Beef lasagna is a baked Italian dish cooked with ground or minced beef and cheese, arranged on lasagna sheets. The dish is considered to be a traditional Sunday lunch specialty in Italian homes across the world. The pasta dish is usually made with Bolognese sauce and a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. However, there are quite a few variations of the lasagna made using additional ingredients as well.

Tortillas, corn, chilies, and taco seasoning are usually used in the Mexican and Tex-Mex versions of the dish making the taste significantly different from the Italian lasagna. The dish is quite filling and rich in carbohydrates and protein with the red meat containing a good amount of fat as well. Healthier versions use lean beef cuts and corn beef as well as organic meat from grass-fed cattle.

The beef lasagna is usually served warm after being cut into squares. A mixed or tossed, green salad is considered to be the traditional accompaniment along with crusty French bread or garlic bread, popular in Italy.

Ingredients and Preparation

The traditional method of cooking beef lasagna is to boil the lasagna noodles and drain them while it is al dente. The meat sauce is made by dry frying the minced or ground beef and adding it to a mixture of tomato puree, onions, garlic, celery, and hot beef stock. Some flour is usually added to thicken the sauce which is flavored with oregano, basil and Italian parsley. A cheese sauce is also prepared separately by blending equal amounts of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. White sauce is added alternatively, especially outside Italy.

The ingredients are arranged in layers within a baking dish by placing three or more lasagna sheets on a small amount of meat sauce followed by the same sauce and cheese mixture. The entire process is repeated until the ingredients are used up and the top most layer is sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves. The dish is baked for about half an hour and served warm with a salad.

Popular Lasagna Recipe Variations

There are numerous variations of beef lasagna cooked in different parts of the world. Some of the more popular ones are:-
 

• Low-Fat Beef Lasagna- This is a healthy version of the classic dish, cooked with lean ground beef, low-fat sour cream and skim cheddar cheese.
   
• Tex-Mex Lasagna- This dish is prepared with ground beef baked together with nacho cheese sauce, corn, brown rice, and black beans. The lasagna sheets are replaced by tortillas and taco seasoning is used instead of Italian herbs.
   
• American Beef Lasagna- This dish is very similar to the Italian dish but contains tomato paste and brown sugar in addition to the traditional ingredients. Oven-ready, dried lasagna sheets are usually used for creating the pasta layer of this baked dish.
   
• White Lasagna- This is a variation of the traditional Italian dish where the tomato sauce is replaced with white sauce and the dish baked with Gouda, mozzarella and cream cheese in addition to white wine and eggs.

Trivia

Beef lasagna is a traditional Christmas dinner dish, eaten by Italians residing in America.