Name: Vincisgrassi
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 15 min
Total time: 5 h 15 min
Cuisine: Italian, Marche
Ingredients: 250 g beef chuck, finely diced or coarsely minced; 180 g pork shoulder, finely diced or coarsely minced; 80 g pancetta, finely diced; 100 g chicken livers, trimmed and finely chopped; 120 g onion, finely diced; 80 g carrot, finely diced; 80 g celery, finely diced; 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 150 ml dry white wine; 700 g tomato passata; 350 ml light meat stock, hot; 2 whole cloves, remove before assembly; 1 g freshly grated nutmeg; 6 g fine sea salt, adjust to taste; 2 g black pepper; 400 g Italian 00 flour; 4 large eggs, about 220 g without shells; 70 g unsalted butter; 70 g plain flour; 900 ml whole milk, warm; 2 g nutmeg, or to taste; 4 g fine sea salt, for the béchamel; 150 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

Vincisgrassi: wide hero view of deeply layered Marche baked pasta with rich meat ragù, creamy béchamel and a bronzed cheese surface

Prep1 h 30 min

Cook3 h 15 min

Total5 h 15 min

Yield8 servings

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The dish

About Vincisgrassi

Vincisgrassi belongs to the festive cooking of the Marche and predates the idea of it being merely a regional lasagna. Marche tourism describes a deeply flavored ragù based on several meats and chicken giblets, layered generously with pasta and cheese.

The ragù is deliberately richer and more textured than a simple minced beef sauce. Beef and pork form the base, pancetta adds cured depth, and finely chopped chicken liver provides the characteristic offal note. Tomato supports rather than overwhelms the meat.

Traditional descriptions often call for a remarkable number of layers. A practical home pan can still achieve that identity with eight to ten thin pasta layers, each spread sparingly so the final slice remains coherent rather than collapsing under too much sauce.

Béchamel softens the edges of the ragù and keeps the interior creamy. After baking, a 20–30 minute rest is essential: it lets the pasta absorb sauce and produces a clean slice with visible strata.

Bigoli absorb sauce during the final toss. Reserved cooking water is added gradually, not all at once, until the onion and olive oil form a glossy coating around every strand. The pan should finish almost dry beneath the pasta, without a separate oily puddle.

Technique

Three things that matter

Cook the ragù patiently. Slow reduction produces the concentrated flavor that distinguishes vincisgrassi from a quick baked pasta.
Keep each layer thin. Many thin strata are more characteristic and structurally stable than a few heavy ones.
Rest before cutting. A hot-from-the-oven pan will collapse; resting sets the layers.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Ingredients

Rich ragù

250 gbeef chuckfinely diced or coarsely minced
180 gpork shoulderfinely diced or coarsely minced
80 gpancettafinely diced
100 gchicken liverstrimmed and finely chopped
120 gonionfinely diced
80 gcarrotfinely diced
80 gceleryfinely diced
30 mlextra-virgin olive oil
150 mldry white wine
700 gtomato passata
350 mllight meat stockhot
2whole clovesremove before assembly
1 gfreshly grated nutmeg
6 gfine sea saltadjust to taste
2 gblack pepper

Fresh pasta

400 gItalian 00 flour
4large eggsabout 220 g without shells

Béchamel and assembly

70 gunsalted butter
70 gplain flour
900 mlwhole milkwarm
2 gnutmegor to taste
4 gfine sea saltfor the béchamel
150 gParmigiano Reggianofinely grated

Step by step

Method

Cook the ragù

Build the soffritto and meat base. Cook pancetta in olive oil until it renders. Add onion, carrot and celery for 8 minutes, then brown beef and pork in batches.
The pan should smell roasted and savory with no pooled meat water.
Add liver and wine. Stir in chicken liver for 2 minutes, add white wine and reduce until nearly dry.
The sharp alcohol aroma should disappear.
Simmer slowly. Add passata, stock, cloves, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Simmer partly covered for 1½–2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thick. Remove cloves.
The ragù should sit heavily on a spoon with no watery ring around it.

