Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe
Published December 10, 2019. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This is the most Authentic Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe with Homemade Noodles you’re going to find. If you’re looking to get a lasagna recipe straight from Italy, then this version is exactly that. It is loaded with homemade lasagna noodles, bolognese sauce, béchamel sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan for an unbelievable flavor.

There are so many recipes out there that I just simply love. This Lasagna Bolognese Recipe is definitely one of them. I mean recipes like these are called a classic for a reason, right? It’s because they’re insanely delicious… When done right of course. Whether it be a homemade artisan bread loaf, oysters Rockefeller, or an authentic classic lasagna Bolognese recipe like this one, homemade food from scratch just tastes better.
What’s the Difference Between This and Regular Lasagna?
I’m guessing the way you make lasagna is with some dried noodles, ricotta, eggs, mozzarella, parmesan and some sort of tomato or meat sauce correct? Those ingredients would be all-encompassing into a regular lasagna recipe.
While sure those things together can taste great, it’s just not the classic way to make a lasagna recipe. In fact, if you were to go to Italy and visit a restaurant and ask for the most authentic lasagna in the country, this lasagna Bolognese is what they would serve you.
What Is Bolognese Sauce Made Of?
Bolognese sauce is so much simpler then you maybe you thought it was. I mean it’s literally 10 ingredients, and that includes olive oil, salt, and pepper. The problem is our culture is too pressed for time to let simple ingredients like the ones in this Bolognese sauce cook for several hours so that it tastes amazing. Here are the ingredients:
- Onions
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Ground Pork
- Ground Beef
- Tomatoes
- Salt and Pepper

The easiest way to make a Bolognese is to finely mince up your veggies, sweat them in olive oil, brown your meat and finish with crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. The hardest part here is letting it cook over low heat so all of those wonderful flavors come out.
Does Lasagna Have Bechamel Sauce?
The white cheesy sauce looking stuff in this lasagna Bolognese recipe is not ricotta and eggs, it’s béchamel sauce. Bechamel is one of the 5 classic mother sauces along with Tomato sauce, Veloute, Hollandaise, and Espagnol. This classic recipe will 100% of the time have bechamel sauce in it.
Bechamel sauce is so easy to make, seriously.
- Heat up some milk in a large pot.
- Make a roux in another pan.

- Combine them
- Stir and cook over medium heat until it’s thick.

- Finish with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, which is a French term called nappe.
Do You Need to Make Fresh Pasta for This Recipe
You definitely do not need to use fresh pasta when making this, but I can promise you the flavor will be infinitely better and more authentic if you do. I’m totally down with making homemade lasagna noodles because quite frankly they don’t have to be perfect in shape.
You’re really just layering on pasta noodles so no need to make the perfect fettuccine or spaghetti noodle, just make your dough and roll it out and cut it to fit in the pan.
How to Make The Noodles
Here’s an easy step by step on how to make lasagna noodles.
- Pulse together in a food processor flour, eggs and salt until big chunks are formed.
- Knead the dough for 12 to 15 minutes.

- Wrap the dough in plastic and chill it for 20 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Divide the dough into 3 pieces and flatten each of them as best you can using your hand.

- Lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and run it through the pasta roller on setting zero, 3 times.
- Turn the pasta roller setting to 3 and run it through 2 times.

- Turn the pasta roller setting to 6 and run it through once.
- Let the long pasta dough set on a floured surface for 20 to 30 minutes.

- Cut the long rolled out pasta dough so that it fits inside of your lasagna baking dish.
- Parboil the noodles in a pot of boiling salted water for 20 to 30 seconds.

- Drain the water and lay out the pasta next to each other on some kitchen towels.

This is it, now it’s time to layer everything up.
How to Make Lasagna Bolognese
Start by adding some béchamel to the bottom of the casserole pan and then do the same with the Bolognese sauce. This sort of gives a good coating underneath everything. Next, add a layer of noodles and then repeat with the béchamel and Bolognese sauce.

Now, sprinkle on some shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Repeat the process until the noodles and sauce are completely used up and bake it in the oven at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes.

There is no set standard on how many layers should be in a lasagna recipe, simply use all of the ingredients up.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: Assemble the lasagna completely 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 through.
How to Reheat: Place the desired amount 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.
How to Freeze: Place covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw for 1 whole day in the refrigerator before reheating.
chef notes + tips
- The wine in this recipe and all of my recipes are optional. You can also use red wine if you’d like.

More Amazing Pasta Recipes
Here’s a list of some of my favorite homemade pasta recipes.
- Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
- Linguine White Clam Sauce
- Linguine and Prosciutto
- Pappardelle and Puttanesca
- Fettuccine Ricotta and Smoked Salmon
- Gnudi
If you love authentic recipes, then look no further than this one, it’s a winner.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Authentic Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe

Ingredients
For the Bolognese:
- 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
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Béchamel:
- 6 cups of whole milk
- 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 9 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Lasagna Noodles:
- 4 cups of semolina flour
- 6 eggs
- ½ teaspoon of sea salt
For the Cheeses:
- 10 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bolognese: Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic to a food processor and pulse on high speed until it is finely minced.
- Next, add the olive oil to a large pot over medium heat and add in the minced vegetables and sweat for 4 to 6 minutes.
- Add in the ground pork and ground been and cook until browned and cooked through out, about 15 minutes.
- Pour in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Mix and cook for 90 minutes on low heat. Keep warm.
- Bechamel: Add the milk to a large pot over medium-low heat.
- In a separate pan over medium heat add in the butter until melted.
- Stir in the flour until combined and cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes to make a roux.
- Add the roux to the pot of warm milk and stir over medium-low heat until very thick. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Keep warm.
- Noodles: Add the flour, eggs and salt to a food processor and pulse on high until big chunks are formed. If it’s gritty add water, if it’s real wet add some more flour.
- Transfer to a clean surface.
- Knead for 15 minutes before placing in a plastic bag and resting in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove the plastic from the dough and cut it into 3 equal size pieces.
- Lightly flour the dough pieces and press down with your hand. Run a piece of dough through the hand crank pasta maker on the 0 setting and run it through 3 times.
- Turn the crank to 3 and run it through 2 times. Change the setting to 6 and roll it out once and ten dust with flour on a clean surface.
- Cut the dough with a knife so that it will fit into layers in a lasagna casserole pan.
- Par boil the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water 6 to 7 noodles at a time for only 20 to 30 seconds.
- Place them separately on kitchen towels until it’s time to plate up.
- To Layer: 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 noodles to completely cover both sauces. Then do the same with both sauces on top of the noodles.
- Sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan over the sauces. Repeat the process until the noodles, sauces and cheeses have been used.
- Be sure to reserve plenty of the sauces so that the thickest layer is poured over the top.
- Bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until browned and crispy in the corners.
- Slice and serve!
Notes
- Make-Ahead: Assemble the lasagna completely 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 through.
- How to Reheat: Place the desired amount 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.
- How to Freeze: Place covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw for 1 whole day in the refrigerator before reheating.
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!