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Pasta

Baked Pasta with Meat Ragù and Béchamel

Baked pasta is a rich, classic dish of Italian cooking. Today we're making it with meat ragù, béchamel, and gooey mozzarella.
Recipe Baked Pasta with Meat Ragù and Béchamel
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 40 minutes
  • Cooking 40 minutes
  • Servings for 8 people

Baked pasta is a classic dish of Italian culinary tradition, a recipe halfway between a traditional lasagna and pasta tossed in a rich sauce, but finished in the oven.

Of course, there’s no single baked pasta recipe: there are countless variations, which makes it a perfect clean-out-the-fridge recipe for using up leftovers in one tasty dish. The one we’re making today is a classic baked pasta with béchamel, enriched with the bold flavor of meat ragù and the gooey stretch of melted mozzarella.

Ideal for a traditional Sunday lunch, baked pasta with ragù is also perfect when you have guests for dinner, because it can be assembled well in advance and baked about half an hour before serving. No one can resist the crispy golden crust and creamy sauce of this easy baked pasta. Everyone will be asking for seconds.

Now get your ingredients ready and tie on your apron: today we’re making a rich, golden baked pasta with ragù and béchamel together.

Ingredients for 8 people

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Method

  1. To make the baked pasta, start with the meat ragù: finely chop the carrot, the celery stalk, and a little onion. Place everything in a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil and the garlic clove, and sauté for a few moments over high heat. Now add the ground beef and the sausage with its casing removed, brown over high heat, and deglaze with a glass of wine.
    Chopped carrot, celery, and onion for the meat ragù
    Ground meat browning in a saucepan for the ragù
  2. Once the alcohol has evaporated, add the tomato paste, the chopped tomatoes, a little salt, and a pinch of sugar, and simmer over low to medium heat for about 30 to 40 minutes, adding a few torn basil leaves at the end.
    Tomato paste and chopped tomatoes added to the meat ragù
    Meat ragù simmering with torn basil leaves
  3. When the meat ragù is ready, start cooking the pasta and, at the same time, make the béchamel. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, add the flour, and make a roux.
    Butter and flour cooking into a roux for the béchamel
    Roux for the béchamel in a small saucepan
  4. Now pour in the milk, season with salt, add a little nutmeg, and keep stirring over low heat until the béchamel thickens.
    Making baked pasta, step 10
    Making baked pasta, step 11
  5. Drain the pasta al dente and transfer it to a large bowl. Add some of the ragù and a handful of grated cheese, and mix everything well.
    Drained pasta in a large bowl
    Pasta mixed with meat ragù and grated cheese
  6. Spread a little ragù over the bottom of a baking dish, then add some of the dressed pasta in an even layer.
    Ragù spread over the bottom of a baking dish
    First layer of dressed pasta in the baking dish
  7. Scatter some cubes of scamorza and mozzarella on top, spread on a layer of béchamel, sprinkle with a little grated cheese, and repeat the same sequence until you’ve used up all the ingredients.
    Cubes of scamorza and mozzarella scattered over the pasta
    Béchamel spread over a layer of pasta
  8. The last layer should be pasta, a few cubes of mozzarella, and a generous sprinkle of grated cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (350 °F) for about 30 to 40 minutes.
    Last layer of pasta topped with mozzarella and grated cheese
    Layered pasta in the baking dish, ready for the oven
  9. When the baked pasta is nicely golden, it’s ready to come out of the oven. Let it rest for a few moments, then serve. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!
    Golden baked pasta in a baking dish

Variations and Alternatives

As we mentioned, there are many versions of baked pasta. For example, you can make a ragù with peas, add other cheeses such as provola, smoked scamorza, or Gouda, or put some cured meats like cooked ham and salami in the filling, or even some sausage browned first in a skillet.

Tips

To make baked pasta, we recommend draining the pasta quite al dente, because it will finish cooking in the oven with the sauce; this way it won’t fall apart when you serve it. Also, unlike lasagna, the ragù for baked pasta should be fairly thick, because it needs to coat the pasta well.

Storage

Baked pasta keeps in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2 to 3 days. You can also freeze it in individual portions and keep it for up to 2 months.

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