One of the things it’s hard to find in the US is lasagna like we do in Chile, a Lasagna with White Sauce (bechamel) and Bolognese. We don’t use ricotta on our lasagna.
We booked a Sunday with my husband to make a Chilean lasagna. It was worth the effort. I usually make the meat sauce in advance, double the recipe, and serve it for dinner that day. Freeze half and then use it on the weekend to make lasagna.
Lasagna with white sauce and meat is a delicious and comforting dish known for its layers of pasta, rich meat sauce, creamy béchamel sauce, and melted cheese.
Here’s a basic overview of how this classic lasagna is prepared:
- Lasagna noodles: You’ll need flat, wide pasta sheets, often boiled until partially cooked, before assembling the dish. Or you can use pre-baked, ready-to-use lasagna noodles.
- Meat sauce: The meat sauce is typically made in Chile with ground beef. It’s cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, herbs, and spices. This sauce is rich and flavorful.
- Béchamel: Béchamel, known as white sauce, is made from butter, flour, and milk. Its creamy, silky sauce adds a luxurious touch to the lasagna.
- Cheese: In Chile, Queso Chanco, as an alternative in the US, I recommend using Munster or Havarti cheese.
- Seasonings: Common seasonings include salt, pepper, and herbs like basil and oregano (in the US, use Mexican oregano for the closest to Chilean flavor)
Beef is a staple in Chilean cuisine and is used in various traditional dishes. The Spaniards introduced cows to Chile. Meat, especially beef, has always been expensive in Chile. And for the most part, steaks are for important occasions. Ground meat is common in Chilean recipes since it is cheaper.
You may also like the recipe: Chilean Charquican.
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Lasagna with White Sauce and Bolognesa
For Chileans, the right lasagna is with white sauce. Try it!
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: 8
Ingredients
meat sauce,
- 1 pound of 85% ground beef
- 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 medium yellow onion diced small
- 1 carrot, peeled, diced small
- salt, pepper, oregano or basil
white sauce,
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
to build,
- 1 package of lasagna noodles
- 1 cup grated cheese
- 6 cheese slices to cover or more grated cheese
Instructions
- Put water in a large pot and cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions.
- Make the meat sauce in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the finely chopped onion, carrots, and occasionally cook, stirring until golden for 5-8 minutes. Place ground beef in one layer, let brown 3-4 minutes without stirring, turn, and brown the other side. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, mix and season with salt and pepper. Let reduce over low heat while you cook the white sauce.
- For the white sauce, in a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, add the flour, and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Get out of the heat, add the milk in a continuous thread, continuously stirring. Return to the heat, let boil, and thicken—season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Preheat the oven to 375F or 190C.
- To assemble the lasagna: Grease the baking pan slightly. Place a layer of meat sauce, a layer of noodles overlapping so there are no gaps, a layer of white sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese, another layer of noodles, a layer of meat sauce, repeat. Finish with a layer of noodles, white sauce, and cover with laminated cheese.
- Bake at 375F or 190C for 25-35 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Remove from oven and let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Savory
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 508
- Sugar: 9.4 g
- Sodium: 688.8 mg
- Fat: 22.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 47.1 g
- Fiber: 5.5 g
- Protein: 27.3 g
Hi Pilar,
What size can do you use of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes?
I added the sizes of the cans to the recipe, sorry for the oversight.
Hola Pilar, se podra reemplazar la white sauce con crema nestle? Como crees que quedara? Muchas gracias!
No, no me tinca para nada.
Thank you for the recipe! What cheese is comparable to the white cheese in Chile? Would it be Munster?
For this recipe, you don’t need any white cheese. The sauce is made with flour, is a bechamel.
To top the lasagna, you can use grated mozzarella.
Hi, I’m from Peru and we make the lasagna the same way. I somehow can’t eat lasagna with ricotta cheese it doesn’t feel like home. I love your recipe and will be trying it out today but I realized you didn’t say how to use the carrots, I’m assuming you just chop it and cook it along with the meat.
Yes. Add them with the onions. I corrected the recipe. Thank you!
Where do I buy the white sauce In the US? I don’t know the name
The white sauce you make it at home with the recipe (you need milk, butter, flour), etc. Is called bechamel in the US.