If you like the Swiss cheese, mushroom melt style burger then you will love this Creamy Mushroom Lasagna with Ground Beef!
It is very hearty and filling- like comfort food should be. Did you know that lasagna can be elevated to Holiday entertaining status? If that holds any appeal to you you may be interested in this fancier Mushroom Marsala Lasagna that is a Christmas tradition in Italy.
I said 10 servings but depending on the appetite of your crowd you might get 12 servings. Especially if you are serving a salad on the side or other courses.
Chef's Tips for Creamy Mushroom Lasagna With Ground Beef
- I used large white mushrooms but you could use Cremini, Portabellas as well. The key is to slice them thickly so they don't disappear in the beef mixture.
- You could make the beef/mushroom mixture the day before if you like.
- I also made the garlic broth the day ahead and let the garlic steep in it overnight.
- I don't recommend the oven ready lasagna noodles because the béchamel sauce here is very thick. There isn't a lot of excess moisture to help soften the noodles as they bake.
- You could also assemble the whole lasagna the day before serving. If you are baking it right out of the fridge you will need to add another 15 minutes or so to the bake time.
Wine Pairing for Creamy Mushroom Lasagna With Ground Beef
Pairing with mushrooms can be tricky.
First choice here is a medium bodied red. The white sauce is milder than a spicy tomato sauce so a medium bodied Sangiovese or Barbera would work well there. I served it with a medium bodied Malbec and it was delicious.
As a nod to the beef and mushrooms I would try any wine with a description of mushroom, forest floor, earthiness. A Pinot Noir could fit this bill nicely as well.
On the white side I would go bold and rich here with an oaked Chardonnay, a Soave Classico or an oaked Chenin Blanc.
Creamy Mushroom Lasagna With Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsps olive oil divided 1+ 1
- 2 lbs mushrooms trimmed and thickly sliced
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 2 large onions diced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups milk
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup butter
- ⅔ cup flour
- 3 cups Gruyère cheese, grated can substitute Swiss
- ⅓ cup fresh Parmesan grated
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 lb lasagna noodles (not oven ready)
- 1 ½ cups fresh Parmesan grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Toss mushroom slices in 1 tablespoon olive oil and transfer to a baking dish. Bake about 45 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Drain off excess liquid partway through. Drain off any excess liquid when mushrooms are done. Reduce oven to 350°.
- Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large skillet. Add onions and sauté about 8 minutes. Add ground beef and brown over medium high heat. Add rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to the skillet. Combine beef and mushrooms and set aside.
- Heat milk, broth, bay leaf and garlic to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow mixture to stand at least 10 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Whisk in flour and cook about 2 minutes. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add Gruyère cheese, ⅓ cup Parmesan and nutmeg. Set sauce aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook according to package instructions. You can reduce cook time by a couple of minutes since noodles will finish cooking in the oven. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
- Spray a deep 13 X 9" baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1 ½ cups of sauce over bottom of baking dish. Arrange ⅓ of noodles to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Top noodle layer with ⅓ remaining sauce. Layer half the beef/mushroom mixture over the sauce. Arrange another layer of noodles, half the remaining sauce and the remaining beef/mushroom mixture. Top with the last layer of noodles and remaining sauce. Spread the 1 ½ cups of Parmesan evenly over top of the casserole.
- Cover the lasagna with foil. Bake 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake a further 20 minutes till top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling.
- Let lasagna stand 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.
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