Best Lasagna

Rule #423: Sometimes, you’ve gotta make an entrance.

Best advice in regards to this recipe: put on your patience panties. Let everything simmer nice and slow! Let all the juices evaporate, the flavors meld, and the lasagna rest at the very end. You won’t regret the waiting game!

Even better: you can make this gorgeous little number bit-by-bit, keep it in the fridge, assemble when you’re ready, and bake away! She’s also very friendly with the freezer. She’s pretty much the Prom Queen of Show Stopping Dishes.

Bolognese Sauce

First, we’ll need to make the Bolognese Sauce for our Best Lasagna! Heat 2 tbs. olive oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or pot. Add in 1 chopped yellow onion, 1/2 cup chopped carrots, and 2 chopped celery stalks. Sauté until softened, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes).

Next, add in 1 lb. ground sirloin, 1 lb. ground pork, and 4 oz. chopped pancetta. Cook until moisture is almost completely gone and meat is well-browned (about 25 minutes).

This is really where the magic of this bolognese sauce recipe happens. It’s a few stages of add, cook, let the moisture evaporate, and the repeat again.

Once your meat is browned, add in 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp. ground oregano, 1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves, 1/4 tsp. dried parsley, 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.

Next, pour in 1 cup dry Chardonnay (you can sub chicken stock if you’d like, too). Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits (aka fond) from the bottom of the pan. Cook until moisture has evaporated by half (about 4 minutes).

Now, add in 1 cup warm whole milk, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until moisture is almost completely evaporated (about 8 minutes).

Then add in a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, one-at-a-time, crushing each by hand. Now, this can be an awfully messy business (ask how I know), so make sure to squeeze each little tomato gently and deep down in the pot.

Then add in 2 cups of unsalted chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, until flavors meld and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally (about 1 1/2 hours). Yes. One. And. A. Half. Hours. Worth it!

Do Ahead: Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Letting the sauce rest in the fridge will only make the flavors deeper and richer.

Béchamel Sauce

Now that we’ve got some Bolognese Sauce going, let’s make another very important addition to our Best Lasagna Recipe: béchamel sauce! Béchamel is a French sauce that’s made of butter, flour, and milk. It’s in many a dish including this lasagna and even Moussaka.

To make our Béchamel Sauce, start by melting 5 tbs. unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming.

Then, sprinkle on 1/4 cup flour and cook, whisking constantly for about 1 minute, forming a roux.

Make sure you whisk to get all of the lumps out of your roux. This isn’t the time for those lovely lady lumps…

Next, pour in 4 cups warm whole milk, about 1/2 cup at a time. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then cooking, whisking often, until the consistency of cream (about 12 minutes).

You’ll want your Béchamel Sauce to look like this little number here:

Finally, add a pinch of nutmeg and salt. Remove from heat until time to assemble.

Do Ahead: Béchamel can be made 1 day ahead. Keep covered and chill.

Best Lasagna Assembly

We’ve reached the finale of our Best Lasagna recipe (I’m a poet and didn’t know it – ha!). First, boil a 16-oz. box of lasagna noodles (not oven-ready) in a large pot of heavily-salted water until al dente (follow package instructions). After you drain the noodles, lay them flat on paper towel to cool and dry out.

Meanwhile, if you’ve made your Bolognese and Béchamel sauces ahead, now is the time to reheat them gently.

Now, we build layers of deliciousness. Start by preheating your oven to 350. Spray a 13×9″ oven-safe casserole dish with cooking spray. Ladle in 1/4 cup of the Béchamel sauce onto the bottom.

Then lay on 3 gorgeous cooked lasagna noodles.

Next, dollop about 3/4 cup of Bolognese sauce over top.

Then ladle on 1/2 cup of Béchamel sauce. Be sure to spread all those good sauces to the edges of the dish to ensure even cooking.

Finally, top with 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

And then REPEAT, baby doll!

There’s nothing quite like a recipe from the heart, y’all. She may take a while, but she sure will make an entrance when she’s finally out there.

The homemade sauces are what truly elevate this Best Lasagna recipe to the next level. She’s a crowd pleaser. She’s an “I love you this much” kinda recipe.

And there’s cheese.

Lots of cheese. Like 2 full cups of the Ultimate King of Cheeses: Parmesan.

Bake your gorgeous lasagna at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until bubbling and beginning to brown at the top.

MOST IMPORTANT STEP ALERT: after you’ve baked your lasagna, cover with foil and let that baby rest for AT LEAST 30 minutes before cutting into her. She needs time for the juices to soak back into the pasta and thicken up. Nothing worse than ruining your hard work by being too frisky.

Do Ahead: Lasagna can be assembled up to 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let sit at room temperature 2 hours before baking. Cook, covered with foil until the last 20 minutes, then finish cooking uncovered.

I like to add a lil’ greenery to this Prom Queen of Recipes by sprinkling on a little chopped parsley. Ain’t she purty?

Serve your Best Lasagna with a simple green salad and some crusty French bread for the perfect lil’ meal.

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