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Baked lasagna layered with green spinach fresh pasta, Bolognese ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano
Serves8 servings
CuisineItalian
Europe

Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese: Bologna-Style Green Lasagna with Spinach Egg Pasta

How to make lasagne verdi alla bolognese, the Bologna-style green lasagna that layers hand-rolled spinach egg pasta with ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Based on the registered recipe published by Bologna's official tourist site, it covers the ingredients for 8 servings, the ragù, the béchamel, boiling and layering the sheets, baking at about 180°C, resting before cutting, and how to judge substitutions outside Italy.

Level: Intermediate

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 9

Boil, squeeze and chop the spinach

Boiled spinach wrapped in a clean cloth and squeezed firmly to remove the water
Squeeze the boiled spinach well before chopping and weighing

Boil the spinach, then squeeze out the water firmly, for example by wrapping it in a clean cloth and twisting. Chop it finely and weigh out 350 g. Spinach that still holds water makes the dough wet, so check that it is well drained before moving on.

STEP 22 / 9

Knead the green egg dough

Chopped spinach and eggs mixed into flour and kneaded into a pale-green pasta dough
Knead until the dough holds together with natural green flecks

Combine 700 g 00 flour, 3 eggs and the 350 g chopped spinach, and knead into a cohesive, pale-green dough. Add extra flour only if the dough is too moist from the spinach, and keep any addition to the minimum.

STEP 33 / 9

Roll out the dough and cut rectangles

Pale-green pasta dough rolled out and cut into rectangular sheets to fit the baking dish
Cut the rolled sheets into rectangles of about 15 × 10 cm

Roll the dough thin with a rolling pin or pasta machine, but not so thin that it tears. The recipe does not give a thickness. Cut it into rectangles of about 15 × 10 cm, or a size a little smaller than your dish.

STEP 44 / 9

Simmer the ragù and weigh out 1 kg

Bolognese ragù of beef, pancetta, aromatic vegetables and tomato simmering in a pot
Simmer the ragù gently, covered, adding broth only as needed

Render the finely chopped pancetta in the heavy pot, then add 6 tbsp olive oil or 100 g butter. Add the finely chopped carrot, celery and onion and let them soften gently. Add the ground beef and brown it, then pour in the wine and let it evaporate completely. Add the tomato sauce, cover and simmer over low heat for about two hours, adding a little broth if it cooks down too far. Add the milk near the end, and season with salt and pepper.

Once it is cooked, weigh out 1 kg for the lasagna and keep the rest separately. If the batch is short of 1 kg, make more with the same proportions; don't add water or milk to make up the weight.

STEP 55 / 9

Make the béchamel

Milk added to butter and flour and stirred into a smooth béchamel in a saucepan
A smooth, creamy béchamel that spreads lightly

Melt 100 g butter and combine it with 100 g flour. Add 1 L whole milk gradually while stirring, and heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Aim for a creamy béchamel that spreads easily in a thin layer.

STEP 66 / 9

Boil the sheets until they float, then cool and dry

Green fresh pasta sheet boiled in salted water and lifted out with a skimmer as it floats
Lift each sheet out as soon as it floats, then cool and dry it on a cloth

Fill a large pot three-quarters full with salted water and bring it to a full boil. Add the sheets a few at a time and lift each one out as soon as it floats. Pass it briefly through cold water, then lay it on a clean cloth to dry, without stacking the sheets on top of each other.

STEP 77 / 9

Build at least six layers

Green pasta sheets layered with ragù, béchamel and grated Parmigiano in a baking dish
Thin béchamel, even ragù, a little butter and grated Parmigiano on each sheet

Butter the baking dish and spread a little ragù and béchamel over the bottom. Lay down a sheet of pasta, then a thin layer of béchamel, a generous but not excessive layer of ragù, a little butter and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Spread each layer evenly to avoid air pockets, and prick the pasta with a toothpick in 3–4 places. Repeat for at least six layers.

