Making lasagne is a labour of love, so unless you’re planning a special date night or a birthday dinner, it’s usually not on the weekly meal rotation. If you love lasagne but hate doing all the layering, your next best bet is to buy one from the supermarket.
As you glance at all the options sitting in the freezer and chilled aisles, it can be hard to make a decision. Are organic options worth the spend? Can cheaper home brands deliver good flavour and balance? Or does everything just come down to personal preference? The Better Homes and Gardens team, led by senior food editor Sarah Murphy, set out to answer these questions with a blind taste test of lasagnes from Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA. And the results were extremely divisive.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The overall winner of our supermarket lasagne taste test was also the cheapest product, Aldi’s International Cuisine Beef Lasagne at $3.29.
- ALDI came out on top, with Aldi International Cuisine Beef Lasagne and the Aldi World Kitchen Beef Lasagne taking out panel winner and expert winner.
The Verdict
This taste test was divisive. Our panel were harsh markers, scoring on the lower end, while our expert taster Sarah’s scores ranged from 2.25 to 8 out of 10. Sarah says she based her rankings purely on the products in front of her, rather than expecting them to come close to a homemade version.
Aldi World Kitchen Beef Lasagne
Praised for quality meat texture and good balance of bechamel.
Aldi International Cuisine Beef Lasagne
Great balance of sauce to cheese and strong flavour profile.
Australian supermarket lasagne taste test results
| Ranking | Name of product | Overall score out of 10 | Expert score out of 10 | Price per 100g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aldi International Cuisine Beef Lasagne | 5.9 | 7.25 | $0.82 |
| 2 | Latina Lasagne With Angus Beef & Vegetables | 5.21 | 7.75 | $1.34 |
| 3 | Coles Simply Beef Lasagne | 5.18 | 5 | $0.69 |
| 4 | IGA Fresh Beef Lasagne | 4.8 | 5.25 | $1.21 |
| 5 | Cleaver’s Organic Grass-fed Beef Lasagne | 4.71 | 6 | $2.33 |
| 6 | Woolworths Beef Lasagne | 4.5 | 6.25 | $0.69 |
| 7 | Aldi World Kitchen Beef Lasagne | 4.5 | 8 | $0.67 |
| 8 | On The Menu Angus Beef Lasagne | 3.2 | 2.25 | $1.83 |
| 9 | Coles Finest Beef Ragu Lasagne | 3.2 | 7.25 | $1.67 |
Panel winner
Aldi International Cuisine Beef Lasagne 400g
Expert score: 7.25
Panel score: 5.9
Talk about going for the underdog – the cheapest product we tested (Aldi’s International Cuisine Beef Lasagne at $3.29) was our panel’s top pick. The panel loved the sauce and the balance of flavours.
Sarah, on the other hand, enjoyed the flavour, but found the meat ratio to be on the lower side, mentioning in her comment that it may be due to a lower price point (and she was 100% right!). The let-down for this lasagne was in the pasta layers, which were a tad too chewy.
Best for
- Flavoursome sauce
- Even amount of cheese and a good balance of bechamel
- Affordable price point at $0.82 per 100g
Price: $3.29
Available at Aldi
Expert winner
Aldi World Kitchen Beef Lasagne 400g
Expert score: 8
Panel score: 4.5
Our expert taster Sarah also chose an ALDI product as her top premade lasagne option.
Sarah says the balanced flavour profile is what made Aldi’s World Kitchen beef lasagne stand out. She praised the mince-to-bechamel ratio as well as the even layering.
Some members of our panel, however, couldn’t get past an ‘unusual aftertaste.’
Best for
- Simple flavour profile
- Good balance of bechamel
Price: $7.99
Available at Aldi
The rest
Latina Beef Lasagne 1.6kg
Expert score: 7.75
Panel score: 5.21
Latina comes in third for our taste test, with an Angus beef and vegetable-heavy option. While some on our panel loved the addition of diced vegetables in their sample, others found it strange and ‘unlike a classic lasagne’.
Best for
- Extra vegetables
- More herb seasoning
Price: $21.50
Available at Coles and Woolworths
Coles Simply Beef Lasagne 1.8kg
Expert score: 5
Panel score: 5.18
Coles Simply Beef Lasagne was singled out by both the panel and Sarah as the creamiest of all options. But it seems that’s where the praise ends. Words like ‘claggy’ and ‘gluggy’ were used to describe the texture of this lasagne, with the bechamel overwhelming the rest of the dish.
