This lasagna recipe comes from my brother-in-law, Peter, who lived in Italy for a couple of years. While I’ve made a couple of minor changes for sheer convenience, it is still the same, genuine lasagna recipe he brought home with him, and it’s the very best lasagna I’ve ever had! Do yourself a favor and make the Lasagna Sauce a day ahead of time!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Béchamel sauce
- Real butter – no substitutions!
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Peter’s Pasta and Lasagna Sauce – You’ll want to make a recipe of this Lasagna Sauce a day ahead of time!
- No-boil lasagna noodles
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Egg
- Ricotta cheese
How to Make Peter’s Lasagna
- First you’ll make the Béchamel sauce by melting some butter, whisking in some flour, and then whisking in flour until well combined. This gets heated gently until bubbly and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- This is where I tinkered slightly with the recipe. It can be hard to layer red sauce and Beéhamel consistently. It’s all going to end up in the same place so, for sheer convenience, I simply mix them together. Set that aside.
- Next you’ll mix up some ricotta, Parmeasan, and a beaten egg.
- You’ll layer sauce, noodles, and cheese until you have 4 layers, with a layer of sauce of top. That gets topped with even more cheese, then you cover the whole thing in foil and pop it in the oven.
- When it’s done baking, you’ll pull that foil off and let the Lasagna sit for about 20 minutes. This is an important step, as it allows the sauces to thicken so they don’t ooze out when you cut into your lasagna!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover lasagna, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- You can prep this lasagna up to 24 hours in advance and bake when ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Absolutely. Assemble, wrap tightly, and store in the fridge a day ahead of time then bake when you’re ready!
Can I freeze this lasagna to bake later?
We have had readers report this works well, but your baking time will be significantly longer. I recommend freezing in a metal pan so it won’t be shocked by oven temperatures.
Peter’s Genuine Italian Lasagna
This delicious lasagna takes a bit of time to pull together but the final product is well worth it!
Servings people
Ingredients
Béchamel Sauce
- ¼ cup real butter (½ stick) NO SUBSTITUTES
- ¼ cup white flour
- 2 ½ cup milk
Other Ingredients
- 1 recipe pasta and lasagna sauce
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella divided
- 4 ounces shredded fresh Parmesan
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 16- ounces Ricotta
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- To prepare Béchamel sauce, melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. When melted, whisk in flour until combined. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Heat until bubbly and thickened to a medium consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
- To make things easier, I prefer to mix my Béchamel in with the red sauce. Once mixed, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 6 ounces shredded mozzarella (about 1 ¾ cup), the ricotta, the Parmesan, and the beaten egg.
- Using a ladle that measures ½ cup (or a ½ cup measuring cup), spread 1 cup of sauce onto the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Add 3 noodles. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture. Spread 1 ½ cups sauce and then repeat so you have 4 layers of noodles. You should end with a layer of sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella (and some extra Parmesan if you have some left over).
- Cover tightly with foil and bake about 50 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove foil. It will probably look a little runny. Don’t be scared–you still need to let it stand about 15-20 minutes. During that time, it will thicken up nicely and should hold up well when cut and served.
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 90mg, Sodium: 654mg, Potassium: 438mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 868IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 337mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 340kcal
Cost: $24
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Questions & Reviews
Zanoh and Co–Yep, you could definitely make this ahead and refrigerate it (or freeze it, although I have absolutely NO idea how long you would have to bake it from frozen). If you're cooking it straight from the fridge, start by adding an additional 15-20 minutes to the cooking time and then go from there if you need to.
Hope that helps!
can you make this ahead and then cook it later? if so, how long would you cook it for? thanks! i have all the stuff to make this but with 4 kids i like to get stuff done while they are at school and just pop it in the oven later 🙂 love your blog.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made this last night for my boyfriend and he loved it! I thought it was really delicious and like the other comments, it was still a little runny, so next time I will mix the red and white together. Overall, I was thrilled with the results.
Thanks for the tip. I will mix it in next time. I actually gave this recipe to a vegetarian friend, because I thought it was so nice with the veggies in it. She'll have to add some seasonings, but I think it's a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel–the Bechamel acts as a thickener, so that's one of the reasons I like to mix it in with the sauce.
I made this for Father's Day. I used whole wheat noodles and didn't pre-cook them. I never have pre-cooked my noodles and they are always perfect. There is enough sauce to soften the noodles as they cook. And, the Italian sausage added nice seasonings to the sauce. I also kept my Bachemal separate from the sauce and layred 1/3 of it in the various layers.
The one problem I did have, though, was that the lasagna remained very liquidy. Some of the liquid on top seemed to get absorbed as the lasagna sat, but when I cut into it, there was a lot of liquid in the pain. Overall, a great tasting recipe.
I am making it this tomorrow night. I have a really yummy recipe, but I am going to give this a try. But I HATE oven ready lasagna noodles. I know people love them, but they are not as good. I know one more pot, but you are already making a big mess! Anyways, I love your blog!
Made this last night for dinner, we loved it. It was my husbands b-day and he requested lasagna and gave permission to try a new recipe. The taste was awesome but even after sitting for 20 minutes post cooking it was still on the runny side. It didn’t hold it’s shape like your beautiful picture. Do you think if I drained the cans of diced tomatoes it would be better or would it lose too much flavor doing that? I double check the recipe so I don’t think I did anything wrong. We loved it, this is for sure our new lasagna recipe, especially with all the healthy vegetables in it!
Oops! Thanks! It’s 16 oz.
How much ricotta do you add? It’s not in the list of ingredients.