Finish with a final sheet of pasta. Spread over it a little ragù and béchamel mixed together, then add a little butter and Parmigiano, and a knob of butter in each of the four corners of the dish. The roughly 200 g of assembly butter is used across the dish, the layers and the corners; there is no need to divide it mechanically into equal portions.

STEP 88 / 9

Bake at about 180°C

Green Bologna-style lasagna baked at about 180°C with a browned top
A browned Parmigiano top and green pasta visible at the edges

Bake in an oven preheated to about 180°C for 25–30 minutes. Ovens and dishes vary, so watch for a browned top and layers that hold together, not only the clock.

STEP 99 / 9

Rest for 5 minutes, then cut

A slice of lasagna after 5 minutes of rest, showing layers of green pasta, ragù and béchamel
After resting, the cut layers of green pasta, ragù and béchamel hold their shape

Take the dish out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting. The aim is for each portion to keep its layers standing when it is lifted onto the plate.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

1 / 4

Green pasta (sfoglia verde)

Ingredient Amount Role and notes
00 flour (farina 00) 700 g The base of the green sheets
Fresh eggs (uova fresche) 3 Bind the dough
Spinach, boiled, well squeezed and chopped (spinaci lessati, strizzati bene e tritati) 350 g Colour and flavour. Weigh after boiling and squeezing
Salted water (acqua salata) as needed For boiling the sheets. Fill the pot three-quarters full
2 / 4

Ragù (Bologna Welcome ragù, all ingredients doubled)

Ingredient Amount Role and notes
Coarsely ground beef (polpa di manzo macinata grossa) 600 g The meat of the ragù
Pork pancetta (pancetta di maiale) 300 g Fat and meaty flavour. Finely chopped
Carrot (carota gialla) 100 g Finely chopped, for the soffritto
Celery stalk (costa di sedano) 100 g Finely chopped, for the soffritto
Onion (cipolla) 100 g Finely chopped, for the soffritto
Tomato sauce (salsa di pomodoro) 10 tbsp Passata or peeled tomatoes (pelati) are also listed as options
Dry white wine (vino bianco secco) 1 bicchiere (glass) For the ragù
Whole milk (latte intero) 1 bicchiere (glass) Added near the end. Separate from the béchamel milk
Olive oil, or butter 6 tbsp oil, or 100 g butter Choose one, not both
Broth (brodo) a little, as needed Add in small amounts if it cooks down too far
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
3 / 4

Béchamel

Ingredient Amount Role and notes
00 flour (farina 00) 100 g Thickens the sauce
Butter (burro) 100 g For the roux, with the 100 g flour and 1 L milk
Whole milk (latte fresco intero) 1 L
Fine salt (sale fino) and nutmeg (noce moscata) to taste No amounts given in the recipe
4 / 4

Assembly

Ingredient Amount Role and notes
Finished ragù 1 kg Weighed from the doubled batch above
Aged Parmigiano-Reggiano (stagionato) 400 g Grated fresh from the block
Butter (burro) about 200 g For the dish, the layers and the corners. Separate from the 100 g in the béchamel
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Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese: Green Layers That Stand When You Cut Them

What this dish should keep

Pale-green spinach egg pasta, a ragù that is generous but not excessive, béchamel spread in thin creamy layers, and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Build at least six layers, bake, and let the dish rest for 5 minutes so the layers hold when you cut.

The rectangular dish comes out of the oven with a browned top of Parmigiano, and then it waits. After 5 minutes of rest, the first square is cut and lifted onto a plate, and the aim is for the layers to stand: green pasta, ragù, béchamel and cheese, one on top of the other. That moment is what the registered Bologna recipe works toward.

"Lasagna" on its own can mean many different baked dishes. This article is about one specific form: lasagne verdi alla bolognese, the green lasagna of Bologna, Italy. Its sheets are a fresh egg pasta coloured with spinach, layered with Bolognese ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano and baked. It is a project for a day with time in the kitchen, since the dough is made and rolled by hand and the ragù simmers for about two hours.

