Name: Béchamel Lasagna
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: olive oil: 1 tablespoon; sweet onion: 1 small diced; lean ground beef: 1 pound; sweet Italian sausage: 1 pound; onion powder: 1 teaspoon; garlic powder: 1 teaspoon; dried oregano: 1 teaspoon; dried basil: 1/2 teaspoon; minced garlic: 3 cloves; red wine: splash of; marinara sauce: 1 jar; butter: 1/2 cup; all purpose flour: 1/3 cup; heavy whipping cream: 2 cups; cold water: 2 cups; fresh grated nutmeg: pinch of; fresh ground black pepper: pinch of

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small diced sweet onion

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

3 cloves minced garlic

splash of red wine

optional

1 jar marinara sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups cold water

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Directions

If you are from the United States, you probably associate lasagna with ricotta and mozzarella but the classic Italian version does not contain either. Instead, a rich and creamy béchamel is poured between layers and around the pan to bake into golden, bubbly perfection.

This recipe is an Americanized version of the Italian with a few cheats to cut the time down: oven ready lasagna noodles and jarred marinara sauce that is punched up with extra herbs and spices. Is it better with noodles that need cooked first? Marginally. Is it better with fresh noodles? Definitely. What about fresh marinara from scratch? Yes. Any additional steps you take could make it even more mind-blowing, but I’ve found you’ll still make a stunning dish with this method.

While I always try to make my recipes plant-based friendly, this is one of a few, rare places that I’ve found the standard ingredients make a difference. You can omit the meat and go with a fully veggie filled marinara, but due to so much oven time, they will turn to mush (I’ve tried). The béchamel is dependent on the high level of fats in heavy cream and the closest vegan option is coconut milk, which might work for a desert lasagna, but not this one.

If this recipe fits your dietary needs, I know it will be a huge hit for the whole family. This is an often requested dish for gatherings and events. I’ve recommended it here for 8 servings but if it’s part meal with multiple sides and courses, you can probably get away with 12-16 servings.

Click here for a quick visual of layering the lasagna.

Steps

1 Done	Prepare marinara In a large pan over medium heat, sauté your diced onions in olive oil until translucent and beginning to brown. Scoop out and set onions aside and then in the same pan over medium high heat, brown the beef and sausage. Add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and basil to the ground beef and stir occasionally. Once browned, add the 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until golden brown. Add a splash of red wine to the pan if it needs deglazed (optional) and return the onions to the pan. Immediately add the marinara sauce and stir in a pinch of white sugar. Taste your sauce, it may need salt, more basil, or some other addition to your preference. Tips: If you mixture tastes too sweet, add more garlic powder. If there's too much oregano, balance it with more basil. If it's too salty, add more sugar. This is the fine tuning of getting your ideal sauce flavor.
2 Done	Prepare béchamel Preheat oven to 375 to prepare for baking. In a container that can hold at least 4 cups, pour the water and heavy cream together and set aside. You could alternatively use 4 cups of whole milk. Over medium-low heat, melt butter in a sauce pan. Add in flour and whisk until a paste forms (this is a roux). Allow the roux to cook for a minute, sizzling and cooking the flour. Then, pour in the heavy cream and water and immediately, vigorously whisk until the mixture has no lumps. Continue whisking constantly as the mixture warms. Do not allow the mixture to boil. You will find that the mixture will turn from liquid to a thick cream very quickly, although it may take a few minutes to reach that state. Once it's thickened to a pudding like consistency, remove from heat and mix in the fresh ground pepper and nutmeg.
3 Done	Arrange and bake lasagna Coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan with a scant cup of béchamel, then the same amount of marinara. Place your noodles downed repeat with the béchamel and marinara, ending with the marinara on top. You'll want to be sure the seams between noodles are well covered with the white sauce before adding the red. Please see the video in the description for a quick visual. Once all layers are made, pour any additional béchamel around the sides of the pan and push it into any spaces you see bare noodles. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.