Filipino-style Lasagna

Level up your favorite pasta dish with this delicious recipe! Filipino-style Lasagna with delicious layers of noodles, chunky meat sauce, creamy bechamel, and gooey cheese is hearty, delicious, and sure to be a crowd favorite. Perfect for holidays, special occasions, or anytime you want to spoil the family. With oven and stovetop instructions.

Guys, we’re one day away from Thanksgiving, and if you’re still rounding up your dinner menu, may I suggest a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients for this Filipino-style Lasagna? Because, my friends, it will be a fantastic addition to your holiday feast!

It’s hearty and delicious with tasty layers of lasagna noodles, chunky meat sauce, creamy bechamel, and gooey Cheddar Jack cheese. And it’s loaded with hot dogs and sweet banana catsup flavor to suit our Pinoy tastes!

Give this cheesy Lasagna a try, and make sure to come back here and thank me for the raves you’ll get. 🙂 Seriously, my friends, this pasta dish deserves a place on your holiday table.

It takes a bit of work, but it’s so worth the effort. Your guests will be singing you praises while they’re lining up for seconds!

Cooking steps

The pasta dish has three parts: meat sauce, bechamel, and noodles. They’re prepared separately and then assembled to bake.

Meat sauce– I like to add Purefoods hotdogs to appeal to Filipino tastes, extend servings and add a smoky flavor to the meat sauce. If you’re not a fan of these red hotdogs or don’t have access to them, substitute diced ham, chopped bacon, or Vienna sausages.

Bechamel– cook the white sauce to a spreadable thick consistency so it creates a creamy blanket over the meat and does not leak out between the layers.

Lasagna noodles– add a little bit of olive oil to the boiling water to keep the pasta from sticking together. Undercook the pasta for about 1 to 2 minutes shy of package directions as they will continue to cook in the oven when the assembled lasagna is baked.

Assembly

• The recipe works best in a 13 x 9 lasagna pan which yields 12 servings with 3 layers each of noodles, meat sauce, and white sauce. Using this size of a pan, you will need about 15 strips of lasagna using 4 per layer and the remaining 3 to fill in gaps and entirely cover the length of the pan.
• Try to use a lasagna pan or baking dish with more than 3 inches of depth if you can so there’s enough headspace to cover the pan without the foil touching the surface of the lasagna and mess up the melted cheese. if the baking dish is filled to the brim, loosely tent it to keep the foil from sticking to the cheesy layer. Pro tip: stick a few toothpicks into the assembled pasta to elevate the foil.

How to make without an oven

• Assemble the pasta in a heat-proof dish that would fit the skillet you’ll use.
• Heat a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet for about 8 to 10 minutes. Make sure the skillet has a tight-fitting lid and is wide enough to fit the baking dish.
• Place a wire rack in the skillet and the assembled lasagna on the rack.
• Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and “bake” the pasta until heated through and cheese is melted.

How to serve and store

• This Filipino-style lasagna is great for everyday family dinners as well as holidays or special occasions. Serve with warm pandesal or garlic bread and your favorite green salad or roasted vegetables for a delicious and filling meal.
• To store leftovers, allow to cool completely and keep in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• To reheat, bake, covered, in a 350 F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until internal temperature reads 165 F. Or heat in the microwave in 1 to 2-minute intervals until heated through.

To KP readers in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! I wish you all the joy of a happy family and the company of good friends. May our hearts be filled with gratitude for the big and the small things in life.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @kawalingpinoy on Facebook and Instagram!

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!

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs

 Author: Lalaine Manalo

 Course: Main Entree

Ingredients

• 15 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
• 3/4 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 1/2 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.