This crockpot lasagna recipe is the easiest way to make lasagna! Simple to assemble with tender pasta noodles, meat sauce and cheese then it cooks hands off for busy days.
Prep Time: 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 4 hourshours
Rest Time: 15 minutesminutes
Total Time: 4 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
½poundground beef
½poundground Italian sausage, could also use ground beef
In a skillet over medium heat, brown the hamburger and Italian sausage. Drain fat and stir in Italian seasoning and onions. Cook until onions are soft and stir in the sauce with 1/2 cup water. Simmer 5 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, in a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and egg until combined.
Spread about 1 cup sauce onto the bottom of the crock pot. Top with 3 noodles (you may need to break some noodles to fit). Spread about 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Repeat with 2 more layers, or until all of the remaining ingredients are used.
Pour the remaining 1/2 cup water around the sides of the layers. If your noodles are thick, add an extra 2 Tablespoons water. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese over the top.
Cook on low 4 to 5 hours, or until the noodles are tender. Turn off crockpot and let sit 15 minutes before slicing into 8 portions to serve. Top with fresh basil, if desired.
Notes
Do not cook on high: This recipe needs to be cooked low and slow to give everything enough time to cook properly. No-boil lasagna noodles: You can oven-ready noodles, but they cook faster than regular lasagna noodles, which means they don't hold their structure as well in this crockpot recipe. Sauce: When I have time, I love to make homemade spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce. Variations:
Vegetarian: Just omit the meat and use some veggies like sliced eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, etc.
Veggies: Amp up the veggies by adding spinach to the ricotta mixture or mushrooms to the sauce.
Ground turkey: Swap the beef for turkey if you'd prefer a leaner meat.
Freeze: Place cooked and cooled lasagna in a freezer container and store in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating portions in the microwave or oven.Storage: Leftovers will keep in an airtight storage in the the refrigerator up to 3 days.