Lasagne recipe

This lean lasagne recipe is a classic crowd-pleaser dish, but it magically comes in at under 500 calories.

Delicious layers of unctuous meaty ragù and creamy white sauce blanketed between sheets of pasta Though you will be making your own meat sauce and white sauce, this is an easy recipe, and really satisfying to make (and to eat of course). You can slim it down even more by exchanging the lean mince for Quorn, and swapping the Cheddar and mozzarella mix for a low-fat version. 

While it makes enough for 6-8 people, we find this dinner is a great batch cook as well - lasagne tastes even better reheated the following day. This is one of our favourite low calorie meals.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 500g (1lb) lean minced beef
• 4 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 700ml (24fl oz) milk
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 100g (3½oz) ready-grated Cheddar and mozzarella, mixed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• A packet of lasagne sheets (no pre-cooking required)
• 30g (1oz) Parmesan, grated

Method

1. To make the meat sauce: Heat the oil in large pan, add the onion and carrot and fry for 10 mins. Add the garlic, cook for another 2 mins and then tip this into a bowl.
2. Brown the mince. Put onions back in, add the wine, ketchup, tomatoes, oregano and a bay leaf. Simmer for 30 mins.
3. To make the white sauce: Put all but 3 tbsp of milk in a pan. Add the other bay leaf and the onion. Bring to the boil, then take it off the heat and leave it for 15 mins. Take out the onion and bay leaf. Mix the reserved 3 tbsp milk with the cornflour and whisk into the infused milk over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes to make a thickish, smooth sauce. Add the Cheddar and mozzarella and season well, with lots of nutmeg, too.
4. Set the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Spoon a thin layer of meat sauce into the dish, then a little cheese sauce. Put a layer of lasagne on top, add more of the meat and cheese sauces, for another couple of layers. Finish with lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 45-60 mins.

Watch how to make lasagne

Top tips for making this lasagne recipe

Choose a deep dish so you can get a good amount of layers - this makes the most impressive lasagne. Use a tub of cheese sauce for speed, if you like, instead of the cheese sauce.

Do you soak lasagne sheets before cooking?

This is a personal preference - if you want to cut the oven cooking time down, then we'd recommend soaking lasagne sheets before cooking. Soak in a single layer in boiling water for up to five minutes before layering. 

Soaking the sheets will make the overall texture of the lasagne much softer. If you like your pasta with a bit more bit, do not soak before cooking. 

How many layers are in a lasagne?

Aim for 3-4 layers when making a lasagne. The smaller the dish, the more layers you'll have, particularly if you choose a dish that's deep. A wider, low-rim dish will make a big lasagne, but with only a couple of layers. It is entirely your choice of how many layers - and it depends on how much filling you have too. 

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