This beef lasagne recipe with smoked cheddar cheese sauce is a delightful twist on the traditional Italian dish. Instead of the usual béchamel sauce, this version incorporates a creamy cheddar cheese sauce, adding a rich and tangy flavour to the layers of pasta and meat and tomato sauce.
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- Ingredients you’ll need for this beef lasagne recipe
- Instructions to make this beef lasagne recipe
- How to make the smoked cheddar cheese sauce
- Instructions to assemble this beef lasagne recipe
- How do you keep lasagne from falling apart?
- Is it lasagne or lasagna?
- Beef Lasagne with Smoked Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- Other recipes you might like
This lasagne with smoked cheddar cheese sauce is a delightful twist on the traditional Italian dish. Instead of the usual béchamel sauce, this version incorporates a creamy smoked cheddar cheese sauce, adding a rich and tangy flavour to the layers of pasta and meat and tomato sauce.
I have been developing this recipe for over twenty years, true story, and I reckon I’ve got it down perfectly now. The key to this recipe is to use the best quality beef you can get (I use native Shetland breed beef from Uradale Farm), make your own slow-cooked beef stock (over several hours) and flavour the béchemel sauce with a bit of smoked cheddar cheese. I use Orkney smoked cheddar.
The smoked cheddar sauce complements the savoury meat filling and the robust tomato sauce, creating a comforting and cheesy lasagne experience. It’s a comforting and indulgent variation that smoked cheese lovers will adore.
Ingredients you’ll need for this beef lasagne recipe
F
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 90 grams smoked back bacon, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 500 grams lean beef mince
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 bay leaves
- 400 grams tinned chopped tomatoes
- 250 ml good quality beef stock
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- 60 grams butter
- 60 grams of plain flour
- 600 ml full-fat milk
- 160 grams mature cheddar cheese grated
- no cook lasagne sheets
- 80 grams Parmesan cheese grated
- freshly grated nutmeg or ground mace
- 50 grams mature cheddar cheese grated
Instructions to make this beef lasagne recipe
- Preheat oven to 200 ℃/ 390 ℉.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat.
- Gently saute the onions until they begin to soften and change colour slightly.
- Add the garlic cloves and the chopped bacon and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the dried oregano, salt and pepper and stir well.
- Add the beef mince and cook until browned all over.
- Add the tomato puree and stir well, then spoon in the tomatoes and beef stock. Add the bay leaves and season well.
- Stir well, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for at least an hour until the sauce becomes nice and thick.
- Drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil and stir in the torn basil leaves. Taste for seasoning, and set aside.
How to make the smoked cheddar cheese sauce
- To prepare the cheese sauce, heat the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour, and stirring continuously, cook for one minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour in a little milk, stirring constantly. Slowly add the rest of the milk and whisk until there are no lumps.
- Return the pan to the heat and stir until it begins to thicken.
- Switch off the heat and add the grated cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Set aside.
Instructions to assemble this beef lasagne recipe
- To assemble, spoon a little of the tomato sauce onto the base of your casserole dish and arrange a layer of no-cook lasagne sheets over the top. I break mine to fit my awkward-sized dishes, using the little broken bits to fill any gaps.
- Spoon some more tomato sauce over the lasagne sheets and pour over 1/3 of the cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle with freshly ground nutmeg or freshly ground mace and 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of lasagne topped with a layer of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese and Parmesan.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Set aside for at least 15 minutes to cool before cutting.
How do you keep lasagne from falling apart?
Don’t serve it straight from the oven. Allow it to cool for 15-20 minutes, ideally 30, before cutting into servings. It’ll be at an eatable temperature, and the layers will stay perfectly in place.
Is it lasagne or lasagna?
Lasagna: one sheet of pasta, in Italian.
Lasagne: more than one sheet of pasta.
The finished dish has more than one pasta sheet; therefore, it’s lasagne.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Beef Lasagne with Smoked Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
for the tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 90 grams smoked back bacon finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Shetland sea salt
- 600 grams lean beef mince
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 400 grams tinned chopped tomatoes
- 250 ml good quality beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to add at the end
for the cheddar cheese sauce
- 60 grams butter
- 60 grams plain flour
- 600 ml full fat milk
- 150 grams mature cheddar cheese grated
to assemble
- no cook lasagne sheets
- 80 grams Parmesan cheese grated
- freshly grated nutmeg or ground mace blades
- 50 grams mature cheddar cheese grated
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Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 ℃/ 390 ℉.
- Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Gently saute 1 medium onion, chopped, until they begin to soften and change colour slightly.
- Add 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 90 grams smoked back bacon, chopped, and cook for a few minutes.
- Add 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp Shetland sea salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper and stir well.
- Add 600 grams lean beef mince and cook until browned all over.
- Add 2 tbsp tomato puree (I used heaped spoonfuls) and stir well, then spoon in 400 grams tinned chopped tomatoes and 250 ml good quality beef stock. Add 2 bay leaves and season well.
- Stir well, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for at least an hour until the sauce becomes nice and thick. The longer you leave it to gently simmer the better it will taste.
- Remove from the heat. Drizzle in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and stir in 1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn. Taste for seasoning, and set aside.
