Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe (Video)
Published March 21, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe is layered with homemade pasta, bechamel, and bolognese for an unforgettable meal. Consequently, If you’re looking to get a lasagna recipe straight from Italy, then this version is exactly that.
Firstly, I’m Sicilian so making and eating pasta in my house is commonplace. If you want to try out some new recipes, you must try Ravioli or Penne all Vodka.
Lasagna Bolognese
Lasagna bolognese is a classic Italian dish consisting of many layers of wide flat pasta, bechamel, bolognese sauce, and cheese. It’s then baked until golden brown and bubbly. This is the authentic way to make lasagna and how it’s done in Italy. I personally believe the more layers, the better.
Instead of using the easier assembled Ricotta cheese, a thickened milk-based bechamel sauce is traditionally used. In addition, the sauce would be more of a beef-based sauce and not a tomato-based sauce, as you would see in a spaghetti sauce.
The cheese that is sprinkled in between the layers and on top would be a variety of mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano, or sometimes Pecorino Romano. There are many variations on this recipe, but if you’re looking for the correct way to do it, then this is the one for you.
Ingredients
- Pasta – Homemade pasta is the best to use in this recipe.
- Bechamel – You will need to make bechamel sauce which is used in between the layers of this lasagna.
- Bolognese – I make a bolognese in this recipe using mirepoix, garlic, olive oil, pork, beef, and tomatoes.
- Cheese – I use a combination of whole milk mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
How to Make Lasagna Bolognese from Scratch
Process the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a food processor until finely minced.
Pour 3 tablespoons of oil into a large pot over medium heat.
Add the minced vegetables and saute/sweat them for 4 to 6 minutes while frequently stirring.
Next, add in the ground pork and beef and cook until it is well browned and cooked throughout.
Deglaze with wine and then pour in the hand-crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and mix to combine. Simmer over low heat until it’s ready to be used.
In the meantime, make your pasta dough.
Once the dough is rolled out, cut each sheet into 9″ to 11″ long pieces. Set it to the side on a clean surface dusted with flour until it is ready to be boiled.
Make the bechamel sauce and keep it warm over low heat.
Boil about 6 to 7 pasta sheets at a time in a large pot of boiling salted water for 20 to 30 seconds.
Remove the pasta and set them on a clean kitchen towel separate from one another so that they are easy to grab.
Place a small amount of bechamel sauce to the bottom of a lasagna pan.
Next, do the same with the Bolognese sauce.
Add a layer of cooked pasta to completely cover both sauces.
Add on both of the sauces in the same manner and then sprinkle a 1/4 cup of mozzarella mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of parmesan.
Repeat the process until the pasta, sauces and cheeses have been used.
Save a good amount of the bechamel to pour over the top of everything at the end.
Add the remaining bolognese sauce over the top. Be sure there is plenty left to be able to do this. Finish by sprinkling on the remaining cheeses to cover every thing
Finally, bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until browned and crispy in the corners. Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: Assemble the lasagna entirely and place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before serving it. Place it in the oven directly from the refrigerator and bake at 400° for 55-60 minutes or until browned and cooked.
How to Reheat: Place the desired amount of lasagna into a small pan or in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through and hot.
How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Place covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw this for 1 whole day in the refrigerator before reheating.
chef notes + tips
- The wine in this recipe and all of my recipes are optional. However, you can also use red wine if you’d like.
- You can also use store-bought lasagna pasta when making this recipe.
- The best thing about using homemade pasta is that the shape of it does not need to be perfect outside of it being long enough to fit in the pan.
More Pasta Recipes
- Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
- Linguine White Clam Sauce
- Linguine and Prosciutto
- Pappardelle and Puttanesca
- Gnudi
Video
Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 peeled and roughly chopped yellow onion
- 4 peeled and roughly chopped carrots
- 4 roughly chopped stalks of celery
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds of ground pork
- 1 ½ pounds of ground beef
- 3/4 cup white wine (pinto Grigio, chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc)
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 recipes for bechamel
- 1 recipe for homemade pasta
- 10 ounces shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start making the Bolognese sauce by finely mincing using a chef's knife or processing the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a food processor.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of oil into a large rondeau pot (8 quarts) over medium heat.
