This delicious Christmas Lasagna is a total crowd-pleaser around the festive season. We’ve got a sage, bacon and sausage ragu with a simple béchamel sauce to make it extra creamy, topped with mozzarella and parmesan and baked to perfection. My friends and family absolutely love it, I hope you do too!
This recipe is comforting and perfect for when you need a big dish to feed lots of people. It’s similar to my Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese in that it’s great to prep in advance and then bake in the oven while you’re chatting with your guests!
I love serving it with a winter salad of some sort like my apple and fennel salad, or a balsamic side salad for a hint of acidity and freshness!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Prep in advance: the beautiful thing about lasagna is that you can make it up to a day before placing it in the oven, which is great if you want to be present with your friends or family!
Great for a crowd: this particular recipe serves 6 people. You can totally make two or three trays of this Christmas lasagna if you’re cooking for 12 or 18 people!
Festive: we’re making a sage, bacon and sausage white ragu so it’s herby, salty, and warming. The béchamel sauce then has a generous addition of nutmeg which just gives Christmas!!! You could totally serve some cranberry sauce alongside this festive lasagne, it would go really well!!!
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the ragu: we’re frying off white onions, garlic, carrot and celery (soffritto) as the base. You could alternatively use red onions or shallots instead of white onions. We’re then seasoning the white ragu with dried sage (you could swap this out for dried thyme), and paprika (swap out for ½ the amount of cayenne). The meats in our lasagna are bacon and sausages. You could totally use sliced pieces of smoked bacon instead of lardons and you could use ground pork instead of sausages. For a veggie option, you could use roughly chopped mushrooms and small cubes or slices of butternut squash.
For the béchamel: this is a classic recipe and you’ll need salted butter, all purpose flour, and milk as the base – feel free to use plant-based milk if you’d prefer – my personal favorites are either unsweetened soy milk or almond milk. We’re then seasoning the bechamel with ground nutmeg.
For assembly: you’ll need pasta lasagne sheets, mozzarella cheeseand parmesan cheese. Other cheese you could use: cheddar, gruyere, blue cheese (for a bit of acidity and tang) or Red Leicester.
The full list of ingredients and measurements is at the bottom of this blog, just scroll down to find the recipe card!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: In a large pot, add in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and place on medium heat. Once hot, add in the onions, garlic, celery, and carrot. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened.
Step 2: Add the lardons (bacon) and sausages to the pan. Break apart the sausages until ground or minced. Season with dried sage, paprika, a pinch of flaky salt and ground black pepper. Fry off and stir for another 10 minutes.
Step 3: Once the meat has browned slightly in the pan, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of plain flour and stir, then add in the chicken stock and stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer while you make the béchamel sauce until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 180c fan / 385F. Place a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Add in the butter and once melted, add in the plain flour. Stir with a hand whisk until a paste has formed. Then pour in 200ml of the milk, leave to settle, then whisk until smooth and thickened. Pour in 200ml more of milk and once again, let the milk heat up, then whisk until combined and smooth. Repeat this until the milk has run out and you have a smooth, slightly thick, silky bechamel sauce. Next, season with ground black pepper, ground nutmeg, and cheddar cheese. Whisk until smooth. Taste and season accordingly.
Step 5: Get yourself a lasagne dish or tray that serves around 6 people. Begin with a thin layer of the meat sauce. Follow with lasagna sheets (try not to overlap the sheets – cover the whole tray/dish). Top with a layer of meat sauce, bechamel sauce, and grated mozzarella cheese. Then repeat with a layer of pasta sheets, meat sauce, bechamel sauce, and grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat again.
Step 6: To finish, lay down a final layer of pasta sheets, then generously coat the top with grated mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminium/tinned foil and place in the oven for 35 minutes, then remove the tinned foil and place in the oven for another 10 minutes for that golden top.
Step 7: Remove the Christmas lasagna from the oven and serve!!! Enjoy, my friends!
What To Do with Leftovers
Storage: You can either keep the lasagna in the tray and cover with foil and place in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can transfer to an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 3 days too!
Freezing: Place any leftover slices of lasagna in an airtight container (don’t forget to label with contents and date) and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Leave to thaw/defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Add a splash of milk in the container or dish and loosely cover with a lid (or foil if placing in the oven). Place in the microwave until piping hot, or into the oven at 180c fan/385F for 20 minutes.
FAQs
You want to gradually add the milk into the butter and flour mixture and then mix with a hand whisk until the three ingredients combine and form a paste. Eventually the paste will loosen as you add in more milk. Patience is the key here!
You want the top layer of lasagna sheets to be fully covered in cheese. Then, covering with foil and cooking the lasagna for the full 45 minutes covered instead of uncovering for the last 10 minutes will cook the sheets and create a soft unbrowned top.
I love a winter salad or a classic balsamic dressing lettuce salad. It’s nice to have a bit of acidity alongside a christmas lasagna.
More Recipes You Might Enjoy!
If you tried this Christmas Lasagna or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Christmas Lasagna
This delicious creamy Christmas Lasagna is a total crowd-pleaser around the festive season.
Ingredients
For assembling the Christmas Lasagna
Instructions
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In a large pot, add in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and place on medium heat. Once hot, add in the onions, garlic, celery, and carrot. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened.
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Add the lardons (bacon) and sausages to the pan. Break apart the sausages until ground or minced. Season with dried sage, paprika, a pinch of flaky salt and ground black pepper. Fry off and stir for another 10 minutes.
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Once the meat has browned slightly in the pan, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of plain flour and stir, then add in the chicken stock and stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer while you make the béchamel sauce until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and season accordingly once cooked.
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Preheat the oven to 180c fan / 385F. Place a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Add in the butter and once melted, add in the plain flour. Stir with a hand whisk until a paste has formed. Then pour in 100-200ml of the milk, leave to settle, then whisk until smooth and thickened. Pour in 200ml more of milk and once again, let the milk heat up, then whisk until combined and smooth. Repeat this until the milk has run out and you have a smooth, slightly thick, silky bechamel sauce. Next, season with ground black pepper, ground nutmeg, and cheddar cheese. Whisk until smooth. Taste and season accordingly.
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Get yourself a lasagne dish or deep tray that serves around 6 people (9×11 inches). Begin with a thin layer of the meat sauce. Follow with lasagna sheets (try not to overlap the sheets – cover the whole tray/dish). Top with a layer of meat sauce, bechamel sauce, and grated mozzarella cheese. Then repeat with a layer of pasta sheets, meat sauce, bechamel sauce, and grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat again and again.
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To finish, lay down a final layer of pasta sheets, then generously coat the top with grated mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminium/tinned foil and place in the oven for 35 minutes, then remove the tinned foil and place in the oven for another 10 minutes for that golden top.
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Remove the Christmas lasagna from the oven and serve!!! Enjoy, my friends!
Notes
Storage: You can either keep the lasagna in the tray and cover with foil and place in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can transfer to an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 3 days too!
Freezing: Place any leftover slices of lasagna in an airtight container (don’t forget to label with contents and date) and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Leave to thaw/defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Add a splash of milk in the container or dish and loosely cover with a lid (or foil if placing in the oven). Place in the microwave until piping hot, or into the oven at 180c fan/385F for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 891kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 39gFat: 51gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 132mgSodium: 1130mgPotassium: 787mgFiber: 3gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 2765IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 495mgIron: 3mg
