Homemade lasagne is serious comfort food. A rich tomato and beef sauce, layered with gluten free pasta sheets and white sauce, topped with a generous sprinkle of cheese and then baked in the oven.

Whether you want to cook a big lasagne for the family, for a dinner party or as the most delicious series of lunches for the freezer, this really is a recipe everyone can enjoy.

My recipe is made using gluten free pasta, however the method would be the same were you using classic pasta, so feel free to adapt if you do not have gluten free dietary requirements. However, I assume most of you are gluten free like me! I am the only coeliac in our household, yet my family love this gluten free lasagne and happily eat it in place of classic lasagne.

gluten free lasagne

What Pasta Should I Use for This Gluten Free Lasagne?

You can use any gluten free lasagne sheets for this recipe. I use the Morrisons gluten free lasagane sheets at the moment as they are incredible value (35p a packet, at the time of writing) and work really well.

I have a special trick in my method to help ensure the lasagne sheets get super soft while cooking. I found in the past that using standard recipes the sheets on top would go hard and crunchy. Gluten free pasta is made using different ingredients to classic lasagne sheets, hence this little method tweak ensures they turn out perfectly.

What’s the Secret to Great Lasagne

It’s all about taking the time to make a really great meat sauce as the base. You can speed through a lasagne if you are pushed for time, but if you are able to make the meat sauce a couple of hours ahead of time then it really helps to develop the flavours.

You’ll see I’ve added various veggies to my meat sauce recipe. You can skip these and keep it simple if you wish, but using these is great for flavour and for giving some extra nutrients (ideal if you are cooking for kids who are fussy about veg). They also help to bulk the dish out so you don’t need to use a vast amount of mince.

Can I Keep the Leftovers?

YES, lasagne leftovers are the besssssst! They will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days, otherwise freeze into portions and defrost as needed. Microwaving is ideal for reheating, but if you wish to reheat in the oven (from chilled), cover with tin foil to ensure the lasagne does not over-brown.

gluten free lasagne recipe

Classic Gluten Free Lasagne Recipe

Now let’s get to the yummy recipe shall we! If you enjoy my gluten free lasagne, I would be really grateful if you could review the recipe on the card below.

You’ll find a full method below along with lots of pictures to help you as you work through the recipe. Feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have – laura@mygfguide.com – or DM me on social media @myglutenfreeguide. Ooh, also send photos of your creations please!

Enjoy! Laura xxx

Classic Lasagne - Gluten Free Recipe
Yield: Serves 6

Classic Lasagne - Gluten Free Recipe

Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the meat sauce:

  • 1 large white onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 stick celery (optional for extra flavour)
  • 1 small green pepper (optional for extra flavour)
  • 75g mushrooms (optional for extra veg)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 750g lean beef mince (I use 5% fat steak mince)
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 200ml red wine
  • 3 x 400g tins peeled plum tomatoes in juice
  • 1 tsp Hendersons relish (optional for flavour)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper

For the white sauce:

  • 70g butter
  • 70g gluten free plain flour or cornflour
  • 700ml semi-skimmed milk
  • Black pepper
  • Nutmeg (optional)

For the rest:

  • 250g gluten free lasagne sheets
  • 150g cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Finely dice the onion and chop the carrots into very small pieces. Finely chop the celery and green pepper too if you are including them. Place then all into a large non-stick saucepan or high-sided lidded frying pan with a small glug of olive oil. Cover with the lid and sweat for 15 minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until everything has softened.
  2. Add the minced garlic and stir through, cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
  3. Now break the beef mince into pieces and add to the pan, cooking over a medium-high heat until it is beginning to brown. Then add the finely chopped mushrooms if you are including them and cook until any excess liquid has evapourated.
  4. Add the dried herbs, tomato paste, crumbled beef stock cube and red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced.
  5. Crush the tinned plum tomatoes with your hands and add to the pan (you can use chopped instead if you wish, but whole plum tomatoes are generally better quality tomatoes and are skinless). Stir them through the meat along with the Hendersons relish and sugar, then leave the sauce to cook over a medium heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring regularly. The longer you can cook the sauce for the better, as it will help the flavours to develop (1 hour on a medium then low heat is ideal...or you can also make the sauce ahead of time and then let it sit with the lid on until needed).
  6. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside while you prepare the other elements.
  7. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan) and ready a large oven dish - mine is 25cm x 30cm.
  8. My trick for gluten free lasagane sheets is to precook them slightly before adding them to the lasagne. I find otherwise they can cook unevenly and you might end up with hard crunchy patches. Take a large heatproof bowl and fill with boiling water. Place the lasagne sheets standing around the edge of the bowl so they are at least half covered by water, then soak for 3-4 minutes before turning them over to soften the entire sheet. You could also place them fully into the water, but be careful as they can get a bit stuck together. While the lasagne sheets are soaking you can make the white sauce.
  9. For the white sauce, at the butter and cornflour/gluten free flour to a medium non-stick pan and heat until the butter is melted. Use a small whisk or wooden spoon to mix the butter and flour into a roux (a thick paste) and allow to sizzle for a minute.
  10. Now add the milk in stages, about 150-200ml at a time, stirring well and keeping the pan over the heat. At each addition, stir the milk into the roux, then whisk/stir quite vigorously to ensure the sauce remains smooth and lump free. Once all the milk has been incorporated in this way, you should have a thick, smooth white sauce (if not thick yet, keep heating and stirring to thicken - if a bit lumpy, don't fret, give it a good stir but no one will notice any little lumps in the finally dish).
  11. Now to assemble the lasagne! Add a third of the meat sauce to the oven dish, spreading it out into a thin even layer. Cover with part-cooked lasagne sheets. Then top with one third of the white sauce. Repeat until you have three layers of meat sauce/lasagane sheets/white sauce.
  12. Top the lasagne with grated cheese, then bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Test the centre of the lasagne with a knife, to ensure the pasta is cooked through (if not, give it an extra 15 mins at 160C), then serve!
gluten free lasagne recipe uk
lasagne gluten free

I hope you enjoy my homemade gluten free lasagne recipe! For more delicious family meal ideas, why not try some of my other gluten free recipes while you are here:

Enjoy! Laura xxx