- Add the minced vegetables and sauté/sweat them for 4 to 6 minutes while frequently stirring.
- Next, add in the ground pork and beef and cook until it is well browned and cooked throughout.
- Deglaze with the white wine and reduce the amount of liquid by one half. Pour in the hand-crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and mix to combine. Simmer over low heat until it's ready to be used.
- In the meantime, make your pasta dough. Once the dough is rolled out, cut each sheet into 9" to 11" long pieces to fit inside of the 13×9 casserole dish we will use. Set it to the side on a clean surface dusted with flour until it is ready to be boiled.
- Make the bechamel sauce and keep it warm over low heat.
- Boil about 6 to 7 pasta sheets at a time in a large pot of boiling salted water for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Remove the pasta and set them on a clean kitchen towel separate from one another so that they are easy to grab when assembling.
- Place a small amount of bechamel sauce to the bottom of a lasagna pan. Next do the same with the Bolognese sauce.
- Add a layer of cooked pasta to completely cover both sauces.
- Add on both of the sauces in the same manner and then sprinkle a 1/4 cup of mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of parmesan over the sauces.
- Repeat the process until the pasta, sauces and cheeses have been used.
- Save a good amount of the bechamel to pour over the top of everything at the end. Add the remaining bolognese sauce over the top. Be sure there is plenty left to be able to do this.
- Finish by sprinkling on the remaining cheeses to cover every thing and bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until browned and crispy in the corners.
- Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tasty @so tasty Thank you Chef Billy your recipe
I have tried several times to make it and this is the best way ever!!
Excellent!
Would adding fresh basil to the tomato/meat sauce be over the top and if not how much fresh basil should I use?
That would work. You know my motto. Season once taste twice. taste it, add some, taste it again. See how much more you’d like to add in.
I have been making lasagna for many years, and each time they were ok. Nothing to brag about. I made this recipe of yours and it was the best. Even my husband said that it was the best that he ever had. Keep up the good work!!!
It was simply amazing! I made it in 2 days though. Made the bolognese sauce, then the next day the béchamel sauce. I cheated and used fresh lasagna noodles. Eventually will make the noodles from scratch.
AMAZING!! Sadly we ran out of time to make the pasta, but even with store bought dried lasagna sheets, it was so delish!! I can’t wait to make fresh pasta and make this again!
Simply fabulous! Made the sauce the day before. Next afternoon made the noodles and bechemel and put everything together and let it sit covered overnight. I also made a small pot of marinara to have for serving and plating. The next day I just needed to bake it… so easy for entertaining. Best lasagna ever!
Will definitely be making this again!
Have wanted to make lasagna with bechamel for classic lasagna Bolognese. Chef Billy this is a masterpiece! Took it to a New Years day celebration. Rave reviews and almost completely gone! There were 11 people at the dinner and 2nds were had by many! Even the pickiest of eaters devoured this lasagna! Did make the Bolognese sauce the day before which blended the flavors making this sauce even more delectable. Used red wine instead of white and added extra 28 oz can of Italian tomatoe sauce the next day as it had gotten very thick. Also made in a 9×15″ pan so needed extra sauce. Used our own homemade noodles. Definitely worth the effort!
I’ve been wanting to make this dish for a while, and finally pulled the trigger last night. Excellent! Made Billy’s pasta recipe using semolina and 00 pizza flour, then rolled it out thin using my Kitchen Aid pasta roller attachment. What I liked about this recipe is that it isn’t heavily cheese dominant. The bechamel sauce ties it together nicely. Lots of flavor in the meat sauce; I used a mixture of ground beef and veal. I’m kind of obsessed with hand made pasta right now—so tender and soft, but with chew and flavor. Thank you Billy!