What Makes It Bolognese: Green Sheets, Ragù, Béchamel and Parmigiano

The Bologna style is defined by its four components. Emilia-Romagna's regional tourism office describes green Bolognese lasagna as fresh green egg pasta layered with ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the recipe published by Bologna Welcome, the city's official tourist information site, is built from exactly these parts.

This is not the same dish as every baked layered dish that shares the name or the look. Southern Italian festive lasagna is a separate tradition and is not covered here. Greek moussaka, which layers aubergine, meat and béchamel, is a different dish, and so is Georgian achma, a layered pie of boiled dough, cheese and butter that is sometimes called "Georgian lasagna" in English. Keeping these apart makes it easier to see what the green Bologna version is.

Ingredients: Serves 8, in a 25 × 35 cm Dish at Least 6 cm Deep

Components for green lasagna gathered before assembly, including a bowl of finished ragù
The assembly components laid out, with the ragù already cooked

These amounts follow the registered recipe on Bologna Welcome for 8 servings in a 25 × 35 cm baking dish at least 6 cm deep. The recipe calls for 1 kg of finished ragù. For the ragù itself, this article uses Bologna Welcome's separate ragù recipe with every ingredient doubled, then weighs out 1 kg once it is cooked.

The doubled batch has not been weighed after cooking, so its finished yield is not known. Set aside anything beyond 1 kg separately. If the batch comes up short of 1 kg, make more with the same proportions rather than adding water or milk to reach the weight.

Allergens

This dish contains wheat (gluten), egg and milk (whole milk, butter and aged cheese). The substitutions below are about flavour and texture; none of them is offered as a safe option for people with allergies. If you use store-bought products, check their labels.

Equipment

  • Baking dish, 25 × 35 cm and at least 6 cm deep
  • Large deep pot for boiling the sheets
  • Heavy pot large enough to sauté and simmer the doubled ragù (the roughly 20 cm pot in the original ragù recipe is sized for the single batch)
  • Small saucepan for the béchamel
  • Rolling pin or pasta machine
  • Knife
  • Wooden spoon
  • Skimmer or slotted spoon
  • Clean cotton or linen cloths
  • Toothpick
  • Kitchen scale
  • Oven

Choosing and Substituting Outside Italy

00 flour. If you can't find it, all-purpose flour is a possible editorial substitute, but expect a difference in elasticity and in how much moisture the dough takes up. How much liquid or flour to adjust has not been tested, so don't treat it as a one-to-one swap. Don't mix bread flour and cake flour to imitate it without good reason.

Spinach. If you start from fresh spinach, boil it, squeeze it hard and weigh out 350 g after draining. Frozen spinach should be thawed and squeezed well. The point is to match the recipe's state: cooked, squeezed and chopped.

Parmigiano-Reggiano. Grate it from the block just before assembling. Ordinary pre-grated "parmesan-style" cheese is not the same thing. If Parmigiano-Reggiano is hard to find, another hard aged cheese can stand in, but the flavour will change.

Pancetta. The ragù recipe calls for pancetta di maiale but does not say whether it should be fresh or cured. Pork belly is a reasonable candidate; don't assume that cured products or local bacon are the same ingredient.

Beef. The ragù recipe gives cuts such as cartella, pancia, fesone di spalla and fusello, coarsely ground. Coarsely ground beef works, though the fat ratio may differ from those cuts.

Wine. If you want to avoid alcohol, the wine can be left out, but the ragù will taste different.

Dairy. A dairy-free version changes both the flavour and the thickness of the béchamel, and becomes a different dish.

Method: From Spinach to the First Cut Square

Planning your time

The ragù (step 4) simmers gently for about two hours in the original single-batch recipe; the cooking time for the doubled batch has not been measured. You can start the ragù first and make the pasta dough and béchamel while it simmers. The recipe does not give a total time for the dough, béchamel, assembly and baking.

