Lasagne, kind of like a pizza dough, always used to scare me. Not to eat it, but to make it. The length of the process! I mean you have to make mince AND cheese sauce AND then layer it. At least an hour and a half in the kitchen, right? So I avoided making it altogether….. until…I decided to make a “Just Easy Recipes” version! A quick-ish, simple, non-scary, and let’s not forget TASTY Lasagne.
The secret to this Lasagne is using a Sundried Tomato pesto to cook with the mince – you literally add the pesto and the mince to a pan and cook together. Tra-la-la-la-la. No need to even add Olive Oil because that is in the pesto already. It has all the flavour packed in! Then we add a little tomato puree and a little salt and pepper. That’s all. Mince part done.
Then, you make a large batch of cheese sauce which I explain in detail below for those who haven’t made a cheese sauce before – make sure to read the secrets of a good cheese sauce. Super Easy!!
Lastly, you layer the mince, cheese sauce and Lasagne sheets into a baking dish and go pour yourself a glass of wine and put your feet up for 35 minutes. YIPPYYYY!
Easy Cheesy Lasagne
Prep Time: 30 minutes- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
The easiest and tastiest Lasagne to make when you are short of time! With only a handful of ingredients too!
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 6 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cups grated cheese
- 3 cups of milk
- Salt and pepper
- 500g mince
- 140g Sundried Tomato Pesto
- 1 1/2 cups Tomato Puree
- Salt & Pepper
- 8 sheets Lasagne – 4 sheets in each layer
- 1 cup of cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C
- Make the mince first – simply add the entire jar of sundried tomato pesto to a medium sized pan as well as the mince. Cook on medium heat and stir the pesto into the mince. Continue until the mince has cooked through.
- Add the tomato puree and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- In the meantime, make the cheese sauce. Add the butter to a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to form a smooth paste. A whisk is crucial here – secret number 1. Add the milk slowly, a little by little and you will see the sauce thickening (secret number 2 – add the milk bit by bit). Continue to stir the sauce to avoid lumps. The sauce will thicken and then you will add a little more milk and so on until all the milk is used up.
- Add 2 cups grated cheese to the sauce and stir to melt the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Now, layer your Lasagne in a rectangular dish*. Start with a thin layer of cheese sauce on the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of Lasagne sheets (I used 4 per layer).
- Now add half the mince mixture and follow that with a layer of cheese sauce and then another layer of Lasagne sheets. Add the last layer of mince and finish off with a layer of cheese sauce*
- Sprinkle 1 cup grated cheddar on top
- Cook for 35 minutes at 180°C
* See Notes
Notes
- My Dish was not much bigger than a 30 x 25 cm dish
- I have seen various different ways to layer the layers but the important thing is to not place the Lasagne sheets as the bottom layer – put a layer of mince or cheese sauce first. Finish off with cheese sauce always.
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