Meaty Chili Lasagna Recipes

MAKE-AHEAD CHILI & CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown meat with garlic in large skillet. Add next 7 ingredients; stir. Simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally.
• Spread 2 cups meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of 3 noodles, 1/2 cup each cottage cheese and shredded cheese, and 2 cups of the remaining meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Cool. Wrap tightly in foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Refrigerate overnight to thaw.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Unwrap lasagna, leaving just top covered with foil. Bake 1 hour 10 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 1 hour. Let stand 10 min. before cutting to serve.

CHILLI LASAGNE

Steps:

• Make the Chili Con Carne first:. Heat up the oil in a large, high-sided pan. Add the onions and cook on medium/high for about 10 minutes until they're soft and translucent. Add in the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add in the mince and cook until just brown. Break any large pieces up with a wooden spoon. Add in the red peppers and cook for another minute.
• Add in the red wine, bring it to the bubble and simmer for 3 minutes.
• In a cup, mix the stock cubes and honey with the boiling water. Pour it into the pan and give it a stir.
• Add in the ground coriander, mixed herbs, smoked paprika, cumin, ginger, chilli powder, chipotle paste, fresh chilli, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and tomato ketchup. Give it all a mix and cook for a 2 or 3 minutes.
• Add in the tinned tomatoes and bring to a simmer, stirring a couple of times. Add the chocolate and stir in until the chocolate has melted.
• Leave to simmer gently, half covered for 1 hour. Give it a stir every so often.
• After an hour, add in your kidney beans and mixed beans. Give them a stir and allow the chilli to simmer for another 20 minutes.
• Your Chilli-con-carne will be ready at this point. So you can take out half, cool and cover it. Then refrigerate or freeze it for another day. The portion that you put away should serve 4 people.
• Now you can start to make your lasagne. Preheat the oven to 200c/400f.
• Start by making the béchamel sauce - In a medium sized sauce pan, add the butter and melt over a medium heat. Once melted and bubbling slightly, add in the flour and whisk it into the butter. This is called a roux. It's important to use a whisk to help prevent lumps in your sauce. Keep gently whisking the roux over the heat for 1 or two minutes. Add in a good splash of milk, turn up the heat and whisk to incorporate. Then keep adding in the milk a good splash at a time, and whisking until all the milk is used up (this normally takes me about 3 or 4 minutes and I add the milk in about 5 splashes). Don't worry if you get a few lumps, keep whisking and they will disappear as the sauce thickens. Keep stirring the sauce with the whisk over the heat until your sauce thickens. Once thickened, add in the salt & pepper, the nutmeg and the half of the cheddar cheese. Stir together and then turn off the heat.
• Now it's time to construct your lasagne. I use 4 individual lasagne dishes, but you can use one larger family sized one (approx. 23cmx18cm) instead. Divide a third of your chilli between the lasagne dishes and flatten it so it covers the base. Then add a layer of lasagne sheet(s). I break my sheets up to make them fit the dish. Next spread a third of your béchamel onto top. Now add another third of the chilli, and place a layer of lasagne sheets on top. Spread on another third of the béchamel , then the remaining chilli, followed by the remaining béchamel. So you have two layers of lasagne and three layers of chilli/béchamel altogether. The lasagne should just reach the top of the dish (you may have a little of the sauce leftover - depending on the size of your dishes.
• Sprinkle on the remaining cheddar and place in the oven. bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden and the lasagne is bubbling slightly at the edges. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• Serve with coriander, soured cream, chopped fresh chillies and thinly sliced red onion.

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

CLASSIC AND SIMPLE MEAT LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the lasagna noodles a few at a time, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Remove the noodles to a plate.
• Place the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat, add the garlic, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Cook the meat, chopping it into small chunks as it cooks, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease.
• In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and Parmesan cheese until thoroughly combined.
• Place 4 noodles side by side into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan; top with a layer of the tomato-basil sauce, a layer of ground beef mixture, and a layer of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice more, ending with a layer of sauce; sprinkle top with the mozzarella cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese has begun to brown, about 10 more minutes. Allow to stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

CHILI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions; drain.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 2 cups Cheddar cheese, 2 sliced scallions, the corn, egg, salt, and pepper; mix well.
• Spread 3/4 cup chili over the bottom of the baking dish.
• Place 3 lasagna noodles over the chili.
• Place half of the ricotta mixture evenly over the noodles then top with half of the remaining chili.
• Place 3 noodles over the chili then top with the remaining chili.
• Place the 3 remaining noodles over the chili
• Top with the remaining cheese mixture then top with the remaining chili.
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Remove the foil and sprinkle the lasagna with the remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese.
• Bake for 10 more minutes.
• Remove the oven.
• Sprinkle with the remaining scallions; and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
• OPTION: For a spicier dish, add some hot pepper sauce and/or chili powder to the canned chili before assembling the lasagna.

HEARTY MEAT LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, garlic and dried herbs; cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables soften.
• Crumble in beef and pork and brown all over, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato juice, chili sauce, tomato paste and Worcestershire Sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Spread 1/4 of the sauce in to a 13- x 9-in (3 L) casserole dish. Top with 3 noodles. Layer with 1/4 more sauce and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers twice, ending with cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

COWBOY CHILI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Set out a 9X13 inch baking dish. Then set a large saucepot on the stovetop over medium heat.
• Add the ground beef and chorizo to the saucepot. Break the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Brown for several minutes, stirring to make sure the meat doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Then push the meat to the sides of the pot and add the chopped onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes to soften the vegetables.
• Add the kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, ancho chile, cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro.
• Meanwhile, determine whether you can fit 3 or 4 lasagna noodles in the pan in a single layer. Then either lay 9 or 12 lasagna noodles out on the countertop. (To make three layers.) Spread an equal amount of cream cheese over each dried lasagna noodle.
• Spread a small amount of chili over the bottom of the baking dish. Add 3-4 lasagna noodles, in a single layer, over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 1 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese over the noodles. Then add 2 large ladels of chili over the cheese and spread it out in an even layer.
• Add a second layer of lasagna noodles with cream cheese, 1 1/3 cup shredded cheese, and chili in the same order as the first layer. On the final layer, add the lasagna noodles, all the remaining chili, then place the remaining 1 1/3 cups cheese on top of the chili.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the edges of the lasagna are bubbling, and the cheese is melted. Allow the lasagna to sit at least 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

CHILLI LASAGNE

Steps:

• Chop the onions and peppers and fry with the olive oil. Once soft add the mince and fry until brown. Drain off excess fat if required.
• Add to the mince the tomoatoes, kidney beans, oxo cubes, garlic, tomatoe puree, worchestershire sauce, salt, celery salt, chillies, cumin and slowly bring to the boil, stiring every few minutes.
• Drop the heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes, the longer you simmer for the thicker the sauce will become, stirring every few minutes. Taste the mixture and decide if you would like to add more seasoning. Then remove from the heat. Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Prepare the cheese sauce.
• Using a large and deep lasagne bowl layer the bottom with lasagne sheets, spoon on half the mince mixture to cover the sheets, then pour a thin layer of the cheese sauce.
• Add another layer of lasagne sheets, then the remainder of the mince mixture and another thin layer of cheese sauce.
• Add a top layer of lasagne sheets and cover with the remainder of the cheese sauce. Cover then with a full layer of grated cheese then spread the jalapenos across the top.
• Place into the pre heated over for approximately 40 minutes or until the cheese starts to turn golden brown.