Lasagna

**Lasagna** (, <small>also</small> , ; plural **lasagne**, ) are a type of wide, flat pasta. Dishes made with this kind of pasta are sometimes also called lasagna. The most famous lasagna dish is an Italian dish called lasagne alla bolognese. Most lasagna dishes are made of stacked layers of this flat pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù (a meat sauce or tomato sauce) and other vegetables, cheese (which may include ricotta and parmesan), and seasonings and spices such as garlic, oregano and basil.

## Origins and history

Lasagna originated in Italy during the Middle Ages, with the earliest written reference appearing in 1282. A Bolognese notary transcribed a ballad within the  mentioning the dish alongside gnocchi:

In 1284, Salimbene di Adam's  similarly referenced  (lasagna with cheese). During this period, lasagna was considered a relatively expensive dish, as was common for most pasta.

The first formal recipe appears in the early 14th-century _Liber de Coquina_. This early version differed from the modern dish, consisting of fermented dough flattened into sheets, boiled, and seasoned with cheese and spices. Later 14th-century recipes suggested boiling the sheets in chicken broth and dressing them with chicken fat and cheese, or using walnuts for Lenten fasting versions.

### Pasta

Mass-produced lasagna with ruffled edges is known by various names, including  and _sciabò_. While traditional shapes were often square, modern commercial pasta is typically long and narrow, a style called . Regional names vary across Italy; factory-produced sheets are called _bardele_ in Veneto, while the Salento and Apulia regions use the terms _sagne_ and _lagana_. Other variations include the narrower  and the larger _lasagnotte_, the latter of which is known as _cappellasci_ in Liguria.

### Dish

Italian regional variations were traditionally prepared for religious festivals, often marking rare occasions for meat consumption. The Neapolitan  is layered with sausage, fried meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, and cheeses like ricotta and mozzarella in a Neapolitan ragù. This southern style heavily influenced Italian-American cuisine, which often favors ricotta over the béchamel sauce used in northern Italy. Another southern version, , is a Christmas dish featuring capon broth, veal meatballs, and prosciutto.

The most internationally recognized version, , originates from Emilia-Romagna. In Bologna, the dish consists of layers of egg pasta, a thick meat ragù, béchamel, and Parmesan cheese. Other northern variations include the spinach-based green pasta of Ferrara and the _vincisgrassi_ of the Marche, which includes mushrooms and offal. In Genoa,  replaces meat sauce with pesto.

Historically, southern Italian dough was made from semolina and water, while northern regions used flour and eggs to create a thin sheet called . In modern Italy, national law mandates that all commercially sold dried lasagna be produced from durum wheat semolina.

## Infobox (food)

- **name**: Lasagna
- **image**: Lasagne - stonesoup.jpg
- **image size**: 250px
- **caption**: Baked Meat Lasagna
- **country**: Italy
- **region**: Campania
- **course**: Italian meal structure, Primo or Main course, main
- **type**: Pasta
- **served**: Hot
- **main ingredient**: Durum wheat, ground meat, cheese
- **variations**: Lasagnette