In a mouthwatering take on traditional lasagna, red sauce is swapped for creamy béchamel in this recipe for Homemade White Sauce Lasagna.
I love Italian foods, but when I want something fancier, I often look to French-inspired recipes. They’re just so much more elegant and refined. This recipe for homemade white sauce lasagna takes a little inspiration from France and is what I serve at dinner parties when I really want to impress my guests with a dish that’s familiar, yet elevated.
Instead of the traditional red sauce, this pasta dish uses béchamel, one of the five foundational sauces of French cuisine. This sauce starts with a roux, a thickener made by cooking butter and flour together. The cook then whisks in milk until it’s thick and creamy, and seasons it with a little nutmeg and salt. The result? A rich, creamy, flavorful sauce that beautifully complements the pasta and other ingredients. Zesty sausage, onion and garlic bring out the zing, and mushrooms and baby spinach keep it all nutritious.
How can this be made vegetarian?
This dish can easily be made meatless. Simply leave out the sausage and increase the vegetables by adding more mushrooms and spinach, or add sliced zucchini and carrots. Experiment with different types of mushrooms to enhance flavor and texture. Hearty portabellas work great as meat replacements. Shiitakes have a chewy, satisfying texture and oyster mushrooms are more tender.
You can also use whole grain or gluten-free noodles and GF flour to adapt this recipe to fit various dietary requirements.
How do I store leftovers?
Cool cooked lasagna and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat it in the microwave or in the oven, covered with aluminum foil, until heated through. You can also wrap unbaked lasagna in foil, place it in an airtight plastic bag, and freeze it. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Serving suggestions
Lighten the meal with a side salad, such as scrumptious Roasted Beet and Orange Salad, an elegant Grilled Romaine Salad, or simple mixed greens topped with Champagne Vinaigrette. Tempt the taste buds with heavenly Baked Garlic Rolls, Cheese Breadsticks, or baguettes slathered with Easy Garlic Butter. Top it all off with a glass of white wine to toast another delightful homemade meal. And if you really want to get fancy, make this recipe with Homemade Lasagna Noodles.
Homemade White Sauce Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound sausage meat
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 8 ounces mushrooms diced
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella divided
- 8-12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Heat a heavy based pot over a medium high heat, drizzle in the olive oil and then add the sausage meat to brown for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up large chunks.
- Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, baby spinach, and fennel seeds to the pot and sauté for another 5 minutes until the mushrooms are browned and the spinach is wilted. Set it aside to cool a little.
- For the white sauce, in a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, add the flour, and mix until a smooth roux forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add milk while stirring with a whisk to remove lumps. Continue stirring constantly until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt to taste.
- To the sausage and vegetable mixture, add the ricotta and 1 ½ cups of the mozzarella into the pot and stir to combine.
- Now it's time to layer your lasagna. Cover the bottom of a 9-inch square casserole dish with about one-third the white sauce. Add a layer of lasagna sheets, then one-third of the meat mixture. Repeat to make two additional layers.
- Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
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