I recently published my recipe for low FODMAP bolognese. As I discussed in that post, I have recently started eating some meat due to histamine intolerance and suspected MCAS. I have a bit going on and a lot of vegetarian sources of protein are high histamine. This recipe is not low histamine but I just wanted to preface the change.
Onto our lasagne. This dish uses a hearty, rich low FODMAP bolognese as the meat sauce. The béchamel is made with cornstarch, butter, lactose free milk and freshly grated cheese. My choices for the cheese component are cheddar and parmesan for a strong and rich cream sauce.
Notes on the lasagne layering
My controversial opinion is that I don’t think gluten free lasagne sheets add much to lasagne. Sure, they help separate the layers of meat and cheese. But beyond that they are a pain to work with and always curl up into a Sydney Opera house aesthetic.
When developing my lasagne recipes, I always get confused as to the order of meat, cheese sauce and pasta. I assumed there must be some secret lasagne code that everyone knew and I didn’t. After some searching I discovered that there might be some tradition to how many layers, but ultimately people seem to be winging it. So, I have created a lasagne layering design of my own.
Firstly, we’re adding just a bit of meat to coat the bottom of the pan. Next up is a layer of pasta. After this, we are adding half of the remaining meat sauce. The meat sauce should be cooked and cooled so that it doesn’t bake into the cheese sauce without a dividing layer of pasta. Next, a layer of béchamel. Repeat that once and we have our lasagne. To recap:
- Thin layer of meat sauce (cooled before use)
- Layer of par-cooked gluten free lasagne sheets
- Half the remaining meat sauce (cooled before use)
- 1/3 – 1/2 the béchamel
- Second layer of par-cooked lasagne sheets
- The remaining meat sauce
- The remaining béchamel
I don’t know if the layering stresses anyone else out as much as it does to me so hopefully this helps. In my experience, adding too much pasta or layering the dish incorrectly actually does end up impacting the final taste of the lasagne so I wanted to make it very clear.
Using gluten free lasagne sheets
Another (maybe not so) controversial opinion: store bought gluten free lasagne sheets suck. I have yet to find one that works exactly as I want it straight from the packet.
After many years of denying it, I have come to accept that they need to be par-cooked to get the best out of them. If you don’t par-cook them and your meat sauce isn’t super liquid, the lasagne sheets end up sucking up moisture and making the lasagne dry. The top layer also needs to be heavily weighted down with sauce in order for them not to create abstract art in the oven.
I will say that if you aren’t willing to watch the boiling lasagne sheets and be constantly separating them as they cook, don’t bother par-boiling them. The result is a clumpy mess and a lot of broken lasagne sheets. This recipe does weigh the lasagne sheets down quite nicely so you should be ok.
If you intend to use raw lasagne sheets (that sounds wrong, sorry) I recommend making a slightly thinner bechamel (like the one specified in the recipe card) and a slightly thinner bolognese. This way there is some liquid for the sheets to soak up without making your lasagne too dry.
Recipe tips
- Making the bolognese ahead of time means a much easier assembly.
- I have listed a rough quantity for the herbs in the bolognese, but I personally could go much higher with the rosemary and the thyme. They add such a lovely savoury flavour and really round everything out.
- My personal opinion is that a lot of lasagne recipes online are too conservative with the cheese. Add however much you want to add – both cheddar and parmesan are low FODMAP in up to 500g serves. If you are not a fan of the piquancy of parmesan, skew the ratio more towards the cheddar. A truffle cheddar or smoked cheddar would also be delicious here.
- I actually prefer to and bake the lasagne the day/night before. That way everything has time to meld and settle, and the reheated leftovers (in the oven or the microwave) are firmer and more flavourful.
- One last controversial opinion: my preferred way to serve lasagne is to make the night before and then microwave it (slice by slice) to serve. The microwave melts everything beautifully without drying things out. If you don’t have a microwave, I recommend reheating it in an oven with a pot of boiling water in the base. This will introduce steamy heat rather than dry heat.
FODMAP notes
- The FODMAP notes for the bolognese are in the bolognese post. This post would become far too wordy if I included that here. However, it is low FODMAP even served alongside all this béchamel and cheese.
- Choose lactose free full fat milk for the best results. You can also use light milk if need, but this is not really a light dish! I haven’t tested dairy free milk or cheese in this recipe but I do have a low FODMAP vegan lasagne recipe and that bechamel would work well here.
