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    Home » Pasta & Noodles

    The Best Easy Lasagna Recipe (No ricotta No Cottage Cheese)

    Published: Feb 23, 2022 by Deborah Rainford · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

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    Beef lasagna in a white tray with text overlay.
    4 Layer easy beef lasagna in a white baking dish.
    4 Layer easy beef lasagna in a white baking dish.
    Beef sauce in a pan for lasagna.
    Beef lasagna in a baking dish.

    This is it. An authentic lasagna recipe without ricotta or cottage cheese. This easy recipe is layered with a homemade spaghetti sauce with Italian seasoning and no-boil noodles.

    Lasagna with bechamel sauce with parmesan cheese and basil on top.

    Layered with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and white sauce this lasagna skips the ricotta and cottage cheese and focuses on being an easy homemade lasagna.

    An authentic lasagna recipe is layered with bechamel sauce rather than ricotta or cottage cheese. It give the lasagna a much creamier texture and a richer flavour. And it's really not any more work. Bechamel sauce only takes 10 minutes to make.

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients needed
    • The best lasagna recipe ever- step by step
    • Recipe FAQ's
    • Substitutions and variations
    • Equipment
    • Top tips
    • Lasagna With Bechamel Sauce

    This may be the best homemade lasagna recipe you ever tried. It's easy to make with a thick and rich meat sauce, a creamy bechamel sauce layered with lasagna sheets, and lots of cheese. Somewhere between a traditional lasagna and a "lazy style" we'll go through some different versions of how you can adapt this recipe to what you have on hand and what your family loves.

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    • It's an authentic Italian pasta bake that everyone will love.
    • Rich beef sauce layered with cheese and creamy bechamel make this a crowd pleaser.
    • Makes enough to feed a crowd.
    • This lasagna is perfect to make ahead of time.

    Ingredients needed

    Aldi ingredients for lasagna with bechamel sauce

    For the meat sauce

    1. ground beef ground pork mix (mince beef/ pork mix)- you can use all ground beef if you prefer
    2. olive oil
    3. yellow onions
    4. mushrooms- you can adapt this recipe to use a pound of ground beef and stretch the rest of the meat sauce with the mushrooms
    5. garlic- I've used fresh but you can substitute garlic powder onion powder- is optional, but goes well if you're using garlic powder too.
    6. bay leaf- optional but a traditional flavor in Italian recipes
    7. dried oregano
    8. dried basil
    9. tomato paste
    10. red wine- optional
    11. beef stock- made with a stock cube
    12. chopped tomatoes
    13. red wine vinegar
    14. uncooked lasagna noodles- we're using no-boil lasagna sheets instead of regular lasagna noodles to keep it nice and easy.

    For the bechamel sauce

    1. butter
    2. milk
    3. flour

    For the cheese layer

    1. Gruyere cheese
    2. mozzarella cheese

    I know this seems like a lot of ingredients for an easy meat lasagna recipe, but most of the ingredients are pantry staples that you probably already have anyway.

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    The best lasagna recipe ever- step by step

    Make the meat mixture

    1. heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or a large pot.
    2. Brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Cook until the meat is deep golden brown and crispy.
    3. pro tip- don't worry about the meat being crispy. We want to add lots of flavor, which the browning process does and the meat gets tossed with the marinara sauce so it's very moist.

    Set the meat aside while you make the pasta sauce.

    browning the beef for lasagna

    To make the tomato sauce

    1. Add a little bit more oil to the pan if you need to. Gently fry the onions and mushrooms until they are golden for about 10 minutes.
    2. Add in the garlic, herbs, and tomato paste. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Let the wine bubble for about 3-5 minutes.
    3. Pour in the stock and chopped tomatoes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently, partially covered, for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
    making the beef and pork sauce for lasagna
    simmering red wine for meat sauce
    tomato meat sauce for lasagna with bechamel sauce

    Making the bechamel sauce

    1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
    2. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. *Pro-tip- take your time with this step. If the raw flour taste is not eliminated, it will carry through to the finished sauce.
    3. Add in a pinch of nutmeg or mixed spice- this is a very traditional flavor in white sauces for lasagna. The flavor goes very well with the meat sauce. *This is a secret ingredient that makes a big difference.
    4. Whisk in the milk and simmer until you have a perfect creamy texture. The sauce needs to be thick enough to hold a ribbon on top. *see photo
     butter and flour roux for making bechamel
    Finished bechamel sauce for lasagna

    Assembling the lasagna

    The easiest way to layer-

    • start with a single layer of meat sauce in the bottom of the pan,
    • followed by a layer of uncooked noodles,
    • a layer of bechamel sauce
    • then the cheese.

    Then repeat layers. Prepared sauce- noodles- bechamel- cheese- repeat 3 times until the remaining sauce is used. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. Use a small paring knife to check if the lasagna sheets are cooked. When they're done, the knife will go into the lasagna without resistance.

    assembling lasagna with beef sauce and noodles
    layering bechamel and cheese

    Recipe FAQ's

    How long to cook lasagna with bechamel?

    If you are layering and baking the lasagna right away, it will only need about 30-35 minutes. If you are making this ahead of time and leaving it in the fridge, it will need closer to 1 hour. Just be sure to cover the lasagna with foil so that it doesn't burn the cheese.

    Dry or fresh lasagna sheets?

    The beauty of this recipe is that you can do either one. I prefer the no-boil lasagna noodles because they save time and effort. Be sure to check the package to make sure.
    To use pre-boil sheets simply cook them according to the package instructions and cool them in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Layer and bake the lasagna as usual.
    *Pro tip- When using the no boil sheets make sure that your sauce has a little extra liquid to be able to cook the noodles.

    slice of lasagna with cheese and bechamel sauce

    Substitutions and variations

    • Instead of the beef and pork mixture, you can use Italian sausage- either sweet or spicy.
    • Vegetarian pasta sauce is also great in this recipe- this homemade sauce is a winner!
    • Add in a layer of wilted fresh spinach to add some green to the lasagna.
    • Red pepper flakes in the sauce add a nice bit of heat if that's your thing.

