Lasagna Recipe
MauriceShare
I love lasagna, and so does my family, it’s just so easy to eat 😁. Don’t ask me why the kids are guaranteed to eat all the lasagna put in front of them, whereas pasta is only a ‘sometimes’ food they like! So based on that logic, I’ve now put this lasagna recipe on a regular rotation for our dinners. It’s simple to make, has a silky rich sauce, and combined with the hidden vegetables, it’s a nutrient-dense all-in-one meal!
Oh, and apologies for the pic of a mostly eating lasagna. My kids were too quick to start eating!!
Lasagna Recipe
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Dinner
Author:
Maurice
Servings
5-6
Prep Time
10+10 minutes
Cook Time
50+60 minutes
I’ve included my recommendations of brands for some of the ingredients in the notes at the bottom of the recipe. By no means do you need to use these exact brands, but these are the ones that I’ve found are best for my family when I factor in: flavour, cost, clean ingredients, ease of use, and the right pack size (so I don’t have partial packs that go off in the fridge….it’s so easy to inadvertently have food waste at home).
The amount of sauce in this recipe is the perfect amount when you use the 375g pack of fresh lasagna from Woolies or Coles (see details in the notes section). It’s a fairly wet lasagna, so if you prefer a drier and more pasta sheet dense lasagna, simple add more sheets of lasagna (keep in mind that this will reduce the amount of veggies in the meal).
For the size of dish to use, I have a square 25x25cm lasagna dish. But it’s lasagna, so shove it in whatever size dish you’ve got and it’ll fine – if you have a larger dish make sure you reduce the cook time – if you have a smaller dish, put a tray underneath to catch any overflow and reduce the oven mess!
Ingredients
Sauce
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8 Green Veg Blocks*
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1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
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5 cloves of garlic, crushed
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1 jar of passata (700g)**
-
500g beef mince**
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1 cup of water
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½ cup of fresh herbs (recommend parsley), chopped finely
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2 tablespoons of cooking oil (peanut or vegetable)
Assembly
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1 packet of fresh lasagna sheets (375g)**
-
500g shredded cheese**
Directions
Sauce
In a medium saucepan, heat your cooking oil on medium heat and add the chopped onions. Sauté until translucent, then add the crushed garlic. Cook for 3-5 mins, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn. You can cook the onion and garlic for longer or shorter, depending how caramelised you prefer it.
Add the mince into the saucepan, turn the heat to high, and break it up using a wooden spoon. Cook this for about 5 minutes, until the mince is crumbly and light brown all over.
Add the jar of passata and stir through. Add the cup of water the empty passata jar, put the lid back on and shake. Then pour all the liquid into the saucepan.
Add the chopped herbs and frozen Veg Blocks.
Bring to simmering, and leave to simmer for at least 45 minutes (go for longer if you have the time or desire – but be sure to add more water so the sauce doesn’t get too thick).
After 45 minutes, turn the heat off and let the sauce cool on the stove for about 10 minutes (it makes it easier to layer the lasagna when it’s not bubbling onto your hands!)
Lasagna prep
Preheat your oven to 175’C fan forced.
Get ready on your kitchen bench, the packet of lasagna sheets, shredded cheese, sauce and oven dish.
Layering & cooking the lasagna
Spread a thin layer of sauce onto the base of the oven dish.
Place one layer of lasagna sheets onto the thin layer of sauce. You will need to cut the sheets to fit. Don’t worry about making it fit exactly, it’s ok to see sauce between the layers. But do not overlap the lasagna sheets as this will create a dry and undercooked part of the lasagna.
Spread sauce over the first layer of lasagna sheets. Sprinkle a handful of shredded cheese over the sauce.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until no sheets remain. Make sure you have even sauce to put a thin layer of sauce on the top layer of lasagna sheets (if you run low, add some more water to you remaining sauce for that top layer). DO NOT add shredded cheese to the top layer of the lasagna (yet).
Place the lasagna in the oven and cook for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, pull the lasagna out of the oven and sprinkle 2 handfuls of cheese on top (I like mozzarella best on top).
Place bake in the oven, increase the oven to 200’C, and cook for a further 15-20 minutes until brown.
Take the lasagna out and leave to sit for 10 minutes before servicing. This is an important step as it helps the finish the lasagna hold its shape.
Serve and enjoy (tip: a leafy green salad goes great with all pasta dishes!)
Recipe Note
*This recipe can cope with a combination of different Veg Blocks. I used Green Blocks when I made it for this recipe, and it was delicious, but just use whichever Veg Blocks you have on hand.
**Ingredients recommendations:
Mince: I use 3-star beef only to ensure my kids get lots of iron from the red meat. But if you’re just focussing on a nicer flavour, use a 50:50 mix of beef and pork mince.
Lasagna sheets: I recommend using the fresh (from the fridge aisle) lasagna sheets from Woolies or Coles. Woolies has a $4 packet, La Tosca, which is the perfect amount. So even though it’s a touch more expensive per kg than the dried lasagna sheets, there is no need to buy two packets and end up with waste.
Passata: Mutti passata is a no brainer. It’s the closest in taste and quality to the homemade passata my family used to make when we were kids. Be sure to look for when it’s on special, it’s often 25% off at the major supermarkets. Tip: stockpile this in winter, as that’s when the specials are better value.
Shredded cheese: I’ve intentionally not included the exact type of cheese, because let’s be honest, even has a different preference. I used about 350g of shredded tasty home brand cheese between the lasagna sheets. I then put about 100-150g of shredded mozzarella on the top. If I had the motivation, I would have also used some grated parmesan between the layers. But overall, there is no harm in using tasty on top too, or using mozzarella all throughout. You could even use light cheese if you’re reducing your intake of fats. I love cheese, but it’s such a subjective and emotive favour for everyone, so use what makes your family happy!