- Monash semi recently introduced a threshold for butter, which I think is interesting. They say that butter is low FODMAP in serves of up to 143g. We are using much less, but it’s worth noting that FODMAP Friendly app says butter is FODMAP free. Use it in a way that works for you.
- Cornstarch is low FODMAP in serves of up to 328g per person. Again, much more than what we are using.
- Cheddar and parmesan are both low FODMAP in serves of up to 500g per person.
More low FODMAP pasta recipes
- Low FODMAP pasta
- Low FODMAP creamy mushroom pasta
- Gluten free beetroot pasta dough
- Low FODMAP pumpkin pasta
- Gluten free lasagne sheets
Low FODMAP lasagne (gluten free)
Equipment
- L31cm x W24cm x H6cm baking dish
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 1 X batch low FODMAP bolognese recipe linked in notes below
For the bechamel:
- 75 g butter
- 50-75 g cornstarch see notes
- 1.25 litres 1288g full fat lactose free milk
- 100-200 g sharp vintage cheddar
- 100-200 g parmesan freshly and finely grated
- Good pinch of nutmeg to your tastes
- Salt and pepper the pepper is optional to your tastes
- Squeeze of lemon juice optional to your tastes
For the pasta layers:
- 12 sheets 1-2 boxes of gluten free lasagne sheets (see notes)
Instructions
- Prepare the meat sauce with enough time for it to fully cool. I like to make mine the night before.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.
To make the bechamel:
- Weigh out your ingredients for the bechamel before you start. Grate the cheese yourself – store bought grated cheese contains fillers which prevent it from melting properly.
- Melt the butter in a large dutch oven or pot. Once melted, add the cornstarch and whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to cook off for a minute or two – it should melt into a paste like consistency.
- Add the milk and whisk to combine. Switch to a silicone spatula and stir intermittently for about 10-15 minutes. This will take less time if you add the higher amount of cornstarch, so keep an eye on it.
- The mixture is cooked once small bubbles appear all over the surface. If you dip your spatula into the sauce and run a finger along the back of the spoon, the line your finger left should remain. This bechamel is a little thinner than a regular bechamel to support the thirsty gluten free pasta. It will also thicken up once the cheese is added.
- When you are happy with the bechamel, take it off the heat and gradually stir in the freshly grated cheese. Doing this off the heat helps prevent the cheese (and thus the bechamel) from becoming stringy.
- Add the rest of the cheese, then stir in the seasoning and optional additions (nutmeg and lemon juice). Set aside.
To par boil the pasta sheets:
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil. The pot should be large enough to fit your lasagne sheets in.
- Boil the lasagne sheets 6 at a time, watching them like a hawk. I like to add them in 10 second increments in the hope it prevents them from sticking. Use a fork to keep them moving and separated. How long they take to cook will depend on the brand and the ingredients used. I used San Remo sheets which took about 5 minutes to par/mostly boil.
- Once boiled, use a slotted spatula to scoop them out decisively. I found that using tongs meant a lot more breakage than necessary. Lay them on a large baking sheet to cool to a hand comfortable temperature. Repeat with the second lot of 6 lasagne sheets.
To assemble and bake:
- Place a thin layer of meat on the base of your baking dish, spread out to the edges. If your bolognese is thick it might be a little tricky, but sparse coverage is fine as it will 'melt' in the oven.
- Top this with 6 lasagne sheets, then add ½ the meat sauce on top of that. Because it is cooled and I like a thick bolognese, I prefer to use my hands to spread it out evenly. Do whatever you prefer.
- Carefully top the meat sauce with 1/3 – ½ the bechamel. Arrange the next batch of par cooked lasagne sheets evenly on top, then add the remaining meat sauce. Spread it out evenly before topping with the remainder of the bechamel. Move carefully to avoid disturbing the bolognese underneath – I like to use a ladle to spoon and gently spread the bolognese out.
- Place the lasagne on a large oven tray to catch any overflow. Bake the lasagne for 30-40 minutes or until it is bubbling and the edges are golden brown. Flip to grill/broiler mode at 200C/400F and bake for another 5 or so minutes (watching it closely) until the whole top is golden brown.
- I like to make lasagne the night before but you can make it whenever you like. I recommend allowing it to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving as molten cheese and meat can be tricky to slice.
Notes
- Find my low FODMAP bolognese recipe here.
- See FODMAP notes in the body of the post.
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