But, if you love a lasagne that’s heavy on the bechamel, this is for you! You may have to add a bit of extra salt yourself, though.
Best for
- Extra creamy bechamel
Price: $12.50
Available at Coles
IGA Fresh Beef Lasagne 1.2kg
Expert score: 5.25
Panel score: 4.8
For an extra chewy, heavy pasta lasagne experience, IGA’s Fresh Beef Lasagne is for you. Although this lasagne was enjoyed for these features, there’s a fine line, and some found the chewiness to be too much.
Sarah says it’s definitely not her favourite option, but if people prefer extra pasta, then it’s perfectly acceptable.
Best for
- Lots of pasta layers
- Extra chewy texture
Price: $14.50
Available at IGA
Cleaver’s Organic Grass-Fed Beef Lasagne 600g
Expert score: 6
Panel score: 4.7
A short, easy-to-understand ingredient list makes Cleaver’s grass-fed beef lasagne an attractive option. And while this product sounds good on paper, its mediocre performance in our blind taste test speaks volumes. While some tasters praised the heavy tomato profile, others mentioned that it didn’t have anywhere near enough bechamel.
One taster commented that it ‘just tastes like tomato paste’. If lots of tomato is your jam, this is your best bet.
Best for
- Organic ingredient list, including grass-fed beef
- Heavy tomato flavour profile
Price: $14
Available at Coles
Woolworths Beef Lasagne 2kg
Expert score: 6.25
Panel score: 4.5
The consensus from our panel and Sarah shows that if you’re looking for an easy crowd pleaser, Woolworths’ Beef Lasagne is probably your best bet. As Sarah puts it, “This lasagne is very basic; nothing about it is offensive.”
While lasagne connoisseurs may say it lacks depth of flavour, others will say it’s a reliable option. It also looks the part, with the cheesy topping becoming lovely, golden and crispy as it finishes cooking.
Best for
- Basic flavour profile
- Best appearance
Price: $13.89
Available at Woolworths
On The Menu Angus Beef Lasagne 400g
Expert score: 3.21
Panel score: 2.25
Unfortunately, the On The Menu Angus Beef Lasagne was a low scorer, with the lowest expert score on the list at 2.25/10. Sarah was not a fan, and the panel agreed.
While the breadcrumb topping added a bit of texture (do we actually like crunch in a lasagne though?), the rest of the lasagne was mushy and unappealing.
Best for
- Bread crumb topping
Price: $7.30
Available at Woolworths and Coles
Coles Finest Beef Ragu Lasagne 1.2kg
Expert score: 3.2
Panel score: 7.25
The lowest on the panel ranking was Coles Finest Beef Ragu by 0.01, but surprisingly ranked highly for our expert, who gave it a 7.25/10. Our panel referenced a bland taste and stodgy quality, while Sarah enjoyed the cheesy flavour.
The pulled meat was the divisive point, with most not enjoying the texture. Sarah liked the ragu, saying it felt ‘more rustic and homemade’ than other options.
Best for
- Rustic and homemade quality
- Lots of cheese
Price: $20
Available at Woolworths and Coles
How we tested the supermarket lasagnes
We blind taste-tested 9 different supermarket frozen lasagnes from Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA. All samples were prepared in our test kitchen, and each lasagne was cooked according to a standardised method, following the packet instructions as closely as possible. All lasagnes were cooked in the oven, as per instructions, except for one, which specified only microwave heating. The lasagne samples were then heated up immediately before the taste test to ensure freshness and a hot temperature.
Samples were numbered from 1 to 9 to avoid bias. Taste-testers shared their responses via an anonymous online form, ranking each lasagne sample out of ten for four criteria: appearance, taste, texture and overall satisfaction. Taste-testers were also encouraged to leave constructive comments on what they liked and disliked about each sample.
How we selected which supermarket lasagne to test
To be included in our lasagne taste test, products had to be widely available in supermarkets nationally. This meant choosing the more common brands available in a wide range of stores and the largest size possible to cater for our taste test panel size, and to replicate lasagne sizing that would feed a 4-person family. Most lasagnes chosen were around the 1.2kg mark, with two at 400g. This made the price range quite varied, with a range from $3.70 to $21.50. Most lasagnes were chilled (in the fridge), with two frozen and one fresh option.
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