This lasagna bolognese is the heartiest lasagna dish you’ll ever make. It’s loaded with classic ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella, and it’s kicked up with a super-meaty bolognese sauce for extra flavor and texture.
When I think of hearty, comforting main meals, lasagna always comes to mind. Classic lasagna was a mainstay of my mom’s table, and I’ve continued that tradition.
Of course, you know me. I have to get creative with things, so I also love creating variations like Mexican lasagna or bow tie pasta lasagna.
This lasagna bolognese is my latest twist on classic lasagna. It combines all the rich, cheesy layers and gooey mozzarella of classic lasagna with an extra-meat bolognese sauce. You’re going to love it!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: Everything you need for this recipe is either in your kitchen or your local grocery store.
- Easy: This is a simple, rustic dish. The most time-intensive parts of it are simmering the sauce and baking the lasagna.
- Classic Flavor: This lasagna combines the classic flavors of meaty bolognese sauce with lasagna to create a super hearty dish.
- Great for Make Ahead: This is a freezer-friendly dish, so feel free to make extra for future meals!
Key Ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Ground Beef: A full 2 pounds of ground beef makes the sauce extra meaty. I recommend lean ground beef.
- Onions and Garlic: Onions and garlic add aromatic flavor to the sauce.
- Petite Diced Tomatoes: Petite diced tomatoes are an easy way to create the tomato base for the sauce without the need for blanching and peeling fresh tomatoes.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Red pepper flakes add a nice touch of spicy heat.
- Ricotta and Cottage Cheese: A blend of ricotta and cottage cheese creates the base for the rich, creamy cheese layers.
- Parmesan: Parmesan adds an earthy, slightly nutty flavor to the cheese layer.
- Mozzarella: Mozzarella adds that classic, ooey-gooey texture and flavor to the lasagna.
Variations
- Ground Beef: I use ground beef, but feel free to make the sauce with ground Italian sausage for more Italian flavor. Use ground chicken or turkey for a version that’s lower in saturated fat.
- A Thicker Cheese Layer: Use only ricotta cheese for a thicker cheese mixture in the lasagna.
- Mild: Omit the red pepper flakes for a mild version of this sauce.
How to Make Lasagna Bolognese
- Cook the meat and onions in a Dutch oven until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are soft. Then, add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Then, simmer until thickened.
- Mix the ricotta cheese and eggs. Then, stir in the Parmesan and seasonings. Finally, fold in the cottage cheese. Set aside.
- Pour some sauce into the bottom of a deep 9×13 baking dish. Then, add a layer of noodles.
- Top with ricotta, mozzarella, and meat sauce in that order. Repeat, ending with meat sauce and mozzarella.
- Cover and bake until the noodles are soft. Then, remove the foil and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Expert Tips
- Stir the sauce occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Spray the dish with nonstick spray to prevent sticking.
- Spray the underside of your foil with nonstick spray to prevent the cheese from sticking.
- Parboil your noodles for about 4 minutes to soften them slightly. They’ll finish cooking as the lasagna bakes.
Lasagna Bolognese FAQs
Lasagna bolognese is a specific type of lasagna that uses a slow-simmered meat sauce in place of traditional red sauce.
It’s important to simmer your sauce over low heat and stir it often to prevent sticking, since you’ll be cooking it for 1 to 2 hours.
Strictly speaking, parboiling lasagna noodles is optional. However, parboiling ensures the best texture and flavor.
More Delicious Italian Dishes to Try
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Lasagna Bolognese
Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 ounce tomato paste
- 3 cups beef broth
- 28 ounce petite diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bouillon cubes, tomato, beef or chicken
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Ricotta Mixture
- 28 ounce ricotta cheese
- 8 ounce cottage cheese, small curd
- 2 large eggs
- 8 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ small onion, diced
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 16 ounce lasagna noodles, par boil for 4 minutes
- 16 ounce fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven, over medium heat, brown meat and onions until meat is no longer pink and onions are translucent.
- Add minced garlic and tomato paste, stir to combine, and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour-2 hours until thickened.
Ricotta Mixture
- In a medium bowl, mix Ricotta cheese and eggs until combined.
- Add Parmesan cheese and seasonings. Stir to combine.
- Fold cottage cheese into mixture and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a deep 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Assemble Lasagna
- Pour a cup of meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Place a layer of noodles on top of the meat sauce slightly overlapping each noodle.
- Add 1 ½ cups of ricotta mixture over the noodles and gently spread evenly.
- Sprinkle 1 ¼ cups of shredded mozzarella over the ricotta mixture.
- Next, pour 1 ⅓ cups of meat sauce over the cheese.
- Repeat layers, ending with meat sauce topped with shredded cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Notes
- Stir the sauce occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Spray the dish with nonstick spray to prevent sticking.
- Spray the underside of your foil with nonstick spray to prevent the cheese from sticking.
- Parboil your noodles for about 4 minutes to soften them slightly. They’ll finish cooking as the lasagna bakes.
Nutrition
I love this lasagna. One of the best recipes to keep handy!
Such a comforting winter dish. The family loves lasagna for Sunday night dinner.
This looks like true comfort food! A good Bolognese sauce is key, and that layered, cheesy presentation is just stunning. This recipe is going straight into my rotation for chilly weeknights.
I made this for dinner and it turned out amazing. Rich layers and the sauce had great depth!
AMAZING! I love how super meaty this lasagna is with the bolognese sauce.
I made this last night, and it was a huge hit. I always make my lasagna with meat sauce, but this was NEXT LEVEL!
I love how hefty this lasagna is. The bolognese sauce makes it super hearty.
This is some of the best lasagna I’ve ever made! I LOVE that meaty bolognese sauce.