Filipino-style Lasagna
Filipino-style Lasagna is the perfect pasta dish for holidays, parties, and everyday family dinners. It's hearty and delicious with tasty layers of pasta, sweet-style meat sauce, creamy bechamel, and melty cheese. A sure crowd-pleaser!
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 656kcal
Ingredients
- 12 pieces uncooked lasagna noodles
- 1 cup Cheddar Jack cheese, shredded
For the Meat Sauce
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 6 pieces Filipino-style hotdogs, sliced diagonally
- onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, cored and chopped
- 3 pounds ground beef
- 24 ounces tomato sauce
- 12 ounces banana ketchup
- 1 cup beef broth
- ¾ cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Bechamel Sauce
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup flour
- 6 cups milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Noodles
- In a large pot over medium heat, bring about 4 quarts salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes less than package directions Rinse under cold running water and drain well.
For the Meat Sauce
- In a large thick-bottomed pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add sliced hotdogs and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, remove from pan and set aside.
- Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add bell peppers and cook until softened.
- Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking into small pieces, for about 7 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Drain excess fat, if any.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, and beef broth. Stir in sugar and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 35 to 45 minutes or until meat is fully cooked and sauce is slightly thickened.
- During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add browned hotdogs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the Bechamel Sauce
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
- Add flour and stir well into a smooth paste. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden (but NOT browned) and starts to bubble a bit.
- Slowly add milk in a thin stream, whisking vigorously until the mixture is very smooth and lump-free.
- Continue to cook, whisking regularly, for about 4 to 5 minutes or until thick but pourable. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly
- Grease bottom and sides of a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Ladle about ½ cup of meat sauce and spread it to cover the bottom of the dish.
- Ladle bechamel sauce over the meat sauce and gently spread across.
- Arrange one layer of lasagna noodles lengthwise over the white sauce. Cut a piece of lasagna to fit into gaps as needed.
- Ladle a third of the remaining meat sauce over the noodles and spread across the surface.
- Ladle another layer of white sauce over the meat sauce
- Finish with a third layer of noodles, meat sauce, and bechamel.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top and last layer of bechamel sauce.
- Tent the lasagna pan with foil and bake in a 375 oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until completely heated through and cheese is melted.
- Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.
Video
Notes
- Stick a few toothpicks into the assembled pasta to elevate the foil and keep it from sticking to the cheese layer.
- Let the lasagna rest uncovered for at least 15 minutes before cutting for neater slices.
Nutrition
Calories: 656kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 1084mg | Potassium: 966mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1715IU | Vitamin C: 21.4mg | Calcium: 254mg | Iron: 4.1mg