Lasagna Bolognese with Alfredo Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A casserole-dish lasagna built the way the best Italian-American restaurants do it: a thick, slow-simmered beef and pork bolognese layered against a silky garlic-parmesan alfredo, with no-boil noodles that drink up just enough moisture to hold their shape. It assembles a full day ahead, bakes into a bubbling, deeply browned top, and — after a mandatory 20-minute rest — cuts into clean, square slices that stand up on the plate instead of sliding into a puddle.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lb ground beef (85% lean)
• 1/2 lb ground pork or bulk Italian sausage
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 14.5-oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar (optional, if tomatoes taste sharp)

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups finely grated Parmesan
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

• 15 oz whole-milk ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 12 sheets no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna noodles
• 1 lb low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, shredded
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, for the top
• fresh basil leaves, torn, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the meat sauce: heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until soft and just starting to color, 8–10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef and pork. Break the meat apart with a wooden spoon and cook 8–10 minutes, letting it brown in spots rather than stirring constantly. Do not drain the fat — it carries flavor into the sauce.
3. Push the meat to the sides, add the tomato paste to the center, and let it fry for 90 seconds until it darkens to brick red. Pour in the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pot, simmering until the wine has nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, milk, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, and black pepper. Bring to a bare simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for 45–60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough that a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clear trail. Taste and add the sugar only if it tastes sharp. Discard the bay leaf. You should have about 7 cups of very thick sauce — thin sauce is the #1 cause of sloppy lasagna.
5. Make the alfredo: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute without browning. Add the garlic, then pour in the warm milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Add the cream and cook, whisking, until the sauce thickens to the texture of heavy cream and coats a spoon, 5–7 minutes.
6. Off the heat, whisk in 1 1/4 cups Parmesan, the nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and the white pepper until smooth. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface so it does not form a skin. You should have about 3 1/2 cups.
7. Stir together the ricotta, egg, Pecorino Romano, parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, and a few grinds of black pepper in a bowl.
8. Assemble in a 9x13-inch baking dish (at least 3 inches deep). Spread 1 cup of meat sauce over the bottom. Lay down 3 noodles with a small gap between them (they expand). Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then 1 1/2 cups meat sauce, then 3/4 cup alfredo, then 1 cup mozzarella.
9. Repeat that layering two more times: noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, alfredo, mozzarella. Finish with the last 3 noodles, the remaining alfredo spread to the edges to seal the pasta, the remaining meat sauce dotted over the top, the last of the mozzarella, and the 1/2 cup Parmesan.
10. To bake now: cover tightly with foil (tent it slightly so it doesn't touch the cheese) and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 20–25 minutes more, until the edges bubble vigorously and the top is browned in patches. To bake ahead: cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours, then bake covered at 375°F for 60 minutes and uncovered for 25 minutes.
11. Check that the center reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. If the top needs more color, broil 2–3 minutes, watching closely.
12. Rest the lasagna on a rack, uncovered, for a full 20 minutes before cutting — this is not optional. The layers set during this time so a knife gives clean, square slices instead of a landslide. Cut into 12 pieces, top with torn basil, and serve.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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