Dish guides
What is lasagne?
Lasagne are wide sheets of pasta layered with sauce and cheese and baked in the oven. The best-known Italian version, lasagne alla bolognese, uses fresh egg pasta, slow-cooked meat ragù, béchamel and parmigiano. On menus it's listed with the primi as lasagne or lasagne al forno.
- At a glance
- Lasagne
- Baked layers of pasta, meat ragù, béchamel and parmigiano.
- Pronunciation
- Say it like lah-ZAHN-nyeh · IPA /laˈzaɲɲe/
- Also written as
- lasagna, lasagne alla bolognese, lasagne al forno, lasagna al forno, lasagne verdi, lasagne bolognaise
What’s in it
Core ingredients
- lasagne sheets (usually egg pasta)
- ragù alla bolognese (beef, pork, soffritto, tomato, wine)
- béchamel (milk, butter, flour)
- parmigiano reggiano
Often added
- green spinach pasta (lasagne verdi)
- mozzarella
- ricotta, meatballs and sausage (Naples)
- vegetables (lasagne alle verdure)
- pesto (Liguria)
- nutmeg in the béchamel
Allergens
| Allergen | How likely |
|---|---|
| Gluten | Typically contains |
| Dairy | Typically contains |
| Eggs | Typically contains |
| Celery | Often contains |
| Sulphites | Often contains |
| Tree nuts | Rarely contains |
| Peanuts | Rarely contains |
| Shellfish | Rarely contains |
| Fish | Rarely contains |
| Soy | Rarely contains |
| Sesame | Rarely contains |
| Diet | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Vegetarian | Depends — Only lasagne alle verdure or other meat-free versions; the classic recipe has meat ragù, and Italian hard cheeses use animal rennet. |
| Vegan | No |
| Pescatarian | Depends — Only vegetable or seafood versions; the classic recipe has meat ragù. |
| Halal | No |
| Kosher | No |
| Gluten-free | No |
Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.
Lasagne alla bolognese
In Bologna, lasagne are made with thin sheets of fresh egg pasta, often coloured green with spinach (lasagne verdi). Each layer gets a spoonful of ragù alla bolognese, a little béchamel and grated parmigiano reggiano, and the dish bakes until the top is golden and crisp at the edges. It rests before cutting, so a portion comes out as a neat, layered square. There's usually no mozzarella or ricotta in the Bolognese version.
Other Italian lasagne
Southern Italy has its own versions. Lasagne di Carnevale from Naples, eaten before Lent, is layered with ricotta, mozzarella, small fried meatballs, sausage and hard-boiled egg in a tomato-based Neapolitan ragù, with no béchamel. Liguria makes lasagne with pesto, so those contain nuts. Many restaurants also offer lasagne alle verdure with vegetables, or seafood lasagne on the coast.
Outside Italy, lasagna is often heavier, with more tomato, mozzarella or ricotta in place of béchamel.
Typical price
Median price 12 EUR
Typical range 9–16.5 EUR.
Median of 45 menus, 2025-04 – 2026-05. Basis: Italian-language menus scanned with MenuGuide.
How to order it
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Vorrei le lasagne, per favore. | I'd like the lasagne, please. |
| Avete delle lasagne vegetariane? | Do you have a vegetarian lasagne? |
| C'è il sedano nel ragù? Sono allergico. | Is there celery in the ragù? I'm allergic. |
Not to be confused with
- Parmigiana di melanzane — Layers of fried aubergine instead of pasta, with tomato and cheese.
- Cannelloni — Tubes of pasta filled with meat or ricotta and baked, rather than flat layers.
- Moussaka — Greek bake of aubergine, minced meat and béchamel, with no pasta.
Frequently asked questions
Is it lasagne or lasagna?
Both are correct. In Italy the dish is usually called lasagne, the plural, because it's made from several sheets of pasta; one sheet is a lasagna. American English adopted the singular, lasagna, while British English often uses lasagne. On an Italian menu you'll mostly see lasagne or lasagne al forno.
Does lasagne have béchamel or ricotta?
It depends on the region. Lasagne alla bolognese, the most common version in Italy, uses béchamel, ragù and parmigiano, with no ricotta. Neapolitan lasagne and many Italian-American recipes use ricotta and mozzarella instead of béchamel. Either way, lasagne typically contains several kinds of dairy, as well as egg pasta and wheat flour.
Is lasagne gluten free?
No, not normally. The pasta sheets are made from wheat, and béchamel is thickened with wheat flour, so lasagne typically contains gluten twice over. Some restaurants in Italy make gluten-free lasagne on request or for special menus, but it isn't standard. If you have coeliac disease, choose a dish where only the pasta needs swapping.
How do you pronounce lasagne?
Say lah-ZAHN-nyeh, with the stress on the middle syllable. The s sounds like a z, and the gn sounds like the ny in canyon. The final e is pronounced, as "eh". In IPA it's [laˈzaɲɲe]. The singular lasagna is said lah-ZAHN-nyah.
