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This Crockpot Lasagna Recipe is my favorite way to get this classic Italian dish on the table! The noodles cook perfectly in the slow cooker and the lasagna is so rich and hearty.
Look, I don’t want to throw my mama under the bus here or anything, but I have to tell you something…
The only lasagna I ate as a kid was the frozen kind.
I mean, I get it.
She just hadn’t discovered crock pot lasagna and didn’t really how truly easy lasagna can be!
Now we’re all lasagna snobs over here. Homemade or bust, my friends! 😉
We love this crockpot lasagna recipe because it’s really simple to throw together – no need to boil the lasagna noodles first. Everything cooks up together in the slow cooker just perfectly. The flavors are so rich and the method is simple.
Slow cooker lasagna is really made just like traditional lasagna. The big difference here is that you don’t boil the noodles and you get to start it well in advance of the dinner rush so it’s ready when you’re ready.
Crock Pot Lasagna Ingredients:
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Lasagna Noodles – Regular lasagna noodles here. You don’t need the ‘no boil’ variety, though we aren’t going to boil them.
Meat Sauce – You will prepare this pasta meat sauce from ground beef, garlic & onion, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste. The tomato paste will add lots of great tomato flavor to the lasagna and it doesn’t take much! If you’re feeling ambitious, make our homemade spaghetti sauce.
Cheese Mix – The cheese layer is actually a mixture of three cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan as well as some minced garlic and freshly chopped parsley. You can sub the ricotta for cottage cheese if you prefer!
What Readers are Saying!
“Amazing!! Never thought lasagna could taste this good out of a crock pot. I’ve shared this with friends and coworkers and everyone has the same to say. Amazing!!” – Ann P.
Crockpot Recommendation!
In the market for a new slow cooker? We love this 7 quart Crockpot. It’s simple to use, cooks evenly, and is very budget friendly. Plus, it has a 4 1/2 star rating with over 5,000 reviews on Amazon!
How to Make Lasagna in the Crockpot:
Meat Sauce: Brown the beef along with onion and garlic. Drain off any excess fat once the meat is cooked through and stir in the marinara, tomato pasta, water, and seasoning.
PICKY KID Tip!
Cut the onions very small or even blitz them in a blender or food processor. You’ll still get the flavor without the chunks that kids seem to hate!
Cheese Mix: Prep your cheeses by combining ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic, and parsley. You can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta if that’s more your speed.
Layer: Crock pot lasagna layers just like traditional lasagna. Meat sauce, noodles, cheese, repeat. Start by adding 1/4 of the meat sauce you just prepared to the bottom of the crockpot. Top with noodles – feel free to break them in pieces to help them fit and don’t worry if they overlap a bit. The final layer is the cheese mixture. Just keep repeating your layers for a total of three layers.
Top Layer: Top it all off with any remaining meat sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella.
Slow Cook: This crockpot lasagna recipe cooks on low in about 5 hours and I love that I can assemble it at lunch time and then have it ready to go at dinner. It makes the dinner rush so much more manageable!
Try serving this easy Crockpot lasagna recipe with some of my favorite cream cheese garlic bread!
FAQs:
Yes! This slow cooker lasagna recipe can be made in advance. Layer it all in the crock pot and then pop it in the fridge. I like to let it set out for an hour to come to room temp before I start cooking it.
This lasagna will last in the fridge, tightly covered, for 3-5 days.
You could also freeze the leftovers for 2-3 months.
We use plain old regular lasagna noodles here!
There’s no need to buy the no-boil variety and there’s no need to boil the regular variety for this crockpot recipe.
The lasagna noodles will cook in the crock pot and turn out just perfect.
The crockpot isn’t shaped quite the same as a traditional lasagna pan, which means that you’ll end up with a taller, thicker lasagna. Cut your serving pieces a bit smaller than you traditionally would to account for the thickness.
MORE ITALIAN INSPIRED RECIPES!
Baked Spaghetti: Similar to a lasagna, but with spaghetti.
Homemade Italian Dressing: An easy and low carb salad dressing!
Homemade Alfredo Sauce: So creamy and so easy!
Pork Tenderloin: Topped off with a garlic butter sauce.
Eggplant Parmesan: This classic Italian recipe is so easy in the air fryer!
Turkey Meatballs: Serve these with some spaghetti and marinara for a healthier take on spaghetti and meatballs.
Baked Ziti with Meat: The white sauce makes this recipe extra special.
Crockpot Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 sweet onion minced
- 5 cloves garlic minced, divided
- 24 ounces marinara
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 12 ounces lasagna noodles
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella divided
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the ground beef, onion, and 3 cloves of garlic to a skillet over medium heat, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Drain the grease from the skillet and add the marinara, tomato paste, Italian seasoning and 1 cup of water to the beef. Stir well to combine.
- Spray a slow cooker with non-stick spray.
- Place ¼ of the meat sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Layer 1/3 of the noodles over the sauce, breaking them up to cover the entire area. The noodles will overlap a bit.