Prepare pasta and béchamel

Make thin egg pasta. Knead flour and eggs for about 10 minutes, rest covered for 30 minutes, then roll into sheets about 1 mm thick.
The sheets should be supple and thin enough to show a faint hand shadow.
Blanch the sheets. Boil the pasta sheets in salted water for 30–45 seconds, cool briefly in clean water and lay flat on towels.
The sheets should be flexible but not fully soft.
Cook the béchamel. Melt butter, whisk in flour for 2 minutes, then gradually whisk in warm milk. Simmer until it lightly coats a spoon; season with salt and nutmeg.
The sauce should pour easily enough to spread in thin layers.

Layer and bake

Build many thin layers. Heat oven to 180°C. Spread a little ragù and béchamel in the dish, then alternate pasta, a thin film of ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano until 8–10 pasta layers are formed.
No single meat layer should be so thick that the pasta sheets float apart.
Bake until bronzed. Finish with béchamel, ragù and Parmigiano. Bake 30–35 minutes until bubbling with a browned top.
The edges should bubble and the top should have dark-golden cheese spots.
Rest before slicing. Stand for 20–30 minutes before cutting into squares.
A cut portion should hold visible layers rather than slump immediately.

Practical guidance

Offal

Chicken liver is a characteristic traditional note. If omitted, the dish remains a rich baked pasta but loses part of the historical vincisgrassi profile.

Layer count

Very thin pasta and restrained sauce allow eight to ten layers in a standard home dish without becoming unwieldy.

Make-ahead

Ragù can be made two days ahead. The assembled dish can be refrigerated overnight and baked from cool, allowing a few extra minutes.

Resting

The resting period is structural, not decorative; it lets starch and sauce settle enough for clean slices.

Troubleshooting

The pan is watery. The ragù or béchamel was too loose. Reduce the ragù until thick and cook béchamel until it coats a spoon.
The layers slide apart. Too much sauce was used between sheets or the dish was cut immediately. Use thin layers and rest at least 20 minutes.
The pasta edges are hard. They were left exposed. Make sure every sheet edge is covered with sauce before baking.
The liver tastes harsh. It was over-browned or used in too large pieces. Chop finely, cook briefly and let it integrate into the long-simmered ragù.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 baked-pasta square
Calories: approximately 780 kcal
Carbohydrates: 68 g
Protein: 41 g
Fat: 37 g
Fibre: 5 g
Sodium: approximately 1,050 mg

Parmigiano, pancetta and the concentration of the ragù account for much of the sodium and fat.

Allergens and food safety

Contains wheat/gluten, egg and milk; ragù contains beef, pork and chicken liver.

Cook chicken liver and all meat thoroughly; avoid cross-contamination with raw meat on pasta or salad surfaces.

Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate within 2 hours and reheat until steaming throughout.

FAQ

Is vincisgrassi the same as lasagna?

They are related layered baked pastas, but vincisgrassi is a Marche specialty traditionally distinguished by a particularly rich mixed-meat ragù, often including offal, and many thin layers.

Can the ragù be made without chicken liver?

Yes, but the liver contributes an important traditional depth. A liver-free version should be described as a simplified adaptation.

Why rest the dish after baking?

The rest lets the sauce thicken around the pasta so slices hold together and the individual layers remain visible.

Final note

What matters most

Result: A deeply savory Marche baked pasta with many thin layers, rich mixed-meat ragù, creamy béchamel and a bronzed Parmigiano crust.
Key: Reduce the ragù thoroughly, keep every layer thin and give the baked pan enough time to set before cutting.

About Vincisgrassi

Three things that matter

Ingredients

Ingredients

Rich ragù

Fresh pasta

Béchamel and assembly

Method

Practical guidance

Offal

Layer count

Make-ahead

Resting

Troubleshooting

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

FAQ

Is vincisgrassi the same as lasagna?

Can the ragù be made without chicken liver?

Why rest the dish after baking?

What matters most

More Italian dishes

Fiori di zucca ripieni

Pane di Matera

Passatelli in brodo