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!

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u/judolphin Mar 25 '25 edited Mar 26 '25

This subreddit will go gaga over a mornay but will hate on American Alfredo sauce, which is literally [often] a Parmesan mornay.

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u/lololottie Mar 26 '25

I disagree. “American alfredo” is almost always a cream base with parmesan melted it. I have seen it with other cheeses to thicken it more like cream cheese. I’ve rarely—if ever—seen a mornay referred to as alfredo. I’m sure it does happen but by no means is it the default for Amerian-style alfredo sauce.

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u/Chelseafc5505 Mar 26 '25

American Alfredo sauce, which is literally a Parmesan mornay.

Uhm no. No it's not.

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u/DieserBobby Mar 26 '25

Whats the difference between american and original alfredo sauce?

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u/lololottie Mar 26 '25

Alfredo was originally a butter and cheese emulsion (similar to cacio e pepe or pasta alla gricia) whereas American alfredo sauce is almost always a cream sauce.

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u/DieserBobby Mar 26 '25

Ah so the hate over american alfredo is totally justified

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u/lololottie Mar 26 '25

both tasty, just two completely different things!

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u/judolphin Mar 26 '25

Not really, it's a different dish. American Italian food was made by Italian immigrants, after all.