..where teens can learn to cook restaurant quality meals for the family
The UpCooked Lasagne
This will be one of the richest and most authentic lasagnes you’ll ever taste! We've taken what works in a great lasagne and stretched it in a few places. It's a great one for teens or beginners to follow, as everything (as with all our recipes on UpCooked) is broken down one step at a time. Enjoy! (BTW you might like to adjust the servings to double so you have leftovers for tomorrow).
ADJUST SERVINGS
Most of our recipes are for 4 people. You can check and adjust the serving size by clicking on the red number above.
BEFORE YOU START
This lasagne recipe stands out because it blends the deep flavours of a slow-cooked ragù with a rich béchamel sauce, adding a creamy twist to the classic Bolognese style. The use of both minced beef and pork adds complexity to the meat layer, while the combination of Parmesan and mozzarella creates a perfect cheesy crust. The final resting period after baking ensures the lasagne holds its shape, making every slice beautifully layered.
GET SHOPPING!
This is a reminder to check what ingredients you need to buy and add them to your shopping list. It’s good to do your own food shopping, but at the very least, you’re head chef, so send a family member out to the shops for you!
GET ORGANISED
Remember ‘Skill 2’ of the Big 5: Become super-organised.:
Add your own private notes:
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Medium saucepan
- Whisk
- wooden spoon
- Large baking dish (9×13 inches or 23×33 cm)
- Oven
- Ladle
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Colander
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 large carrot
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 500 g minced beef
- 200 g minced pork
- 2 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 150 ml red wine
- 250 ml beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 75 g plain flour
- 800 ml whole milk
- Pinch or two of nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 300 g fresh lasagne sheets
- 100 g Parmesan cheese
- 75 g mozzarella cheese (buy it already grated if you can)
- 75 g cheddar cheese (go for more mature for more flavour! Or mild if you prefer).
Instructions
Prep in Advance
- Wash your hands.
- Gather all the equipment needed (or at least know where it is, ready to grab!)
- Finely chop 1 large onion (see video) and put it aside in a bowl.
- Peel and finely chop 1 large carrot (see video) and put it aside in a second bowl.
- Finely chop 2 stalks celery (in a similar way to the carrot) and add it to the bowl of carrot.
- Peel and mince or finely chop 2 cloves garlic (see video) and put it aside either in a bowl or have it ready to scoop up and add to your pan later
- Grate your 100 g Parmesan cheese into a bowl
- Grate your 75 g mozzarella cheese into a bowl
- Make 250 ml beef stock by following the instructions on the packet! It should say to boil up enough water and you will likely be asked to mix one cube with 500ml of boiling water, however, please read the packet instructions and follow those. Since you only need 250 ml beef stock, you might need to break your stock cube down (or make more than you need and save it for something else!)
Let's Cook!
- You're going to start by making the main lasagne meat sauce, which is known as the 'ragù'.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent. That's about 3-5 minutes of occasional stirring. You can sing whilst doing this, if you like. No rules.
- Add the carrot and celery, cooking until they begin to soften. Again, about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the 500 g minced beef and 200 g minced pork, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook until browned all over. This might take about 5-10 minutes, just stand over it, and knock it around the pan until it's nicely browned up!
- Pour in the 150 ml red wine and simmer until it has mostly evaporated. The alcohol will burn off, but it will leave an amazing flavour behind.
- Add the 2 400g cans chopped tomatoes and 2 tbsp tomato paste.
- Add the 250 ml beef stock
- Add the bay leaf and 1 tsp dried oregano.
- Stir it all up to combine the flavours! Yum.
- Season with salt and pepper – start with half a teaspoon of salt and as much pepper as you want.
- Reduce the heat to low and let the ragù simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is important to let all the flavours mix together. You also want to simmer/boil away most of the liquid. So keep an eye on it. If you have lots of liquid left at the end, spoon some out. You don't want it swimming! Or cook it a bit longer.
- In the meantime, you can make the bechemel sauce…
Bechemel Sauce (the lovely white creamy sauce!)
- Melt 75 g unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add 75 g plain flour and whisk continuously to create a smooth paste (we call that the 'roux').
- Slowly pour in 800 ml whole milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
- Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens, this should take about 10 minutes.
- Season with two or three pinches of nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Don't overdo the salt! Just a few pinches.
- Whilst you have the salt out, do a taste test on the ragu. Dip a teaspoon in, and taste the sauce. Don't burn yourself! Let it cool a bit first. Does it need a bit more salt? You might need to add up to half a teaspoon more.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Your bechemel sauce is done!
- Oh, now's a good time to preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) ready for the lasagne to go in. (Note, you only really need 10 minutes or so of preheating the oven, so consider how much longer your ragu will be simmering for, and plan accordingly.)
Assemble the lasagne
- This must be done after your ragù (meat sauce) has simmered for 45 minutes. If it hasn't, set an alarm and have a rest!
- Grab your baking dish that you'll bake the lasagne in.
- Spread a thin layer of ragù (that's your meat sauce you made earlier) over the base of the baking dish. Not too thick. But definitely not too thin!
- Place a layer of lasagne sheets over the ragù.
- Ladle a third of the béchamel sauce (the white sauce) over the lasagne sheets.
- Add a generous amount of ragù on top of the béchamel. Again, a nice thickish layer, but save some back as you're layering this up.
- Sprinkle a small amount of Parmesan, mozzarella and cheddar over the ragù.
- Repeat the layers two more times, finishing with a layer of béchamel and a final sprinkling of cheese. I'll repeat that, finish with the white béchamel sauce, and top it with grated cheese.
- Now this bit is important: are all of the lasagne sheets fully covered by sauce (whether ragu or bechemel)? They must be! Otherwise, if exposed, they'll burn black in the oven! So spoon some over any bits that aren't covered.
- Place the baking dish in the preheated oven.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling.
- Allow the lasagne to rest for 10 minutes before serving. One reason is it'll burn your mouth! Another is it'll taste nicer and hold together better.
- Done. Please leave us a comment or better still, please share this recipe on social media! We'd really appreciate your help getting it out there.
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