For me, my delicious lasagne is the ultimate comfort food, sure there are a few steps to getting it on the table but it is so worth it!
Posted September 21, 2015, Updated January 6, 2025
What you may know about me however is that I am not one for fancy techniques and with being a busy Mum I like to make things easy in the kitchen so I do cut a few corners that may offend the pure Lasagne fans out there!
And of course there are much easier ways too but this is my favourite!
One of my biggest kitchen helpers is Watties Traditional Pasta Sauce – the Tomato & Herb flavour is a constant in my pantry. I use it for the base for ALL my mince meals whether it is spaghetti bolognaise, shepherds pie, tacos, lasagne, you name it! I can make it more or less saucy with the addition of water and cooking it down depending on what I am needing it for.
The kids absolutely love the flavour, and since I never cook my mince with onion it provides a great flavour boost! I sometimes jazz it up with garlic or herbs depending on what I am making when I pop the oil in the pan. It is as simple as browning the mince in some oil, draining off the fat and juices once browned, adding a can of the pasta sauce, then half a can of water! Easy, do try it and let me know what you think!
My original Lasagne recipe that I used for years had tomato paste, sugar, whole canned tomatoes etc etc but using this one can has changed all that! Watties should pay me for the endorsement don’t you think.
So making a lasagne is 3 steps really, making the meat base, the lasagne or pasta and the cheese sauce. None of these are particularly hard but you can feel like a bit of a mutli tasker if you choose to have all 3 going at once – you can of course do one at a time so please make this however best fits your urge that day!
I use pasta sheets for my lasagne now, I add boiling water to a shallow dish then lay the pasta sheets into that briefly to just soften then using tongs I carefully add them to the layers. You can use lasagne pasta noodles as well, make as per packet instructions
The cheese sauce is something I always make a heap of and make it super cheesy – this lasagne is not going to win any prizes for the healthiest thing on the table, so serve it with salad and call it even…….and garlic bread, don’t forget the garlic bread…….
Cheese sauce is not something to be scared of if you haven’t made it before, it really is quite easy, and there are lots of variations out there, mine is super simple, but stay on hand to keep stirring it so that it does not stick to the bottom.
If you are making this for guests I always recommend that you make it earlier in the day and reheat it – simply because if you are anything like me you will use all your pots, saucepans and spoons!
This recipe makes a good sized dish so feel free to halve it if you are just making for a couple.
Any questions let me know, tell me what you do differently with your lasagne?
Now onto the recipe for Just A Mum’s Delicious Lasagne
Just A Mum's Lovely Lasagne
Ingredients
- 8 Lasagne Sheets
Meat Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- ½ Onion, finely diced
- 1 kg Lean Beef Mince
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Mixed Herbs, dried
- 3 Large Carrots, 390 g, peeled, grated
- 1 ¾ Cups Button Mushrooms, 155 g, washed and diced or grated (Optional)
- 1 ⅔ Cup Tomato Passata or Pasta Sauce, 420 g
- ½ Cup Water
- 1 ⅔ Cup Tomatoes Chopped in Pureem, 420 g can
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Fine Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Cheese Sauce
- 60 g Butter
- ⅓ Cup Plain White Flour, 50 g
- 3 Cups Milk, 750 ml
- ½ teaspoon Fine Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Cups Cheese, 200 g, grated, I use a strong Aged Cheddar
Topping
- ½ Cup Cheese, 50 g, grated
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook gently for 2 minutes or until translucent. Add half the mince and over a high heat cook well, breaking it into small pieces, once well browned transfer it to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining mince (or I do this first step in 2 frying pans at the same time)
- Return all mince to the same frying pan, add garlic and mixed herbs, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in grated carrot and mushrooms (if using)
- Add the pasta sauce, ½ cup water (to rinse the jar), and chopped tomatoes and fold through well. Simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and rich in colour.
- Add the worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper, then set aside to cool slightly while you make the cheese sauce.
- To make the cheese sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until frothy.
- Gradually whisk in the milk, ½ cup at a time, ensuring no lumps between each addition. Increase heat to medium, stirring often until boiling, thick and silky. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and whisk in the first measure of cheese until well combined. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 210°C and grease a 30x22cm ceramic lasagne dish.
- When ready to assemble the lasagne, place 3 of the lasagne sheets in 2-3 cm of boiling water in a roasting dish to slightly soften.
- Spread a third of the meat sauce thinly and evenly in the dish, followed by a third of the cheese sauce spread to the edges, then a layer of lasagne sheets (you’ll need approx 2½ sheets per layer). Repeat these layers one more time, softening more lasagne sheets as needed.
- For the final layer, add the remaining meat sauce, a layer of softened lasagne sheets, and finish with the rest of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the second measure of grated cheese all over the top of the cheese sauce.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbling. Let the lasagne rest for 20 minutes before serving to set the layers.
- Serve with fresh coleslaw and garlic bread. Store leftovers in the fridge or freeze for later.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1056Total Fat: 58gSaturated Fat: 29gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 290mgSodium: 2208mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 8gSugar: 20gProtein: 81g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
So yes I realise the recipe looks quite long and involved, but choose a day where you have plenty of time and enjoy the art of cooking, checking, stirring, smelling and tasting! It will be so worth it in the end!
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Happy Baking!
Anna
Beth Bates says
Made recently, always wanted to find a good lasagne recipe, husband said it is the best ever!