- To prepare the cheese sauce, heat 60 grams butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in 60 grams plain flour, and stirring continuously, cook for one minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour in a little milk, stirring constantly. Slowly add the rest of 600 ml full fat milk and whisk until there are no lumps.
- Return the pan to the heat and stir until it begins to thicken.
- Switch off the heat and add 150 grams mature cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Set aside.
- To assemble, spoon a little of the tomato sauce onto the base of your casserole dish and arrange a layer of no cook lasagne sheets over the top. I break mine to fit my awkward sized dishes, using the little broken bits to fit any gaps.
- Spoon some more tomato sauce over the lasagne sheets and pour over 1/3 of the cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg or freshly ground mace and 1/3 of 80 grams Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of lasagne topped with a layer of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with 50 grams mature cheddar cheese and Parmesan.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Set aside for at least 15 minutes to cool before cutting.
Video
Notes
- Use a mild cheddar cheese if you don’t like the taste of sharp cheddar.
- Use a food processor to chop up celery, courgettes and carrots very, very finely and add them into the tomato sauce.
- For a traditional bechamel sauce, omit the cheddar cheese and add a dash of ground mace. Season with ground white pepper.
- Add a layer of ricotta cheese mixed with chopped-up spinach sauteed just until it wilts. Stir in an egg to bind it together.
- Add a layer of grilled vegetables – I like courgette and peppers.
- Top with little spoonfuls of basil pesto.
- My ex-husband used to add a tin of tomato soup to his lasagne sauce instead of beef stock. It added a lovely tomato creaminess. Our kids loved his version too.
15-Minute Chilli Spaghetti Recipe for Two
I know this would be great for some children (and even adults) who are picky eaters! Love the mask photo!! 🙂
If it makes you feel any better, it’s like being a contestant in masterchef every night in my house. Was messaging my youngest who has just left for uni begging her to buy fruit the other night. It never ends!
I saw this on your Facebook link and watched the impressive video – so pro!! Such a good post Elizabeth. I can but dream that someone would magic up a dish of this for me right now!
This looks like the perfect comfort food. The video is fantastic too.
haha loved reading this and it looks delicious! Totally something I would enjoy eating 🙂 (I can be a fussy easter!)
My children sound just like yours too! Thanks for sharing the recipe and video. My family all adore lasagne and I love the idea of blitzing some vegetables and hiding them in the tomato sauce for extra goodness.
I don’t know many children that don’t love lasagna!
The video is great, works really well, so impressed. And of course, lasagne is always a winner!
You had me at “child friendly”. We have similar kids! I have one who is basically vegetarian. One meat eater and one that eats everything. And my name is Elizabeth too. Except we are across the Atlantic and at the other side of America in S. California.
This is a great story and sounds like some pretty tasty lasagne sauce too! Must try, see if I can convert my daughter.
Elizabeth, I love food stories… especially the family ones! I raised 4 sons, and I was not very indulgent so I had to laugh. My boys got the veggies and the fresh herbs, and even a few years of cooking almost solely vegetarian!
Your lasagna looks both adult and kid friendly, the video is so nicely done, and adding hiding the Schwartz herbs and spices was pretty clever!
Sounds like he is quite savvy about not having his face on the internet and ah-hem I believe his mother is not too keen on showing her face either! The Lasagne on the other hand is showing it’s face rather well and looks totally gorgeous.
Making this tomorrow. I was looking for a similar recipe. Great pics.
This looks delicious and will be on our menu this weekend
This is definitely kid friendly but I want to stuff my face with it so it must be adult-friendly too! Looks amazing!
Don’t get me started on children food peculiarities! My son LOVES one thing one week and declares it ‘best ever!’ and then next time I make it doesn’t eat a single bite! But I think no one in the family would complain if presented with this totally glorious lasagne!
This looks cheesy good. Perfect for entertaining….I would make a double batch and freeze some for later. Awesome!!
This looks like the ultimate comfort meal
I feel your pain trying to please all of your children!! Luckily mine were pretty similar in their tastes!
This lasagne looks delicious, but you’re making me glad I don’t have children… I don’t think I could put up with all those differing tastes and dislikes! Awesome video, so glad you’ve started making these too 🙂
The kids will love this one. Ive never used a cheese sauce on this type of dish. A child who prefers salad over mac & cheese? Also something I don’t recall ever experiencing…lol
“Our nearly ten year old daughter is a vegetarian, she just doesn’t know it yet.” You cracked me up there :))
This sounds like a lovely recipe, thanks for sharing.
What a lovely recipe and the story. I remember myself when I was 16, everything was the same 🙂 New tastes terrified me, so my mom always stayed with the basic ingredients 🙂 Well, except from hiding some veggies in sauces from time to time, ha!
Such a lovely looking lasagne, your story makes me smile… Apparently I went through different phases of eating as a child culminating in the 15-16 year old phase of being a human garbage disposal unit, everythign was fair game 😉
I’m so hungry now, I rarely make lasagne but your’s has really put me in the mood for making one:-) Thanks for linking to my Chilli con Carne Tacos:-)
I have to confess that Lasagne is my favouirte meal and I always tend to have it if we go out somewhere new and it’s on the menu. My daughter has suddenly decided to become very fussy about food so I am going to give this a go as it looks delicious!
Have bookmarked this! Looks delicious – Im sure everyone in the family would love it even our Connor who doesnt like my current recipe.