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Passover Matzo Lasagna with Meat and Vegetables

This savory matzo lasagna is a comforting Passover twist on a classic, layered with a rich, slow-simmered meat and vegetable sauce. Ground beef is cooked with onions, celery, zucchini, bell pepper, and jalapeño, then gently simmered in tomato sauce with warm spices like cinnamon, cumin, and curry. Layered with matzo and baked until perfectly tender, it’s a hearty, deeply flavorful dish that feels both familiar and a little unexpected.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine Jewish, Passover
Servings 10

Equipment

  • 5.5 quart dutch oven
  • 9 x 13 casserole dish

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 large onion finely diced
  • 1½ lbs ground beef
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon divided
  • 2 tsp curry powder divided
  • 1 tsp cumin divided
  • 3 celery ribs thinly sliced
  • 3 medium zucchini diced
  • 1 large bell pepper diced
  • 1-2 jalapeno peppers thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 6 matzo sheets

Instructions
 

  • Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in your dutch oven oven medium low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile season your meat. Take your ground beef and break it into small pieces on a plate. Season generously with salt, pepper, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp curry powder and ½ tsp cumin.
  • Turn heat to medium-high, move onions to the side and add in 2 tbsp olive oil. Add in ground beef and sear in batches, about 3-4 minutes. Move to the side and add in more meat.
  • Then add tomato paste, stir and let the color darken, about 3 minutes. Add in all the vegetables, a generous seasoning of salt, the additional cumin, curry and cinnamon and the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350°. Assemble the lasagne. Add a scoop of the meat sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish and layer matzo on top. Snap the sheets so that they don't overlap.
  • Layer with more meat sauce and repeat process with two more layers of meat and matzo. For the last layer, try to just add the tomato sauce without chunks of meat or veggies. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes uncovered so that the matzo transforms into a texture resembling noodles.
  • Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

The meat sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge and then assembled before baking. 
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