Mary Berry Beef Lasagne Recipe

Mary Berry’s beef lasagne layers a slow-cooked mince and tomato sauce with a Parmesan and mustard white sauce, finished with mature Cheddar. It serves 6, and takes about 2 hours 45 minutes of cooking, plus at least 6 hours chilling.

The recipe comes from Mary Berry & Lucy Young Cook Up a Feast (2010), where it’s called Classic Beef Lasagne. They say they’re “often asked for a classic lasagne” among all the trendy new ones, and this is “a recipe we’ve perfected over the years.” The meat sauce cooks gently in the oven, not on the hob.

The step most people skip is the chilling. Berry assembles the lasagne with ordinary sheets, then puts it in the fridge for “a minimum of 6 hours before cooking so the pasta has chance to soften.” Skip it, and the sheets come out of the oven tough in the middle.

Mary Berry Beef Lasagne Recipe

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dinner, Lunch, MainCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

2

hours 

15

minutes

Calories

820

kcal

Total time

2

hours 

45

minutes

From Cook Up a Feast (2010), this is a make-ahead lasagne built for big gatherings. You assemble it a day or two early, chill or freeze it, then bake it for 45 minutes when guests arrive. The quantities double neatly to feed 12.

Ingredients

• For the meat sauce:

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

• 900g (2lb) raw minced beef

• 2 onions, roughly chopped

• 4 celery sticks, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 level tbsp plain flour

• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

• 150ml (5fl oz) beef stock

• 3 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme leaves

• For the white sauce:

• 50g (1¾oz) butter

• 50g (1¾oz) plain flour

• 750ml (1¼ pints) hot milk

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 50g (1¾oz) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• To assemble:

• 6 to 8 sheets lasagne

• 85g (3oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated

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Directions

• Brown the mince: Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan/325°F/Gas 3). Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot, add the mince and cook until brown all over. Stir in the onions, celery and garlic.
• Oven-cook the sauce: Add the flour and stir to coat the beef and vegetables, then blend in the tomatoes, stock, tomato purée, sugar and thyme. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 1 to 1½ hours, until the beef is tender.
• Make the white sauce: Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook over the heat for 1 minute. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking until the sauce is thick and smooth. Add the mustard and Parmesan and season well with salt and pepper.
• First layer: Put one-third of the meat sauce into the base of the dish. Spoon one-third of the white sauce on top and arrange a layer of lasagne over it. Season with salt and pepper.
• Second layer: Spoon half the remaining meat sauce on top, then half the remaining white sauce. Add another layer of lasagne and season. Finish with the rest of the meat sauce, then the rest of the white sauce.
• Chill: Sprinkle over the Cheddar, then transfer to the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours before cooking, so the pasta has chance to soften.
• Bake: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6). Cook the lasagne in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown on top, bubbling around the edges, and the pasta is soft.

Notes

• (AGA): Cook the meat sauce in the simmering oven for 1 to 1½ hours. Cook the assembled lasagne in the middle of the roasting oven for 40 to 45 minutes, using the cold sheet if it’s browning too fast.

FAQs

Can I bake it straight away instead of chilling?

Not with this recipe, because it relies on the chill to soften ordinary sheets. If you need a same-day version, Berry’s Meat Lasagne in Mary Berry Cookery Course (2015) uses no pre-cook sheets and bakes straight away at 190°C for about 30 minutes. Her Lasagne Express in Absolute Favourites (2015) is another quick route: she soaks the sheets in recently boiled water first.

How far ahead can I make it, and does it freeze?

Berry says you can make it up to the end of step 6 up to 2 days ahead, and freeze it at that point for up to 2 months. She says “it’s good to have a few of these lasagnes ready and waiting in the freezer” for buffets and parties. She doesn’t give thawing instructions, so I thaw ours overnight in the fridge before baking.

How do I make it for 12 people?

Berry gives a doubled version: 1.8kg mince, 4 onions, 8 celery sticks, 4 cans of tomatoes and 1.5 litres of milk for the white sauce, with 12 to 16 sheets. You’ll need two 2.4 litre dishes or one 4 litre (7 pint) dish. The bake goes up from 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Why does the white sauce have Dijon mustard and Parmesan?

The mustard sharpens the sauce so it doesn’t taste flat against all that rich mince. The Parmesan seasons it from inside, while the mature Cheddar on top gives the browned crust. If you like that cheese sauce, her cauliflower cheese uses the same white-sauce method.

Why cook the meat sauce in the oven instead of on the hob?

At 160°C with the lid on, the sauce simmers evenly for an hour or more without catching on the bottom of the pan. That long, gentle heat is what makes the mince tender rather than grainy. It also frees the hob for the white sauce, the same easy timing she uses for a weeknight beef stroganoff.