- Add the ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, salt, and reserved 2 cloves of minced garlic to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Spoon 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Repeat layers twice, ending with meat sauce.
- Sprinkle with the reserved cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or until noodles are tender.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in January 2020. It’s been updated with new photos. Original photos below.
Rachel Schmidt says
I’m in the process of making it right now. If you double the recipe, shouldn’t you also double the water that’s added in step 1? I have never made lasagna before.
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried doubling this one, but I would think it will need more water than just the 1 cup. I’m not 100% it will need 2 full cups, but it may.
Rachel Schmidt says
I did double the water (I actually used beef broth). Also, if it’s being doubled, make sure you do that also to the cheese in step 5. My family thinks it’s great! I wouldn’t double it in the same crock pot again, though, because it made the layers very deep, all the way to top of the 7 qt pot. I would simply use two crock pots for a more conventional look. It cooked fine in about 5 hours on low.
William Zahora says
GREAT RECIPE
April M Moisant says
So I have leftovers and want to know how do you reheat it when you don’t have a microwave? And for how long?
Karly Campbell says
Hi April! I’d reheat in the oven, covered in foil, for about 10-15 minutes at 350. Just until it’s heated through.
April M Moisant says
So I finally made this and I followed the recipe all the way except for the Parsley, I left that out. And I cooked it on low for 5 hours and the noodles were still kind of hard so I did it on high for one more hour and it was very hot but it was good.
April M Moisant says
What’s the best way to store any left overs and for how long?
Karly Campbell says
I cut into servings and store in the fridge in a covered dish for 4-5 days. 🙂
April M Moisant says
I just wanted to say I haven’t tried this yet but I’m so going to. I’ve been wanting to make my own Lasagna and don’t really want to cook it in the oven. So I’m really looking forward to make this and can’t wait to try it. Thank you so much for the email.
Catherine Heed says
Can you use the lasagna that is oven ready instead the traditional lasagna noodles?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve only tried this with traditional lasagna noodles – not sure how it would work with the oven ready ones, but I bet it’d be fine! Maybe less cook time?
Karly Campbell says
testing
Michelle Overline says
I haven’t tried the crockpot lasagna myself, but had it at someone else’s home. It was delicious. I’m going to make it for my husband’s birthday. Do you think I can put it together the night before & start it at noon the next day for dinner?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Michelle! I’m not sure how the pasta will do sitting overnight in the fridge before cooking. I would be worried that the pasta would cook through faster (since it’s soaked up some liquid as it sat) but that the rest of the dish won’t be hot all the way through since it would go into the crockpot cold.
Tammy Boyle says
I made this recipe for my daughter and her husband who I was visiting, they have a 6 month old baby. They are without an oven while they wait for a new one and I needed some crock pot or stove top recipes to make. This was delicious. It only took 4 1/2 hours to cook. I just had to do some math to figure out how many noodles to use as the package came in 16 oz. And I substituted ground turkey for the beef, but other than that made no changes.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Tammy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. So sweet of you to cook for your daughter while visiting. <3
Sheri says
So, cool to know that I can make in the crockpot.
Especially in the summer time here in Southern California!
We use cottage cheese and egg noodles.
Will egg noodles work too?
Karly says
Hi Sheri! I haven’t tried this one with egg noodles before, so I’m no sure! I think it would work, but you’d want to keep an eye on timing.
amy mandarino says
My husband is Italian and he was totally impressed with this recipe. I thought it was really easy to throw together. I know a lot of people change up recipes by what they have on hand, or in my case what they forgot to get at the store! I used elbow macaroni and it turned out fine. This might be a happy advantage as it was, in my opinion, easier to fit the noodles in the crockpot vs the typical lasagna noodles. Thank you to Karly for this wonderful recipe!
Karly says
I bet it was delicious with macaroni! Thanks for sharing, Amy! So happy to hear this was approved by your Italian husband. 🙂
Kerri b says
This was a great recipe! I am always in search of the best lasagna recipe, and this one is right up there with some of the best I have tried.I did it pretty much as the recipe says except most recipes call for an egg in the cheese mixture and this one did not. I put it in anyways hoping that it would make it a little fluffier and it was great!
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe so much! 🙂
Mama Michele says
This is amazing! I have had a cherished lasagne recipe for thirty years that I would put up against anyones. I can’t believe this tastes almost the same. I’m not a fan of running across cottage cheese in my lasagne. If you only have cottage cheese, blend it in a blend or food processor and it is indistinguishable from ricotta in look and texture, only slightly different in taste. I cooked this one about 3 hours on low and then bumped it up to high for about half hour. It was perfect. I’ve made quick lasagne recipes and they’re ok but usually taste like cheesy spaghetti. This one is authentic lasagne. I’m shocked and delighted!
Karly says
So glad to hear you love the recipe as much as we do! I don’t mind the chunks of cottage cheese, but great idea to blend it up!