I grew up in a large Italian family and this recipe is better than my childhood memories of lasagna. It turned out perfectly and the steps were clear and easy to follow. A must have in your recipe list!
Thank you ChefBilly sooooo 😋 tasty
Oh my days tasty thank you ChefBilly 😋😁🤩👋
Thank you ChefBilly brilliant tasty
Hi! I made your great lasagna bolognese for Christmas Day. So delicious and worth all the effort. Certainly a labor of love.
In your video you made the pasta using all semolina flour but your link to the pasta recipe used two kinds of flours.
When we ran our pasta through our Atlas hand cranked machine, the pasta created holes and tears using #6. The Atlas I have does not have a 0 setting. We only used 3 and 4. I also had lots of pasta leftover after 7 layers using a 13X9 pan.
The bolognese and bechamel sauces were soo good. Love all your recipes and look forward to making new ones.
Absolutely delicious.
I have made many of your recipes they are all fabulous and easy to follow.
I have been forwarding them along to friends and family so they can take a peek at your website.
Thank you Chef
many thanks!
OMG Chef Billy, have never made homemade pasta well once i got it together i was pretty happy with myself. i have it in oven right now and the house smells amazing. thankyou soo very much for the tutorial, that truly was a godsent. i cannot wait to share this with my family and friends they will love it. Carmen
This recipe is worth the work! My super picky son devoured it and now tells everyone that his mom makes the best lasagna. Thanks Chef Billy for making this momma good at making something!
thank you so kindly!!
I forgot to check this recipe out until after I attempted to recreate the ricotta based lasagna that my Mom made for decades. “Oh, you need me to bring food to the gathering? OK. I’ll make lasagna.” It was that kind of a thing, and every school that I went to got more than a few.
Unfortunately, she has dementia and has forgotten how to cook pretty much everything. Tonight was my third attempt. Today, in the store, I decided to use ground pork instead of Italian sausage links cut into chunks. I used 3+ pounds of meat total with 32oz of sauce, which worked much better than the usual 2 pounds and 28oz.
My question is this: While seasoning every step to taste (noodles during cooking and Bolognese), how do we account for the salt in the cheeses? I had to season the Bolognese 3x before it was good enough. I had another cup of Ricotta and more Bolognese, so I used it for a thin 4th top layer (which is unheard of in our house). The completed lasagna seemed a little salty to me, so I don’t know if it was in the noodles, the Bolognese or in the cheeses.
Seasoning comes with practice and knowing how much to use. I didn’t use ricotta in mine so it’s hard to know exactly where all the salt came from.
Out of this world!!!
many thanks!
This is a fantastic recipe. first time for me trying a bechamel sauce and absolutely love it. will be my go to
excellent!
This is now my go to lasagna recipe. I buy fresh lasagna sheets but other than that I follow the recipe and it’s a hit every time.
that’ll still work!
I made this Lasagna Bolognese for dinner last night-it was heaven on a plate! Served it with sliced Jersey tomatoes and crispy Italian bread. Made the sauces, as written, over the course of two days due to time constraints then put it together the night we ate it. Adding the onion with bay leaf and clove to the bechamel sauce really elevated the flavors. Made a few extra “baby” lasagnas to freeze.
love it!
This bolognese sauce is delicious! I didn’t have any celery and used a dry Riesling. I didn’t make the layered lasagna or the bechemel, but I have tried my hand at the homemade noodles which my family of picky eaters say are the best! So I put this meat sauce on the homemade noodles and it was delicious! My house still smells like bolognese the next morning, I love it! Billy all your recipes so far are my favorites!!
my pleasure! thanks for giving it a shot!!
One of my sisters, favorite recipes that she asked to be made many times
thanks for giving it a shot!!
I made this because I have never had it that way. I liked it and could see how that would have been a loved dish. I however have to revert back to my ricotta I’m sure it’s because it was the one I was raised on. I do see myself making it this way if I have someone that requests it.
