The Best Lasagna Bolognese Recipe (with ground beef and Italian Sausage)
This recipe can be prepared and assembled/baked right away if you like, but it tastes even better if you give the meat sauce at least 45 minutes to simmer before assembly. This recipe makes quite a lot of Bolognese sauce – you won’t need all of it here. I like to store it in the freezer (keeps for several months) and then enjoy spaghetti Bolognese on a night when I could use a little help from my past self.
- Yield: Serves 8 to 12
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons beef stock concentrate (such as Better Than Bouillon)
- 1 pound ground beef (I like 80/20)
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 ounces tomato paste
- 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes (you can also use crushed tomatoes)
- 1 cup water or milk
- 16 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 4 ounces garlic and herb cheese spread (such as Boursin or Alouette)
- 1 egg
- 9 ounce package oven-ready lasagna noodles
- Two, 16-ounce packages of shredded mozzarella cheese
- Grated parmesan cheese, optional
- Fresh basil leaves for topping, optional
You’ll also need: 9-by-13-inch baking dish, aluminum foil
Instructions
- Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a large, deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, Italian seasoning, and some salt and pepper to taste, Saute the veggies for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they’re tender.
- Add the stock concentrate, ground beef, Italian sausage and (breaking it up as you go) cook until browned.
- Add the tomato paste, fire-roasted tomatoes, and the water/milk. Stir to evenly blend it all together and reduce the heat to low. Taste for seasoning and allow your Bolognese sauce to simmer gently for at least 45 minutes if you have the time (any simmer time you have is great – you can also just move forward with assembly, if you like).
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Adjust a rack to the center position.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, cheese spread, and the egg. Season with salt and pepper.
- To assemble the lasagna, spoon a thin layer of your sauce onto the bottom of a large (9 by 13 is great) baking dish. Top with an even layer of noodles, followed by an even layer of the ricotta mixture. Top the ricotta mixture with a layer of the Bolognese, and top that with a generous layer of shredded mozzarella.
- Top the mozzarella layer with another layer of noodles, followed by the ricotta, then the meat sauce, and then the mozzarella again. Add a final layer of noodles and then meat sauce and finish with a thick layer of mozzarella. I like to sprinkle a little extra Italian seasoning here.
- I like to set a baking sheet under the lasagna pan to catch any potential spills and sputters. Loosely cover the whole pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the lasagna is nice and golden and very bubbly, usually another 15 to 20 minutes. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.