Lasagne
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK words and measures (hob, grams, gas marks); the US version uses stove, cups and °F. · US version of this page
Layers of rich beef ragù, pasta and a homemade white sauce, baked until golden – the Italian family classic, with a lesson in making a roux sauce.
- Serves 6
- About 1 hr 50 min
- Oven
- Best for: KS3 (ages 11–14)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick – contains celery
- 2 garlic cloves
- 500 g lean beef mince
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs or oregano
- 50 g butter – contains milk
- 50 g plain flour – contains gluten
- 600 ml milk – contains milk
- 100 g Cheddar cheese, grated – contains milk
- 250 g dried lasagne sheets – contains gluten
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Need a different amount? Use the recipe finder to change the servings.
Equipment
- chopping board
- cook's knife
- peeler
- garlic crusher
- tin opener
- large saucepan
- medium saucepan
- wooden spoon
- balloon whisk
- measuring jug
- grater
- ovenproof dish (about 20 x 30 cm)
- oven gloves
- food thermometer
Safety first
- Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, tie back long hair and put on a clean apron.
- Ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes. This recipe contains: celery, gluten, milk.
- Keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat food: use a separate board and knife, and wash hands, boards and knives in hot soapy water after touching it.
- Carry knives pointing down, put them down flat, and never leave one in the washing-up water.
- Turn pan handles inwards and keep the area around the hob clear.
- Use dry oven gloves for anything that has been in the oven or under the grill.
Allergens: Celery, Cereals containing gluten, Milk. Some brands may also contain eggs. Always read every label and ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes.
Method
- Peel and finely chop the onion and carrot, slice the celery finely and crush the garlic.
- Teacher-led: Heat the oil in the large pan over a medium heat and cook the vegetables until soft. (6 min)
- Teacher-led: Add the mince and break it up with the spoon. Cook, stirring, until browned all over. Wash your hands after touching raw mince or its packet. (8 min)
- Teacher-led: Check the mince: cook until no pink is left in the middle, the juices run clear and it is steaming hot all the way through (at least 75 °C on a food thermometer).
- Teacher-led: Open the tins carefully. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, garlic and herbs, cover and simmer, stirring now and then, until thick. (20 min)
- Teacher-led: Make the white sauce: melt the butter in the medium pan over a low heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring. (1 min)
- Teacher-led: Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the milk a little at a time until smooth. Put it back on the heat and keep whisking until it boils and thickens. Stir in half the cheese and the pepper. (8 min)
- An adult turns the oven on to 190 °C (170 °C fan, gas 5).
- In the dish, make layers: a third of the meat sauce, a layer of pasta sheets (break them to fit), then a third of the white sauce. Repeat twice, finishing with white sauce, and scatter over the rest of the cheese.
- An adult puts the dish in the oven. Bake until golden and bubbling, and a knife slides easily through the pasta. (40 min)
- An adult takes it out with oven gloves. Let it stand for 10 minutes so it holds together when you cut it. (10 min)
What this recipe teaches
Knife skills: the claw grip, Shallow frying and stir-frying, Checking food is cooked safely, Boiling and simmering, Making a sauce (roux), Using an oven safely, Assembling a dish, Presenting food. Steps marked “Adult” are always done by an adult; steps marked “Teacher-led” are done by an adult for primary-age children and closely supervised for older pupils.
Nutrition per serving
| Energy | 2178 kJ / 520 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 21.2 g |
| of which saturates | 11.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 51.4 g |
| of which sugars | 13.5 g |
| Fibre | 4 g |
| Protein | 33.6 g |
| Salt | 0.8 g |
Worked out from the raw ingredients (optional ones and pinches not counted) using CoFID 2021 (McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, Public Health England). Brands vary – check labels. Figures for semi-skimmed milk and lean beef mince (the recipe finder shows the other choices).
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021, Public Health England.
Eatwell Guide groups in this recipe: Fruit and vegetables; Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins; Dairy and alternatives; Oil and spreads. Learn about the Eatwell Guide.
Foods high in fat, salt or sugar sit outside the Eatwell Guide – enjoy them less often and in small amounts.
Curriculum links
- KS3 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet”
- KS3 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “become competent in a range of cooking techniques [for example, selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; applying heat in different ways; using awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients; adapting and using their own recipes]”
Try the interactive lesson
Step by step: a quick safety check, questions marked by Classfern, timers for each cooking step, then an honest look at how it went – a teacher or parent judges the cooking, and learners rate their own work. Photos of the finished dish stay at home.
Use the code your teacher gave you – never your name. Progress is kept on this device.