Billy is a genius. This is THE BEST lasagna I’ve ever made. Billy continues to knock it out of the park with his superb recipes. His great great Nona would be so darn proud!!! Thanks BP!
Appreciate it.
Chef Billy, I have a question. I’ve been making your recipe for about a year and a half now, and the original recipe calls for simmering your Bolognese sauce for 90 minutes and there is no mention of deglazing the pan with white wine. Did you change the recipe?
it’s optional as stated in the video 🙂
Hi! I plan on doubling this recipe to freeze a pan. Is it best to freeze before or after cooking?
Probably after.
Hi chef Billy,
I made your family’s lasagna. Boy, is it delicious. The Bolognese sause 💋. We love lasagna. This is the best I have ever made thanks to you. I appreciate all you teach us. I love to cook, and your lessens have elevated my cooking skills. Thank you Deborah
It’s a good one!
Simply the best! Company loved it.
Excellent!
I made this recipe a few weeks ago. It was very very good. I admit I was raised on the ricotta cheese version, but this was delicious. I won’t ever make either type again without using homemade pasta. I think that was truly amazing in the recipe. I loved how the pasta didn’t take over the dish. Instead it enhanced it! The tenderness of the pasta was amazing!!!
thanks for giving it a shot!!
This recipe is fabulous. My family loved it much more than traditional lasagna. I have been encouraged to try more challenging recipes Chef Parisi as you have shown me these basic techniques that I have begun to incorporate into my everyday cooking. My family thanks you!
My pleasure!
Delicious
so good!!
This is the first recipe you taught me to make, even the homemade pasta. Huge family hit and best lasagna I have ever had.!!
Thank you!
This was absolutely delicious. Made this for my family. Did not make my own pasta. Maybe someday. Awesome reviews from everyone. Definitely making this again.
Awesome!
Fantastic! Made the whole dish fresh – including the pasta. Thank you for sharing!
wow!
Perfecto! Thank you
My pleasure!
Made this for Easter as a second entrée next to ham. Everyone loved this style of lasagna, especially my husband as he doesn’t like ricotta. Only change I did was adding some Italian seasoning to the meat mixture and oregano sprinkled on top before baked. I also the hard way to never turn your back on Bechemal sauce as your making it, even when on low it can boil over easily….what a mess 🤣
thanks for giving it a shot!!
I made this for the first time today, April 7th. I followed the recipe precisely, crushing the can of (San Marzano) tomatoes by hand. I was wondering about the lack of seasonings, other than salt & fresh cracked black pepper, but upon tasting for flavour, I stopped! This is all you need to make a delicious Bolognese! Dinner tonight, and there will be sauce left to freeze for another day!
Excellent!
I love all of your recipes! My mom’s family is from Vieste, Italy and your recipes are like eating at grandma’s house on Sunday 🥰
Amazing
Delicious! Best Bolognese lasagna
Absolutely the best lasagna I’ve ever had or made! I’ve probably made this recipe 20+ times now and it never disappoints. Took me a few tries to get the béchamel sauce right and I’ve played around a little with proteins, but otherwise I follow it as written. So many people have told me it was the best lasagna they’d ever tasted.
Thanks, Chef Billy, for such a great recipe that I will be making for the rest of my life!
Love this! thanks for giving it a shot!!
This was so delicious!! I cheated by using store bought pasta but followed the rest of the recipe. It was amazing! I served this at a surprise birthday for my hubby and what a success!
Yes, several times now. I made it for Christmas and my entire family freaked out at how amazing it was. The second time I had to double it so they could take some home.
This Lasagna is the Best! Did not make my own pasta but it was delicious. My Family loved it!! Will be my go to Lasagna recipe from now on.