Wet Dough, Torn Sheets, Collapsing Slices: Fixing Problems

Problem Likely cause What to do
The dough is too wet The spinach still held water Squeeze the boiled spinach thoroughly before chopping. Check the dough's moisture before adding any flour, and add only the minimum
Sheets tear or stick in the pot Too many sheets at once, or left in too long Boil a few at a time, lift each out as soon as it floats, and dry them on a cloth without stacking
Gaps form between layers Uneven sauce, trapped air Spread the ragù and béchamel thinly and evenly, press out air, and prick the sheets with a toothpick in 3–4 places
The lasagna tastes heavy Too much ragù or too thick a béchamel Keep the ragù generous but not excessive, and the béchamel a thin creamy layer
Slices fall apart when cut Cut straight from the oven Let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting

Variations Beyond the Registered Recipe

These are departures from the registered recipe, offered as practical options rather than as the Bologna version itself.

  1. All-purpose flour instead of 00. The texture changes, and how much moisture the dough needs has not been tested.
  2. Fresh spinach. Boil and drain it, then weigh 350 g after squeezing so the dough isn't wet.
  3. No pasta machine. Roll by hand with a rolling pin. The recipe gives no thickness, so roll thin while keeping the sheets from tearing.
  4. Start with the ragù. Begin the long simmer first, then prepare the pasta and béchamel during the same cooking session. The sources used here give no storage guidance, so this article does not provide make-ahead storage instructions.
  5. Dried lasagna sheets or plain yellow fresh pasta. A practical alternative, but the aroma and texture of the green sfoglia will be different. Cook them according to the package, not the boiling instructions in this recipe.

Origins and the Bologna Table

The recipe followed here is a registered one. According to Bologna Welcome and the city library's Bologna Online chronology, the Accademia Italiana della Cucina set down the recipe for Bologna's green lasagna in 2003 and deposited it with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on 4 July 2003. Bologna Online also notes that the deposited recipe appears in the 1930s and includes béchamel. Words related to "lasagne" are much older, but that does not mean today's baked, layered dish existed in the same form long ago, and this article does not treat older dishes as the same thing.

The green pasta belongs to a wider tradition. Emilia-Romagna's tourism office describes handmade egg pasta as a defining part of the region's food, and Bologna Online records that the green dough of the deposited lasagna contains spinach as well as flour and eggs. The ragù is closely tied to the city too: Bologna Welcome presents its ragù recipe as the updated version of the classic formula deposited in 1982 by the Bologna delegation of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina.

For another example of the region's filled egg pasta, see tortellini.

A registered recipe is a reference point, not a rule every kitchen follows. The regional tourism office also notes that traditional dishes vary from family to family and place to place. The registered version is one clear standard to cook from, alongside the many household versions of the same dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a lasagna "alla bolognese"?

In the version followed here, it is the combination of green egg pasta made with spinach, Bolognese ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano, layered and baked.

What gives the pasta its green colour?

Spinach: 350 g of spinach that has been boiled, squeezed well and chopped, kneaded into 700 g of 00 flour with 3 eggs.

Can I use dried lasagna sheets?

You can as a variation, but it is a different result from the registered hand-made green sfoglia. Follow the package directions for cooking the sheets rather than this recipe's "boil until they float" step.

How many layers should it have?

The recipe calls for at least six layers.

What temperature and how long do I bake it?

In an oven preheated to about 180°C for 25–30 minutes. Ovens and dishes vary, so check for a browned top and layers that hold. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Why weigh the ragù instead of using the whole batch?

The lasagna recipe calls for 1 kg of finished ragù, while the ragù recipe does not state how much it yields. Doubling the ragù recipe and weighing out 1 kg after cooking keeps the lasagna's proportions; if you come up short, make more ragù with the same proportions rather than adding water.

Sources