Greek Food Mains
Pastitsio: Greek Baked Pasta with Meat Sauce and Béchamel
Layers of tubular pasta, cinnamon-spiced beef in tomato and a thick, golden béchamel. Greece’s answer to lasagne.
Serves
8
Calories
720 kcal
Cuisine
Greek
On this page: What is it · History · What you need · Step by step · Serving & storage · Recipe card
Pastitsio is Greek baked pasta: a layer of long tubular pasta, a rich beef and tomato sauce warmed with cinnamon, and a thick béchamel baked until golden on top. Cut into squares, it shows three neat layers, and it feeds a crowd.
If you have made our moussaka, the method will feel familiar. The meat sauce and béchamel are close cousins, with pasta taking the place of aubergine and potato.
It takes some time, but most of it is simmering and baking, and it can be made a day ahead.
What Is Pastitsio?
Pastitsio (παστίτσιο) is a baked dish of pasta, minced meat sauce and béchamel. The classic pasta is a thick, hollow tube, sold in Greece as ‘pastitsio pasta’ or noodle number 2. Bucatini, ziti or penne work well outside Greece.
The meat sauce is made with beef, onion, tomato and red wine, spiced with cinnamon and sometimes clove or allspice. The béchamel is thicker than usual, enriched with egg yolks and grated hard cheese, so it sets into a firm layer.
It is served in squares, warm rather than piping hot, so the layers hold together.
A Little History
The name comes from the Italian pasticcio, a word for a baked pie or ‘mixture’. Baked pasta dishes travelled to Greece through Venetian influence, especially in the Ionian Islands, which were under Venetian rule for centuries.
The layered, béchamel-topped pastitsio most Greeks know today was popularised in the early 20th century by the chef Nikolaos Tselementes, whose cookbook shaped Greek home cooking for generations and brought French-style béchamel into the national kitchen.
Today pastitsio is a celebration dish for Sundays, name days and family gatherings, and a standard in bakeries and tavernas across Greece.
At a glance
Serves
8
Calories
720 kcal
Protein
36 g
Course
Main
Why it works
01 Three clean layers that cut into neat squares
02 Cinnamon-spiced meat sauce, not just tomato
03 Make ahead and freeze in portions
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What You Need
Exact amounts are in the recipe card
For the Meat Sauce
- olive oil
- large onion, finely chopped
- garlic cloves, finely chopped
- beef mince, or half beef, half pork
- tomato paste
- red wine
- chopped tomatoes, 1 tin
- cinnamon stick
- whole cloves
- bay leaf
- fine sea salt
- black pepper
For the Pasta
- pastitsio pasta, or bucatini, ziti or penne
- butter
- egg white
- kefalotyri or pecorino, finely grated
For the Béchamel
- butter
- plain flour
- whole milk, warm
- egg yolks
- kefalotyri or parmesan, finely grated, divided
- ground nutmeg
- fine sea salt
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the meat sauce first, then cook the pasta while the sauce simmers. The béchamel goes last, just before the dish goes into the oven.
1. Make the meat sauce
Heat the oil in a large pan and soften the onion for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and mince and cook over high heat, breaking it up, until browned. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then add the wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
2. Simmer the sauce
Add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes until thick and not watery. Remove the cinnamon stick, cloves and bay leaf.
Tip: The sauce should be thick enough that a spoon dragged through it leaves a clear path. A wet sauce makes the layers slide.
3. Cook and bind the pasta
Cook the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet time. Drain, toss with the butter, then mix in the egg white and grated cheese. Spread evenly in the buttered baking dish.
Tip: The egg white and cheese bind the pasta so the bottom layer holds together when you cut it.
4. Add the meat layer
Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Spread the meat sauce evenly over the pasta and press it down gently.
5. Make the béchamel
Melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the warm milk and cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes until thick. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolks, most of the cheese, nutmeg and salt.
6. Bake and rest
Pour the béchamel over the meat, smooth it out and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until deep golden. Rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Tip: Resting is not optional. Cut it hot and the layers run together.
Serving & Storage
Serving
Serve pastitsio in squares with a Greek salad or a simple green salad dressed with lemon and olive oil. It needs nothing more.
It is a classic dish for Sunday lunch or a gathering, served warm rather than straight from the oven.
Storing Leftovers
Cool completely, cover and keep in the fridge. Pastitsio cuts even more cleanly the next day.
| Baked pastitsio | up to 4 days |
| Freezer, baked portions | up to 3 months |
| Reheat | 170 °C oven, 20 to 25 minutes, covered |
To make ahead, assemble the whole dish, cover and chill for up to 24 hours, then bake for an extra 10 to 15 minutes.
Pastitsio
Equipment
- Large frying pan or sauté pan
- Large pot for the pasta
- Baking dish, about 23 x 33 cm
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 800 g beef mince or half beef, half pork
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 125 ml red wine
- 400 g chopped tomatoes 1 tin
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Pasta
- 500 g pastitsio pasta or bucatini, ziti or penne
- 30 g butter
- 1 egg white
- 50 g kefalotyri or pecorino finely grated
Béchamel
- 120 g butter
- 120 g plain flour
- 1.2 L whole milk warm
- 2 egg yolks
- 80 g kefalotyri or parmesan finely grated, divided
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan and soften the onion for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and mince and cook over high heat, breaking it up, until browned. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then add the wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes until thick and not watery. Remove the cinnamon stick, cloves and bay leaf.
- Cook the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet time. Drain, toss with the butter, then mix in the egg white and grated cheese. Spread evenly in the buttered baking dish.
- Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Spread the meat sauce evenly over the pasta and press it down gently.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the warm milk and cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes until thick. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolks, most of the cheese, nutmeg and salt.
- Pour the béchamel over the meat, smooth it out and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until deep golden. Rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Made this pastitsio?
Rate it with the stars in the recipe card and tell us in the comments which pasta you used and how the layers held up.
Products we use
Our kitchen kit for this recipe
T-fal Stainless Steel Cookware Set (11-piece)
View in shopMore to cook
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