Level up your favorite pasta dish with this delicious recipe! Filipino-style Lasagna with delicious layers of noodles, chunky meat sauce, creamy bechamel, and gooey cheese is hearty, tasty, and sure to be a crowd favorite. Perfect for holidays, special occasions, or any time you want to spoil the family. With oven and stovetop instructions.
Guys, we're one day away from Thanksgiving, and if you're still rounding up your dinner menu, may I suggest a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients for this Filipino-style Lasagna? Because, my friends, it will be a fantastic addition to your holiday feast!
Give this recipe a try, and come back here and thank me for the raves you'll get. ๐ Seriously, this pasta dish deserves a place on your holiday table. It takes some work, but it's worth the effort. Your guests will sing your praises while lining up for seconds! If you'd like the same flavors but a little less work, you can make this baked macaroni with cheesy topping instead.
Ingredient notes
This cheesy lasagna is hearty and delicious, with tasty layers of lasagna noodles, chunky meat sauce, creamy bechamel, and gooey Cheddar Jack cheese. It's also loaded with hot dogs and sweet banana catsup flavor to suit our Pinoy tastes!
If you're not a fan of these red hotdogs or don't have access to them, substitute diced ham, chopped bacon, or Vienna sausages. You can substitute tomato ketchup for the banana catsup and adjust the sweetness with brown sugar.
Cooking steps
The pasta dish has three parts: meat sauce, bechamel, and noodles. They're prepared separately and then assembled to bake.
- Meat sauce- Let the sauce cook low and slow to allow the flavors to develop and intensify and the ground beef to become tender.
- Bechamel- Cook the white sauce to a thick, spreadable consistency so it creates a creamy blanket over the meat and does not leak out between the layers.
- Lasagna noodles- Add a little olive oil to the boiling water to keep the pasta from sticking together. Undercook the pasta for about 1 to 2 minutes shy of the package directions, as it will continue to cook in the oven when the assembled lasagna is baked.
Assembly
- We used a 9 x 11 pan for the photos. The recipe works best in a 13 x 9 lasagna pan, which yields 12 servings with three layers of noodles, meat sauce, and white sauce. You will need about 15 lasagne sheets, 4 each layer with one or two extras to fit the gaps.
- The best way to assemble the lasagna is start with the meat sauce on the bottom to prevent the pasta from sticking. Add a single layer of noodles, the meat sauce, and the bechamel sauce. Add another layer of noodles, meat sauce, and bechamel sauce, and repeat to make three layers. Finish with shredded cheese on top of the cream sauce.
- Use a lasagna pan or baking dish with more than 3 inches of depth so there's enough headspace to cover the pan without the foil touching the surface of the lasagna and messing up the melted cheese.
- If the baking dish is filled to the brim, loosely tent it to keep the foil from sticking to the cheesy layer. To elevate the foil, you can stick a few toothpicks into the assembled pasta.
How to make lasagna without an oven
- Assemble the pasta in a heat-proof dish that would fit your skillet.
- Heat a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet for about 8 to 10 minutes. Ensure the skillet has a tight-fitting lid and is wide enough to fit the baking dish.
- Place a wire rack in the skillet and the assembled lasagna on the rack.
- Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and โbakeโ the pasta until heated and the cheese is melted.
Quick tip
Let the lasagna rest uncovered for at least 15 minutes before cutting or you'll end up with a royal mess. Give it time to cool down and your patience will be rewarded with beautifully layered neat squares! In fact, I suggest making it a day ahead of the event and just reheat to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you cook lasagne sheets before layering?
Parboiling the noodles or not before layering depends on the type of pasta used as some brands do not require pre-cooking. Check the package directions.
Should you bake the lasagna covered or uncovered?
It's best to bake the lasagna covered to retain moisture, keeping the food from drying out or burning and to trap the heat for even cooking. Remove the foil at the end of the cooking time to brown the cheese topping.
How to serve and store
- This Filipino-style lasagna is great for family dinners, holidays, or special occasions. Serve with warmย pandesalย or garlic bread and your favorite green salad or roasted vegetables for a delicious and filling meal.
- To store leftovers, allow them to cool completely and keep them in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To reheat, bake covered in a 350 F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165 F. Or heat in the microwave in 1 to 2-minute intervals until heated through.
To KP readers in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! I wish you all the joy of a happy family and the company of good friends. May our hearts be grateful for life's big and small things.
Ingredients
- 12 pieces uncooked lasagna noodles
- 1 cup Cheddar Jack cheese, shredded
For the Meat Sauce
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 6 pieces Filipino-style hotdogs, sliced diagonally
- onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, cored and chopped
- 3 pounds ground beef
- 24 ounces tomato sauce
- 12 ounces banana ketchup
- 1 cup beef broth
- ยพ cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Bechamel Sauce
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup flour
- 6 cups milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Noodles
- In a large pot over medium heat, bring about 4 quarts salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes less than package directions Rinse under cold running water and drain well.
For the Meat Sauce
- In a large thick-bottomed pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add sliced hotdogs and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, remove from pan and set aside.
- Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add bell peppers and cook until softened.
- Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking into small pieces, for about 7 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Drain excess fat, if any.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, and beef broth. Stir in sugar and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 35 to 45 minutes or until meat is fully cooked and sauce is slightly thickened.
- During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add browned hotdogs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the Bechamel Sauce
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
- Add flour and stir well into a smooth paste. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden (but NOT browned) and starts to bubble a bit.
- Slowly add milk in a thin stream, whisking vigorously until the mixture is very smooth and lump-free.
- Continue to cook, whisking regularly, for about 4 to 5 minutes or until thick but pourable. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly
- Grease bottom and sides of a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Ladle about ยฝ cup of meat sauce and spread it to cover the bottom of the dish.ย
- Ladle bechamel sauce over the meat sauce and gently spread across.
- Arrange one layer of lasagna noodles lengthwise over the white sauce. Cut a piece of lasagna to fit into gaps as needed.ย
- Ladle a third of the remaining meat sauce over the noodles and spread across the surface.
- Ladle another layer of white sauce over the meat sauce
- Finish with a third layer of noodles, meat sauce, and bechamel.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top and last layer of bechamel sauce.
- Tent the lasagna pan with foil and bake in a 375 oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until completely heated through and cheese is melted.ย
- Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- Stick a few toothpicks into the assembled pasta to elevate the foil and keep it from sticking to the cheese layer.
- Let the lasagna rest uncovered for at least 15 minutes before cutting for neater slices.
Video
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
Danilo Ocaya says
I love this recipe