Pinoy Lasagna Recipe is a Filipino style lasagna that is mix with ground beef, hotdog, cheese, tomato sauce & ketchup. It is considered a sweet version lasagna which is an inspired Filipino spaghetti.
One time, when I invited my relatives for dinner at my house, I decided to make something different, where I use a lasagna sheet instead of spaghetti. The Filipino lasagna recipe I made is different than the Italian or American style Lasagna you see in the restaurant. My lasagna is sweet, and here in the Philippines, we love making our red pasta dish sweet.
Surprisingly, my relative loves my lasagna since it reminds them of the taste of the spaghetti. I am using duplicated ingredients of my Filipino style spaghetti, except it has cheese and bechamel sauce.
If you like Filipino spaghetti, then you will love my Pinoy lasagna recipe, which is sweet, but at the same time, it is cheesy and delicious.
Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients of my Pinoy lasagna recipe is similar to spaghetti, except I add bechamel sauce and cheese.
MEAT: I am using beef hot dog and ground beef for my lasagna dish.
RED SAUCE: For making the red sauce, I am using tomato ketchup, Oyster sauce, and any Filipino pasta sauce that you can find in any grocery stores. Alternatively, you can use tomato sauce instead of pasta sauce. The oyster sauce gives a nice enhancement of the seasoning of the sauce.
CHEESE: To add a cheese topping in the top layer of the lasagna, I am using cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. These two cheeses blend well for my filipino lasagna recipe.
PASTA: The type of pasta I am using is a Lasagna Sheet. In this recipe, the lasagna I have requires boiling, but you can buy oven-ready lasagna if you like.
SPICE AND HERBS: Like any pasta dish, we use garlic and onion when sauteing and mixing them with the meat and the sauce.
BECHAMEL SAUCE: The bechamel sauce is important component of the Lasagna recipe. It helps moisten each layer of the sheet and gives a nice creaminess of the lasagna. To make the white sauce, I use cheddar cheese, milk, and unsalted butter. I like using cheddar cheese since its saltiness can help balance the sweetness of the red sauce.
COOKING OIL: Lastly, I am using vegetable oil when cooking the onion, garlic, ground beef and the other ingredients.
Cooking Instruction
Cooking the Pinoy lasagna recipe is more time consuming than cooking spaghetti, but I promise you it is worth it since it is delicious.
Cooking this Filipino lasagna recipe is divided into 4 steps: Making the Red Sauce with the Meat; Making the Bechamel Sauce; Boiling the Lasagna Sheet; Assembling & Baking the Lasagna.
I. Making the Red Sauce with the Meat
Firstly, add vegetable oil in the cooking pot. Once it becomes hot, add onion and garlic. Stir for few minutes till it is cook. Later, add a chopped hot dog and stir to mix for 3 minutes.
Add the ground beef and give a quick stir. Cover the pot with the lid and let it saute for several minutes till there are only fewer juices of the ground beef. After that, add oyster sauce, tomato ketchup, and Filipino pasta sauce and stir to mix. Add water if needed, and then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and black pepper for a taste before turning off the heat.
II. Making the Bechamel Sauce
Add a tablespoon of butter on the pan. Once the butter fully melted, add milk and 2 tablespoons of grated cheddar cheese. Give a slow stir for few minutes till the cheese fully dissolve.
III. Boiling the Lasagna Sheet
Fill up the pot with water, a pinch of salt, and vegetable oil. Once it started to boil, add the lasagna sheet in the cooking pot. Cook it for 5 minutes or based on the instruction given.
Once you are done, drain the cooked lasagna sheet in a colander. Soak the sheet with cold water to prevent sticking together while preparing the sauce.
IV. Assembling the Lasagna
Using a Lasagna Pan, spread the red sauce first, followed by the cooked lasagna sheet, and then the white bechamel sauce.
Repeat the second and third layers until you fill-up the pan. Make sure the red sauce should be the last to spread before topping with mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
Preheat the oven in 190 C or 375 F and wait for few minutes. Once it becomes hot, cover the pan with foil and transfer into the oven. Let it bake for 30 minutes. Once done, remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to let the cheese fully melted.
Lastly, remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool down for a few minutes before serving.
Questions and Answers
I. How to prevent the Lasagna Sheet from sticking each other?
When filling the water in the pot, make sure you add vegetable oil before putting the lasagna sheet. It will help prevent sticking each other.
Also, once you drain the sheet in the colander after cooking them, you can either rinse or soak it in cold water. It will do the trick.