    Equipment

    Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out.

    • Use a glass baking dish like a pyrex or a metal baking pan.
    • I prefer a ceramic one because it looks great going from oven to table.
    • A grater is a must for grating the cheese and garlic.

    Top tips

    1. Use no-boil lasagna sheets to make life easy
    2. Make sure your beef/pork gets very golden to get the most flavor.
    3. Season the meat sauce and the bechamel sauce well with salt and pepper.

    Need help with meal planning? You can find our (Aldi ingredients only) weekly meal plans here! Sign up to receive them free every week or take our quick meal planning course and grab the blank meal planner and use all these recipes to create your own meal plans. Follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.

    See more pasta recipes

    A slice of lasagna being lifted out of a pan.

    Lasagna With Bechamel Sauce

    Lasagna with bechamel sauce layers tender pasta sheets with rich, creamy bechamel and savory meat sauce, creating a luxurious and indulgent version of the classic Italian dish.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: American/ British, Italian
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10 servings
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    Author: Deborah Rainford

    Ingredients

    • 1 kg (2 ⅕ lb) mince beef, ground beef
    • 4-5 tablespoons (4 tablespoons) olive oil
    • 1 (1) large onion, fienly chopped
    • 250 g (2 ½ cups) mushrooms, finely chopped (optional)
    • 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic, grated
    • 1 (1) bay leaf
    • 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) dried oregano
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried basil
    • 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) tomato puree, tomato paste
    • 300 ml (1 ⅕ cups) red wine, good quality
    • 200 ml (⅘ cups) fresh beef stock made with a stock cube
    • 400 g (13 ½ floz) tin chopped tomatoes
    • 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) red wine vinegar
    • 12 (12) sheets lasagna
    • 70 g (½ cups) gruyere cheese, grated
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cups) mozzarella cheese, grated

    For the bechamel

    • 60 g (2 ⅛ oz) butter
    • 60 g (2 ⅛ oz) plain flour
    • 600 ml (2 ⅖ cups) whole milk
    • ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) mixed spice *see notes

    Instructions

    • Heat oil in a pan and cook the beef until it’s a deep golden brown and crispy. *see notes
    • Transfer to a plate and set aside.
    • Add the onion and the mushrooms to the pan with a little more of the oil if necessary, and fry for 10 minutes until golden. Then add the garlic, herbs, and tomato paste. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil and let it bubble for 3-5 minutes.
    • Add in the stock, chopped tomatoes and red wine vinegar and return the beef to the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently partially covered for 2 ½ - 3 hours until the meat is really tender and the sauce is thick.
    • Meanwhile, make the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Use a whisk to stir and cookout for a minute or 2 then gradually add in the milk whisking all the time, until you have a smooth thick sauce. Season well and add in the pinch of mixed spice.
    • Once the beef sauce is cooked remove the bay leaf. The sauce should be just thick enough that it coats the meat.
    • Preheat the oven to 200c/ 180 fan
    • Spoon â…“ of the meat sauce into a large oven-proof dish. Top with 4 of the lasagna sheets and spoon over â…“ of the bechamel and sprinkle that with â…“ of the cheese mixture.
    • Repeat the layering process twice more ending with the bechamel and cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes until bubbling and golden.

    Notes

    Note 1- don’t worry about the beef being crispy. It gets simmered for a long time and turns out meltingly tender. This is just to get lots of flavour at the beginning.
    Note 2- nutmeg is traditional in bechamel sauce, but because Aldi doesn't stock it I’ve used the mixed spice instead and it’s a great substitute. They both work really well here.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 661kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 5080mg | Potassium: 777mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 398IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 323mg | Iron: 4mg
    Tried this recipe?Tag Me @savvybites or tag #savvybites!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mrs. T.

      January 05, 2023 at 4:27 pm

      5 stars
      Another winner! The sauce is delicious and the finished item looked just like the photo! I was making a smaller portion size (for 3) and I found that I had to add more wine (!!) and stock than suggested in the recipe, to get the right consistency - similarly, I made more bechamel as I like to be generous with it. Really pleased with how it turned out and will be making again. Thanks, Deborah!

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        January 09, 2023 at 1:43 pm

        Thank you so much for the feedback. I'll add a note to the recipe card, so if anyone else needs to scale it down, they know to add some extra liquid. And thank you for always taking the time to comment on the recipes that you make and share your results. It really is so appreciated! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Eric Hazen

      August 12, 2022 at 9:49 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! Wanted lasagna but didn't have any ricotta or cottage cheese handy. Followed the recipe almost exactly except I made our "house" bechamel with canola oil and low-fat milk. This is a big step up in taste from our usual jar-sauced lasagna. I'll check out some of your other recipes.

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        August 30, 2022 at 6:57 pm

        So happy you liked it. And so appreciate the you taking the time to leave a comment and a rating! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Nicky

      February 24, 2022 at 7:16 am

      5 stars
      Tried this recipe last night and it was amazing! Easy to make and the step by steps were really helpful. So happy we have leftovers!

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        February 24, 2022 at 8:36 am

        Love seeing this Nicky! Thanks so much taking the time to leave a comment and a rating.

        Reply

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    Beef lasagna in a baking dish.

    Hi, I'm Deborah! A Cordon Bleu graduate with more than 10 years of restaurant cooking experience. I now focus on helping you create easy, delicious and healthy(ish) budget recipes from scratch using only Aldi ingredients. Welcome to my virtual kitchen!

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