Chef,
I want to thank you for this recipe. While my wife and I loved it, it turned out much more than tasty food. This week our friend had high blood pressure and was admitted to the hospital. The tests they ran showed she had a lesion on her heart and stage 3 lung cancer and fluid around her heart that caused the high blood pressure . Additional tests showed 2 more lesions on her brain that had to be removed. Well to help the family out my wife and I did miss cooking for the, we made your beef and barley soup that they loved, but the lasagna was a real hit. We received a message from their daughter thanking us for helping their mom and dad, but their compliments on the food were what I wanted to share with you. They loved the soup, but they told us the lasagna was the best they ever had…. So thank you for helping us to help a friend
This lasagna was really good! It was nice to taste a real Italian lasagna.
Will definitely make it again.
Délicieuse la meilleure lasagne! Merci Chef Billy
Billy – I’ve made this Lasagna 3 times in the past 2 months and everyone LOVES it. My question is, can this be made ahead of time and frozen without being baked? Thanks!
This is the best Lasagna ever! My family loves it. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely Amazing!!!! Best Lasagna hands down!!! It is a keeper in our home!
Good day, Chef. I am making your recipe for lasagna for my stepsons and their fiancees. I can’t wait to try it! However, one of the ladies is lactose intolerant. Would it be possible to make a veloute sauce with just stock for a separate lasagna for her? I could use olive oil to replace the butter. Thank you so much.
You would certainly miss out on a lot of the creaminess of the dish as well as flavor, but you could for sure give it a shot.
Thank you so much for your quick response. Whatever the decision… I will let you know how it turns out!!
Good day, Chef Parisi. I had to write and let you know we made your recipe and it was absolutely marvelous. I had originally planned to make the dish around Thanksgiving/Christmas Holiday, but due to a family illness, that did not happen. We had friends over yesterday and I decided to make your lasagna. I also made the recipe exactly as written and my family and guests loved it. Rave reviews all around and I will be making this recipe from now on. Again, thank you for your kind assistance. Kindest regards.
Was wondering if you have ever used San Marzano tomatoes? I like the sweetness
always
Omg..as Guy says..I can’t get it in my mouth fast enough..insanely delicious!! Tysvm for this recipe..I can’t begin to explain all the ways it is just amazing.
Could not agree more. I made this for my wife for our anniversary yesterday and it was divine. My wife said it is the best lasagna she has ever had!
Made this for famiky twice now. It’s soooo good. Passed my Italian husband’s taste buds. (Three quarters Sicilian, he would say, so I was laughing when you said that in your video.) This made us use the pasta maker we’ve tucked away in the basement and have never used till now.Thank you very much for sharing!
This recipe is almost identical to the one that my Italian friend gave me. This is THE BEST lasagna that I have ever had the pleasure to eat. Please give this a try and I highly recommend making homemade pasta..SO amazing!! Thanks, Billy for sharing your recipe!!
I haven’t made this yet but was wondering how much wine (not listed) and do I need to add wine?
the wine is optional actually, check out the chef notes!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was amazing! I froze half for later and we had plenty of leftovers! I did add some wine. Thank you, Chef, for sharing these wonderful recipes.
Can you verify the amount of tomatoes in this recipe. 28 ounces for 3 pounds of meat and all that veg ??? Its all meat. I had to use double that amount of tomatoes to get to the proper consistency. Its still really thick at that !
The amount is correct. Bolognese is not a tomato-based sauce, it’s a meat-based sauce.
I’ve always put wine in Bolognese sauce, and cook it all day. What do you think of that?
totally fine with me.
Made this for Christmas. Used sweet Italian sausage as I did not have ground pork. (Removed from casings). Was wonderful.
This is the best ‘hands down’ lasagna one could make. Absolutely fantastic! Definitely take the time to make the pasta!!!!
Hi, Billy. I’m using your recipe to make lasagne for this year’s Christmas Eve dinner. I decided to make the Bolognese sauce ahead of time (it’s simmering away as we speak!) and was wondering why your Bolognese sauce doesn’t call for milk. Is it because béchemel is part of the recipe and adding milk to the Bolognese sauce would be redundant? Just curious. Thanks!