II. Can I use oven ready lasagna sheet instead of regular lasagna sheet?
Yes. You can buy a lasagna sheet in any grocery store that does not require boiling. However, do take note when using an oven-ready lasagna sheet, you need to bake it for 50 minutes instead of 30 minutes with covered foil, and 10 minutes without foil.
III. Can I store this Filipino Lasagna Recipe in the Freezer or Fridge for later use?
You can store the Lasagna in the fridge or freezer to help stay the food fresh and prevent early spoiling. In my experience, keeping in the fridge can stores for 5 to 7 days, while in the freezer, it can last up to 2 months.
IV. What do you serve Lasagna with?
To me, I like to serve my Pinoy Lasagna recipe with something crispy like my Homemade Garlic Bread. Also, I like to serve it with salad such as Shepherd salad since it helps balance the meal.
Related Pasta and Noodle Recipes
Here are other pasta and noodle recipes you may like to try cooking in your kitchen.
📋 Recipe Card
Pinoy Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 gram of Lasagna Sheet
- 500 gram of Ground Beef
- 250 gram of chopped hot dog
- 1.5 cup of Grated Cheddar Cheese
- 1.5 cup of grated Mozzarella Cheese
- Chopped Onion
- Chopped Garlic
- 1 cup Tomato Ketchup
- 1 cup Filipino Sweet Pasta Sauce or Tomato Sauce
- 3 tablespoon Vegetable Cooking Oil
- 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- Salt and Black Pepper for Taste
Ingredients of Bechamel Sauce
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- 1.5 cup of low fat milk
- 3 tablespoon of grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
Cooking the Red Meat Sauce
- Turn on the fire in medium heat and add vegetable cooking oil in a large pot.
- Once the oil is hot, add chopped onion and then garlic. Stir for few minutes till it is almost cook
- Add a chopped hot dog and give a quick stir for a few minutes.
- Once the hot dogs look cooked, add ground beef and stir to mix.
- Cover with the lid and let it simmer for few minutes till the juices of the ground beef fully evaporate.
- Add the tomato ketchup, Filipino pasta sauce, and oyster sauce and stir to mix.
- Lower the fire to low heat, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of water if the sauce looks thick.
- Season with salt and black pepper for a taste before turning off the fire
Cooking the Bechamel Sauce
- Add unsalted butter in the separate pan.
- Once the butter fully melted, add milk followed by cheese.
- Slowly stir the white sauce for 1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.
Boiling the Lasagna Sheet
- In a separate pot, fill it up with water and add salt and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- When the water started to boil, add the lasagna sheet and slowly stir till the sheet is fully soaked in the water.
- Lower the fire and let it cook for 6 minutes or based on the instruction mentioned in the item
- Turn off the heat, and transfer the lasagna sheet into the colander to drain the water.
- After that, rinse or soaked it in cold water to prevent sticking with each other.
Assembling and Baking the Lasagna
- For the first layer, spread first with red sauce, followed by the lasagna sheet and then the white béchamel sauce in a lasagna sheet
- For the second and third layer, repeat the process until you fill-up the pan.
- Add the red meat sauce above the layer of the lasagna sheet and then topped it with cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
- Preheat the oven in 190 C or 375 F. While waiting for it to become hot, cover the pan with foil
- Once the oven is hot, transfer the pan there and let it baked for 30 minutes.
- Once done, remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to let the cheese fully melted.
- Remove from the oven, and let it cool down before serving. Bon Appetite!
veenaazmanov
Love the dish and love your presentation. Superb description to making this recipe. It looks so creamy and cheesy and best meal for the weekend when family is home.
Saif
Thank you. It is a perfect meal for families and kids. I am sure you will love it.
Nart at Cooking with Nart
I've never had or heard of this before but it looks so delicious. Gonna give it a try!
Saif
This is a Filipino style lasagna which is sweet compared to Italian or American Lasagna. It might seem weird but if you love sweet pasta, then I am sure you will love this dish. Let me know if you make one.
Shashi at SavorySpin
I'm fascinated by that sweet Filipino pasta sauce. What a unique twist on lasagna - sounds simply mouthwatering!
Saif
Thanks. Glad you like it
David
a very different lasagna than what I am used to, a nice change of pace! The bechamel sauce is great.
Nisha
Wonderful Lasagna recipe , the step by step pics are very helpful as well.
Saif
Thanks Nisha. Glad you find my recipe informative. That's why I like adding step by step pictures
Dannii
I love the idea of putting chopped up hot dog in a lasagna. Total comfort food.