The perfect lasagne: a recipe

Lasagne is one of those dishes that everyone thinks they know – until they taste a really, really good one. You know the kind: silky pasta that holds its structure, a rich, comforting meat sauce, layers of creamy béchamel that tie everything together, and just the right amount of golden, bubbling cheese on top. A lasagne that’s rich, deeply satisfying, and worth every bite – that’s what we’re making today.

As with all my recipes on here, this will be a long-form method, taking you through the clear steps and processes you need to recreate it at home. A proper lasagne takes a little time, but that’s exactly why it’s so good. The sauce needs to simmer, the flavours need to deepen, and the whole thing needs to bake until it holds its shape but still melts in your mouth.

What you need to know before we start:

1. The sauce is everything. A great lasagne starts with a proper ragù – slow-cooked, rich and deeply flavoured. Ground beef, veal and sausage will be our base – as always, adjust to dietaries. These are cooked down with a classic mirepoix, a nice red wine, beef stock and some aromatics. Give it time. Let it do its thing.

2. Béchamel, not ricotta. If you grew up on ricotta-filled lasagne, it’s time for an upgrade. A classic Italian lasagne uses béchamel – a simple white sauce made with butter, flour, and milk. It adds a velvety texture that binds everything together without feeling too heavy. No cheese in this sauce.

3. Fresh pasta or dried? Fresh pasta sheets are great, but personally, I prefer dried. I place these sheets in raw and find they soak up the sauce beautifully whilst still giving you a slightly al dente bite.

4. Cheese matters. Skip the pre-shredded stuff. Grate your own parmigiano and use a good-quality, low-moisture mozzarella. We want it to melt beautifully without being too wet.

5. It needs to rest. The hardest part of making lasagne? Waiting. Once it’s out of the oven, let it sit for at least 25 minutes. This allows the layers to settle so you don’t end up with a sloppy mess when you cut into it.

A good lasagne all starts with a really flavoursome ragu. For mine, I like to use a blend of different meats to build out a deeply layered, complex and rich meat sauce. As always, if there are things you can’t eat here, just omit them and increase the quantities of everything else.

This is the kind of lasagne you make when you want to impress, when you want leftovers that taste even better the next day and when you want to remind yourself why cooking from scratch is always worth it. Let’s get into it.