Lasagna Bolognese
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Our Lasagna Bolognese is the ultimate meat lasagna recipe. We use ground beef and short ribs falling off the bone. You can also use your Sunday Sauce!
Our Lasagna Bolognese is so flavorful and full of ground beef and short ribs that are cooked to perfection in a luscious hearty pasta sauce.
This is truly an easy meat lasagna recipe, and you can swap the meat out for your favorites if short ribs aren’t your thing, but please promise you’ll try them at least once if you don’t make them in this homemade lasagna recipe, you can easily just try the homemade meat sauce with it!
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Olive Oil – This helps sear the meat and veggies.
- Short Ribs – If you don’t want to use short ribs, you could also add sausage or more ground beef.
- Ground Beef – We go for 85%, but you can go leaner. If you go too lean, it could be dry.
- Celery, Carrots, Onion, and Garlic – They add a ton of flavor and are a must-have in this meaty sauce.
- Grape Juice or Red Wine – If you can’t do wine, you can use grape juice. It gives the same rich flavor.
- Parsley, Cumin, Basil, Salt & Pepper – All about the flavor, we recommend using salt to taste.
- Diced Tomatoes & Tomato Puree – These make the sauce. You can also use crushed tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes.
How to make lasagna bolognese
For the full ingredient amount and full instructions, see the recipe card below.
In a dutch oven, brown the ground beef and short ribs in olive oil. The olive oil helps with searing the meat and creating that maillard reaction which results in rich flavor.
Once they are browned, add in all the remaining ingredients for the bolognese and cook for 2 hours.
After two hours, you can remove the short ribs and shred the meat off the bones. Discard the bones.
Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and get ready to assemble your lasagna. If you’re freezing the lasagna, you can skip preheating the oven.
In a bowl, combine the ricotta and mozzarella.
Add some of the bolognese to a 9×13 inch pan, then add some of the pasta, ricotta, more bolognese, pasta, etc.
Finish with a layer of sauce and a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes to brown the top.
Let the lasagna cool for about 15 minutes before slicing.
Recipe tips and variations
- Not interested in the prep with shortribs? Add more ground beef, or do a combo of sausage and ground beef.
- Prep this ahead by making a day in advance or freeze for up to 3 months.
Storage and reheating tips
- Refrigerate: Store any lasagna leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and enjoy it within 3-4 days.
- Freeze: To freeze leftover baked lasagna, place it in an airtight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: To reheat, place the leftover cooked lasagna in an oven-safe dish with a splash of water, cover it with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the lasagna is heated throughout.
How to freeze lasagna
It’s best to set aside the portion of lasagna you plan to freeze before baking.
We like assembling in a stainless steel baking pan or our souper cubes for smaller portions. You can also use disposable foil pans. All of these options are good for freezing and then removing to bake.
To cook the defrosted lasagna, we like to take it out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator (do not thaw at room temperature). The next day you’ll want to bake covered with foil for 35-40 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until heated throughout.
How to serve
We serve it with a side salad and our homemade Garlic Bread Recipe or Dinner Rolls.
Frequently asked questions
You can use a variety of meats and cheeses. We like going with ground beef and short ribs. You could also do chicken, turkey, or pork sausage. Some like a mixture of beef and pork, beef and sausage.
Short ribs are a tender cut of beef. It can be on or off the bone in the markets. It’s taken from the short ribs are a cut of beef taken from the chuck portion. They’re great for braising and slow cooking. I love adding them to my lasagna bolognese, meat sauce, and chili! When you put it into this meat lasagna recipe, it will not be tough but extremely tender.
Once everything is assembled, it will take about 15-20 minutes to bake. Since this requires a bit of prep, I usually do it on a large cook day, where we plan a big family dinner on Sunday. We go for 20 minutes if we make 2 small lasagnas or 30-45 minutes if we make a large one. Classic lasagna is usually made in a 9×13 pan, but you can easily put this into two or even three loaf pans.
You can easily prep the lasagna the day before baking or even freeze it to enjoy it another time. We recommend freezing no longer than 3 months.
My lasagna bolognese can be made without wine. Grape juice is a great alternative to red wine. My grandma would use red wine, but cooking with wine may not be doable for some. Grape juice makes a great substitute here and adds the same flavors we’re looking for.
what to serve with lasagna
Lasagna Bolognese
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb Short Ribs meaty
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 stalk Celery chopped
- 2 Carrots shredded
- 1 small Yellow Onion chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 3/4 Cup Concord Grape Juice 100% juice, or you can use red wine
- 1 Teaspoon Parsley
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano
- 1 Teaspoon Basil
- 28 oz Canned Diced Tomatoes
- 28 oz Canned Tomato Puree
- salt & pepper to taste
Lasagna
- Lasagna noodles , cooked
- 15 Oz Ricotta
- 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella + extra for the top!!
Instructions
- In a large pan, brown the ground beef and short ribs in a little olive oil.
- Once they have browned, discard the grease and then combine all the ingredients for the bolognese and cook for at least 2 hours on medium/low heat.
- When the bolognese is done, shred the short ribs off the bone.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Now it's time to assemble the lasagna in a 9×13 pan.
- Combine the ricotta and mozzarella.
- Smear some sauce onto the bottom of the pan, followed by pasta, ricotta mixture, bolognese, pasta, etc.
- The top layer should be some sauce and then some shredded mozzarella.
- Cover the lasagna with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes to brown the top.
- Let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
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