Blue Cheese & Cheddar Lasagna - A Rich Twist on a Classic Italian Favourite

This tweaked lasagne recipe was made using only what was available in the kitchen, but it ended up so nice and rich. It is meatier than usual, and the blue cheese gave it more depth and went well with the rest of the ingredients. Lasagne is a classic Italian dish that evolved over centuries, especially in the Emilia-Romagna region, known for its layers of pasta, meat sauce, béchamel, and cheese. This version is a little different but just as comforting.

🧀 Blue Cheese & Cheddar Lasagna

Ingredients:

![f0e3ad35-7322-4823-b38f-894f6e77f399.jpg]

Meat Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 kg ground beef or beef-pork mix

1 can (400g) crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp sugar (optional)

½ cup red wine or water

Blue Cheese Béchamel
4 tbsp butter (or use 2 tbsp flour + 2 cups cream as your base)

4 tbsp flour

2½ cups milk or cream (warm)

75g (2–3 oz) blue cheese, crumbled (more if you like it punchy)

Salt & pepper to taste (taste first – blue cheese is salty)

Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Lasagna Layers
9–12 lasagna sheets.
1½–2 cups mature cheddar cheese, grated

Extra blue cheese (crumbled, optional, for layering)

Instructions

🥧 Make the Meat Sauce

Heat olive oil, sauté onions and garlic until soft.

Add ground meat and brown it. Drain if needed.

Stir in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and wine or water. Simmer for 30–45 minutes, uncovered, until thickened.

🥧 Make the Blue Cheese Béchamel

In a saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour. Cook 1–2 minutes.
(If using cream instead, just warm it and whisk in flour directly, no butter needed.)

Gradually whisk in milk or cream. Stir constantly until thick.

Remove from heat and stir in crumbled blue cheese until melted and smooth.

Taste and adjust seasoning carefully, blue cheese is salty.

🥧 Assemble the Lasagna

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).

Spread a spoonful of meat sauce on the bottom of your dish.

Layer:

Lasagna sheets

Meat sauce

Béchamel

Sprinkle of cheddar

(Optional: scatter a bit more blue cheese between layers)

Repeat for 3 layers. Finish with béchamel

and cheddar on top.

Bake

Bake for 30 minutes on the lowest shelf, or middle shelf but cover the top with foil to avoid burning.

Uncover and bake 15 more minutes until bubbling and golden.

Let rest 10–15 minutes before slicing.

It turned out great. The blue cheese in the white sauce made it rich and went really well with the meat and tomatoes.

Simple, hearty, and really tasty.

Have a lovely day!
Mariah 💗😊