Bolognese sauce does not have milk in it. The milk in the recipe is used in the Bechamel sauce.
I’ve made homemade lasagna before but wanted to try this recipe. This was amazing. I told my wife it might be the most delicious thing i have ever tasted. It takes a while to make but so worth it. I added in some ground Italian sausage in addition to the other meat in this recipe.
Hey Billy. I’m in the process of making this now and just realized AFTER I added the crushed tomatoes that you left out the wine in the written recipe and step-by-step instructions, but it was included in the video. I added 3/4 cup of Chardonnay about 5 minutes after all the other ingredients were in the Bolognese sauce. Not sure if I will end up with the same results since the wine wasn’t able to reduce, but you might want to update the recipe to match the video.
I mentioned it was optional in the video. You would add it in after cooking the veg or even the beef but never finish by adding in wine.
I’ve never commented on a recipe before but this was AMAZING. I’ve made my own pasta as well as bolagnese sauce plenty of times before but never made it as lasagna and never have used bechamel in lieu of ricotta. I won’t ever go back! Thank you for this. Game changer.
Looks fantastic. What size pan did you use? Thanks
This was a 13×9 but it was really deep. It’s made by Emile Henry I believe.
I reallllly reallllly can NOT take on the homemade lasagna pasta!! Not enough time, equipment, skill or space. Shall I try to find fresh or use dried? And shall I boil first? If so, how long? Can I make Sunday morning and bake Monday night?
Thanks!
Yes of course. Boil for maybe 7-9 minutes, then cool them. Layer and chill. Pull out about an 90 minutes before baking and let it sit at room temp before putting in the oven.
I’ve never had it like this I’ll have to try, I only have had ricotta in my lasagna, but this sounds very yummy !!! Thanks for the recipe. 💙
It is amazing and the most classic way to make lasagna. Good luck!
I was surprised not to see any spices in the recipe. It was very tasty but I wondered if Italian seasoning would give it an added dimension?
Well believe it or not, in true Authentic Italian cuisine that is actually in Italy, not the US, there isn’t a ton of dry herb uses especially in pasta. You could add some dry herbs and I’m sure you’d get some subtle hints of oregano or basil. You should try it.
Fabulous recipe, delicious and authentic! We took a Bolognese sauce class last May when we were in Bologna, I wanted to try your recipe, even substituted veggie crumbles for my husband who is a vegetarian, and it was wonderful!
You are an amazing chef!
Lisa!! Great to hear from you my friend, so glad it worked out for you.
Hello Chef Billy, your Aunt Pam is one of my favorite cooks (and just a wonderful person altogether)! We worked together at GMAC for over 30 years (I’ve known her since 1979). I am making your recipe today and have a question… I am going to divide this into two pans–I don’t need this much at once. Do I assemble and freeze (to later thaw and bake), or assemble, BAKE, then freeze to just reheat? Thank you so much! ~Terri Simon
Nice to meet you Terri! Assemble, bake, cool and freeze!
A brilliant lasagna recipe that is authentically Italian. Exactly what I expect from the master chef Billy Parisi!
Thank you so much Lorie, I appreciate it!
We make Lasagna Bolognese all the time but never with homemade noodles! I’m definitely going to step up my game the next time I make it.
It is a game changer, try it out!
This looks fantastic! I make homemade noodles for my chicken noodle soup, but I’ve never tried homemade lasagna noodles. Adding it to my list of things to master. Thank you!
Thanks Kara! Man that soup sounds good!
The homemade noodles takes this lasagna recipe over the top! So good!
I’m tellin ya hahaha! Thanks for the kind words!
This looks delicious! A good lasagna is a labor of love and I can see all the love you’ve put into this recipe! The addition of Bechamel must take it over the top! My husband would love this recipe.
Thanks Renee, it is super good and I’d bet he’d love it!
Best lasagna ever! Definitely worth all the effort, thanks for walking us through it.
my pleasure and thanks for watching!