Making a lasagne from scratch

I only make one maybe 5 times a year and I make a big batch to do us two meals. Mine tastes great so I do think it's worth it. Plus DH is gluten free so homemade is our only option anyway!

I make it all the time, takes me an hour to prepare (most of that waiting around aka playing on my phone) and 30
mins to cook. Béchamel takes about 5 minutes to make.

Do the meat sauce in advance next time, and buy a carton of bechamel sauce (Ocado do a good one), and fresh lasagne sheets you can just plonk on. Then you just have to assemble it with pasta and cheese. I’m shit at bechamel, however easy people say it is. Discovering the cartons was the best thing since chopped frozen garlic.

Yes its a faff.. but then all cooking from scratch involves a fair amount of faff it's just that no one talks about it and the cleaning ..especially when you have kids around. Tv chefs make it look so easy.

Yeah I often get bored and just end up having the Bolognese. Like others have said doing a big batch of Bolognese beforehand and freezing is good then you only have one sauce to make.
Definitely speeder ways to do the white sauce as well but I think the first few times with anything take longer.

A proper lasagna is a whole day thing @tangerinemagic

its effort, but worth it. I’d not want to eat any of the “oh I can knock a lasagna together in 5mins” efforts.

you can cut corners, but you have to know how to do that

Gordon Ramsay did a fabulous Cookalong programme with a lasagna and it was amazing

I only make a lasagne when I’ve got a free day as I always start it a lunch time to give it time to simmer and then rest as the sauce is much better to use after it’s been cooked and left to cool I find. I have no idea how people have it in the oven in half an hour unless it’s all jars of sauce or is just a pile of slop when finished.

Don’t give up on it OP but next time make it when you can give yourself time or even prep it the night before once the kids are in bed so you just have assemble when you need it. I don’t think many would notice if you skipped making the bechamel from scratch either and just used a jar mixed with some cheese.

Since when has grating a bit of cheese been hard labour? Don’t try mashing potatoes Op it’ll put you in an early grave.

I make a cauldron full of bolognaise sauce at a time, it takes about 4 hours but I have 40ish portions for the freezer so I just use that to make a lasagne and only have to make the white sauce that takes 20 minutes.
Tescos lasagne is quite nice too when I really can't be bothered.

I think you must have used too much milk on too low a heat if it took you an hour

you add the milk as you go and as it thickens

I think you would be entirely reasonable to declare that Lasagne only exists in Charlie Binham packaging until such time as your kids are old enough to leave you alone for a couple of hours.

Agree 100% bechamel alone turns me into a hot mess with two pans needed.

It does take a long time, but I think it’s worth it because I really like home-made lasagna and I don’t like lasagne that you get a ready meal or even in a restaurant. The other thing is you can make it well in advance and the last minute time in the oven is no work at all. Also, it tends to last for two or three meals so makes the time perhaps worth it. However, despite all this, I really don’t make it very often because it does take so long. But it is good for a special occasion..

I cut mine into 1-2 portions and freeze in separate glass containers. Then pop the defrosted lasagna (put it at night time in fridge and is defrosted for next day lunch/dinner) in the same container in the oven to finish cooking (15-20min or so).

I think I’ve only ever made it twice from scratch…. I’m not a great cook so I have to slowly follow the recipe with great care to avoid screwing up. It took hours though it turned out great!

I use jars usually for quick & easy lasagne. I get nice steak mince and whatever sauce looks best.

A quick recommendation here for Mary Berry’s chicken lasagne recipe - a lot less stressful than faffing about with bolognese and bechamel, and a hell of a lot quicker.

I usually make 2 or 3 times the recipe(takes the same amount of time or marginally more) and freeze most of it.to me it’s worth it

You could try making a larger quantity of your white sauce (I'm assuming it would freeze well, maybe pre-cheese?) and tomato sauce, then freezing it so you can make it from scratch quicker next time. I love spending a few hours over a really well reduced tomato sauce (no meat, just tomatoes, garlic, onion etc) but obviously it's not practical to do it very often, so I make industrial quantities when I do - it freezes very well! You can use it for all sorts then too - goes well on pizzas, with spaghetti and meatballs, as a base for curries etc etc

It takes me a while (not quite 2.5 hours admittedly) but I make it worthwhile by doubling up and making at least one more for the freezer. Which then takes three days to defrost and heat through because they’re booody massive.

Mine takes a while, but I will only make it in vast, freezable volumes.

There is a lot of work involved and a very messy kitchen afterwards too! Some are more organised than me so can knock one up fairly quickly. That is not me as I faff around with this and that, pots, dishes, cheese graters and so on, the kitchen is like a bomb site. I can't be alone on that one surely?

Anyway, I only do one for special occasions now. I have it sorted more or less to lessen the kitchen bombsite disaster. I actually make the beef sauce the evening before. Get that cooling and out of the way in the fridge overnight. Then next day I'll make the bechamel and put that away also (cling film pressed down to stop the horrible skin forming). Then assemble it a couple of hourse before cooking and leave it to rest in the fridge. With cheese, cheese, and more cheese. Fresh lasagne sheets are the best.

I don’t eat meat either and mine takes ages. Tomato sauce (but plenty so there’s some in the fridge for pasta bake later in the week), then layers of mushrooms (need pre cooking otherwise they make it too wet) and spinach and cheesy bechamel. Takes an hour and a half! But 45 mins of that is in the oven while I drink the leftover wine.

IMO you can’t make a decent ragu in anything less than an hour - not much actual prep time but needs a long simmer to sweeten and tenderise. So not sure about these 30 min lasagnes.

Frankly I don’t see the point when Mr Bigham makes a very good lasagne. I’d rather save my effort for meals I can’t buy a good version of.

Omg if you were making it with a toddler and a baby around, no wonder it took ages, they hardly let you focus and get on with things. Plus you’re probably knackered and everything takes longer. Lasagne will be lovely. You are a hero even if DH doesn’t see it. Friday night and everyone is exhausted. Be kind to each other and enjoy your dinner xxx