Making a lasagne from scratch

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Does anyone actually see the return of investment of time and money here?

I spent 2.5 hours making one (before it even went into the oven). The bechemel sauce took an hour. I don’t know where the time went but melting butter was fast and adding flour but stirring in all that milk and keeping the thickness too forever and I still ran out for the top layer which was devastating (it’s a one layer lasagne). Grating 50g Parmesan to go in is a work out, that’s before the 75g of cheddar to go on the top of it all. I did have kids with me but I wouldn’t ever bother doing it again.

I grew up eating dolmio made lasagnes and that’s how I was taught but since knowing that’s not the right way and additives etc, I’ve just bought lasagne from the deli or restaurants if I go out. Shop bought Charlie Bingham is lovely.

2.5 hours is such a long time. Does anyone do this regularly? It’s like two meals. A bolognaise then a bechemel and that’s before the art of the quantities and building the darn thing.

AIBU to feel so frustrated by this and not want to ever bother again. (Not going back to dolmio either)

Nah, lasagna is a total faff. Much better return for investment with standard pasta bakes. I have, however, heard that lasagna sheets are nice cut up and added to soup.

Your husband is rude - he can make the dinner tomorrow and wash the dishes if he thinks it’s so easy.

And all these loons saying you can make bolognese in 20 mins - what a crock, needs to simmer for like 2 hours minimum.

I make from scratch but I make a cheese sauce. Insead of bechamel Just basic white sauce then I melt grated cheese in. With an electric chopper it only takes seconds to grate cheese

I make 2 or 3 at a time one to eat and the others for the freezer. It's a faff otherwise!

I always make the ragu the day before (it tastes better) and always treble the portions because it is more time efficient to make multiple batches.

Don’t be disheartened, the more you practice the quicker you will get.

I make lasagne regularly takes about an hour, I make up my own tomato sauce to add with the mince, I make it all from scratch. Tastes much better than dolmio type sauce!

Each to their own and all that, but a 30minute lasagne sounds horrible. The ragu needs at least three hours on a low simmer. You don’t have to stand there the whole time, I put mine in the oven on low for about 4hrs and get on with something else. Make a big batch and freeze in portions.

For me, the first time making something is almost always more time-consuming and labour-intensive than making it the tenth or twentieth time. Once I have it down to a science, I find it's usually easier and seems to go faster.

From scratch as I fry the mince them add sauces from jars and lasagne sheets out of a packet. Life’s to short to be cooking flour though to whip a white sauce

I always make two lasagnes (meat one and a veggie one) and yes it’s an investment of time but I get two days worth of meals from it. It doesn’t take me an hour to do the bechamel though! I used the food processor to grate the cheese and it probably takes me about 1.5 hours start to finish plus cooking time.

It takes me a little while but only because I make two and put one in the freezer. Also whatever quantity of white sauce is recommended, it's rubbish, double it.

I make the mince earlier and let it stew, which makes it better. Quick white sauce. Then make. But yes it's a faff. Like others I always make at least 2.

What I do every 5-6 weeks or so, is make a vat of bolognese sauce on a Saturday or Sunday morning, think a 10 litre soup pan, and let it simmer for the rest of the day. I then make 2-3 lasagnas for the freezer and that night's dinner, and portion the rest of the sauce into 4 person containers, that also go in the freezer. The latter I can use for spaghetti bolognese. This gives me 5-6 meals for the upcoming weeks.

Yes, always home-made for me. Recipe is from my late Italian step-grandmother and doesn’t use Béchamel sauce. Or any white sauce. About an hour to make the ragout (or I make it in the slow cooker), then just assembling and in the oven. Using just the lasagne platters, ragout, mozzarella, Parmesan and ham.

I made one tonight. Wa absolutely lush.

I don't understand how people can pop a lasagne out in 30mins when the mince / bolognaise takes longer than this to cook?

I cook 1 1/2 Ibs of mince slow cooker with 2 tins Tom's, 3/4pint of beef sock mushrooms. Don't use onions .have a little garlic as well. Cook 5 to 6 on medium. I cheat a little with a ready made fresh sauce 2 tubs.layer up , fresh cheddar no parmesan ! I had Cancer last year ,so bought one or 2 m and s .very good .

Please - how do you use 2 pans to make the bechemel????

One for the roux and one to warm milk and infuse with an onion and bay leaf.

My sister said stamina is needed for making a lasagne 🤣 it is quite a lot of work I do mine in stages

I always make from scratch, I take quite a bit of time cooking the ragu, but that just blips away for as long as possible or I do it in the pressure cooker. It’s a Saturday dish for us, something I can fuss over and leave to cook for as long as I want.

i also leave it Twenty minutes to rest before I serve it so it slices more easily.

the next day I like it cold with salad cream.

Think they mean to prepare.

Well I was going to say, not 8 hours exactly, but when I do a sauce like this I cook the onions down for a very long time, 40 mins to a hour. Thats before the rest of the ingredients like tomatoes and meat, then that would cook a long time.

I wouldnt use a roux or bechemel, I dont like it, I just use cream and cheese or mascarpone and more cheese and I also dont care if Italians dont use cheddar, I love it, they only dont use cheddar because they havent got cheddar, but they still use a hard cheese.

I do it by degrees. A huge vat of bolognaise with 2.5kg of Mince. Does a family meal of bolognaise - well simmered and prepared.

The following day I make the white sauce. Probably not authentic but milk steeped with bay, garlic and peppercorns. 2 pints. With cheddar and a pack of grated parmesan added.

Layer the bol, sauce and dried pasta sheets into three rectangular dishes. Bake and freeze two. Each one serves six.

It's about 90 mins of labour, tops, for 24 meals.