meat Sauce:
Once diced, add the onions, celery, and carrot to a large pot. Turn the heat to medium and add butter, stir regularly until onions become transparent.
Add in ground beef, sausage, and garlic and brown the meat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add your sauce of choice, a bay leaf, and any other seasonings your heart desires. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Béschamel Sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle flour in slowly and stir for about three minutes until the roux deepens to a gold color.
Stir in the milk and mix continuously until thick, about 10 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan. Add nutmeg or other seasonings to your liking.
Lasagna:
Preheat your oven to 375° F.
In a 9×13 pan, spread a thin layer of the meat sauce and cover with lasagna noodles.
Then, spread another layer of meat sauce and top with a light sprinkle of parmesan and mozzarella. Add a layer of béschamel and top with more noodles. Repeat (noodles, meat sauce, béschamel) until your pan is full, ending with a layer of béschamel. Top with grated cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes and allow 30 minutes to cool before serving.
And there you have it, a meaty, delicious lasagna that will be wonderful any time of the week! If you’d like to make ahead and freeze, I recommend using oven-ready noodles so they are perfectly cooked next time you reach to put it in the oven. From frozen, bake for about 2 hours, or until crispy and bubbling.
Happy Layering!
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