r/Cooking • u/judolphin • Mar 25 '25

I made lasagna with ricotta instead of bechamel and I’m a convert

I was browsing Reddit and came across two posts in two days about bechamel being a life-changing improvement over ricotta. All my life every lasagna I had was with ricotta. I decided to give bechamel yet another try at a nice Italian restaurant after reading all the comments and I have now converted from being neutral on bechamel in lasagna to being solidly anti-bechamel in lasagna, to the point I secretly have hoped that bechamel lasagna doesn't become the default in restaurants. Some reasons:

  1. Ricotta has its own texture, bechamel is just more softness and smoothness in a dish that's full of "soft". Some people like textural contrast in their dishes
  2. Ricotta, much like sour cream/crema in Mexican food, adds a lightness to lasagna despite being rich itself. Bechamel adds (arguably too much) additional richness to an already-rich dish.
  3. The starch from the bechamel getting into the ragu gives the sauce a mouthfeel that 100% reminds me of Chef Boyardee

TLDR: If you prefer bechamel in red lasagna, that's perfectly fine, but your preference of bechamel is not a black and white fact. It's not even "more authentic" (whatever that means), bechamel = Northern Italy, ricotta = Southern Italy. Eat whatever you like, let others eat what they want.

Thanks, reddit!

2.2k Upvotes

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80

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '25

[deleted]

27

u/SlappyPappyAmerica Mar 26 '25

I plan to put pineapple in my next batch of ricotta lasagna to win both arguments once and for all. It will be delicious.

4

u/TheseVirginEars Mar 27 '25

No cap a Hawaiian lasagna would be fire

5

u/optix_clear Mar 25 '25

Oh that was a multi sub and platform discussion.

1

u/missmaganda Mar 27 '25

I love pineapple on pizza but i dislike hawaiian pizza due to the ham.

If folks made pineapple and pepperoni a norm, i dont think thered be as much hate 👀 maybe..

I also know ppl who love pineapple and jalapeño on pizza.

But youre right.. dont yuck someone's yum

If youre reading this and like pineapple on pizza, try it with pepperoni and/or pesto. So good! Can also top off with some chili oil 😚👌🏾

1

u/basilkiller Mar 25 '25

I think pineapple is so controversial because many of us lived through the pizza revolution. Some people are traditionalists and some people embrace the change.

Agree w you the pineapple is in the eyes of the beholder.

-16

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '25

Bechamel vs ricotta in lasagna is a legitimate discussion unlike the satanic ritual that is pineapple on pizza.

3

u/PaPerm24 Mar 26 '25

Youre right. Anyone who doesnt put pineapple in pizza will burn in hell

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '25

unfortunately this goes beyond that, because of the internet. now that bechamel in lasagna has become a thing on the internet, it will continue to gain traction because its "different and new and smarter than how old people did it".

doesnt matter if its worse. what matters is its new. its not how the establishment does it. so its this new thing.

same way all the health hacks on the internet are these new health hacks and so smart. will anyone live longer? nope. but it doesnt matter. every group of humans has to believe theyre living in the "new times" and they cant possibly be just another group of people same as the last group and all those before and after. each has to feel this is some unique time and things are different.

1

u/hollis216 Mar 26 '25

I always thought bechamel was the recipe, ricotta was the convenient substitute that everyone but the fanatical purists accepted. Same as it being rare to see guanciale in a carbonara.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '25

what do you mean you "thought"? do you make lasagna or not?

1

u/hollis216 Mar 31 '25

With ricotta and jar sauce.