The Easiest Crock Pot Lasagna Recipe

This easy crock pot lasagna recipe is the perfect make-ahead meal. It comes together in just minutes with simple ingredients (including uncooked lasagna noodles!!) and then the crock pot does all the work for you!

 

Easy Crock Pot Lasagna Recipe

• Simple Ingredients. This lasagna is made with all the classic ingredients you’d expect to find in a traditional lasagna which means it will be a crowd-pleaser!
• Quick and Easy. You don’t have to cook the noodles beforehand so you can throw this slow cooker lasagna together in no time!
• Family Favorite. This crock pot lasagna is perfect for Sunday dinner but it’s easy enough to throw together on a busy Tuesday night!

Ingredients for Crock Pot Lasagna

• Onion & Garlic: Sauteeing fresh onion and garlic is the easiest way to jazz up store-bought spaghetti sauce. If you’re short on time you can skip this step. Feel free to add a 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder in their place.
• Italian Seasoning: You can substitute with dried oregano or your favorite dried herbs.
• Ground Beef: I like to use 85/15 ground beef for this recipe. Anything leaner and you’re going to miss out on some flavor. Any higher fat content and you’ll run the risk of a greasy meat sauce.
• Spaghetti Sauce: We usually use Prego or Rao’s. Use your favorite store-bought brand or try my easy homemade meat sauce recipe!
• Ricotta Cheese: Use whole milk ricotta or 4% small curd cottage cheese. Skip the low-fat or fat-free options for this lasagna. They won’t taste as good and you may end up with a watery filling.
• Mozzarella Cheese: Whole milk mozzarella adds the best flavor and texture. Shred it yourself so it melts easily.
• Parmesan Cheese: Feel free to substitute with Asiago or Romano. Again, shred it yourself so it melts easily.
• Egg Yolk: The egg yolk binds the filling together and gives you those delicious layers when you slice the lasagna.
• Lasagna Noodles: Use regular lasagna noodles, not the “no-boil” kind. And don’t cook them before adding them to the lasagna! They will cook right in the crock pot saving you time and energy!

How to Make Lasagna in a Slow Cooker

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add ground beef and cook, crumbling with a spatula until it’s browned and cooked through.

Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is cooking, combine ricotta/cottage cheese, half the mozzarella cheese, all the Parmesan cheese, egg yolk, and a few large pinches of salt and pepper until smooth and well combined.

Ladle meat sauce into the bottom of the 9×13 crock pot insert. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. Add a layer of the cheese mixture. Ladle a layer of meat sauce over the cheese and top with another layer of uncooked noodles.

Continue layering the ingredients until all the cheese mixture has been used, ending with a layer of uncooked noodles. Ladle the remaining sauce over the noodles.

Then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours until the noodles are al dente and the lasagna is cooked through and warm in the middle.

Turn heat off and let the lasagna rest for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, slice, and enjoy!

Tips for Making Slow-Cooker Lasagna

• The lid of the crock pot will collect condensation as the lasagna cooks. When you remove the lid, try to do it carefully so that condensation doesn’t drip into the lasagna. Remember that the condensation is going to be very hot. I like to take a hand towel and swiftly lift the lid off and then hold it at an angle allowing the water to drip down the lid and into the towel or the sink.
• Let the lasagna sit for at least 10 minutes after cooking, with the heat off. This will allow any extra liquid in the lasagna to be reabsorbed. It will also ensure that the lasagna holds together as it’s sliced.

How to Know When Lasagna is Done

• Bubbly and Melty. When the edges of the lasagna are bubbly and the cheese on top is melted, that’s a great sign that it’s warmed through.
• Butter Knife. Carefully insert a butter knife into the center of the lasagna for a few seconds. Remove it and carefully touch the end. If it’s warm/hot, the center of the lasagna is warm. If not, then it needs to keep cooking.
• Noodle Test. I also like to use the butter knife to gently press into the first couple of layers of noodles. You can tell by how much give they have if they’re cooked through and tender or still too al dente. You can also cut just a small corner of the noodle off and give it a taste test.
• Thermometer. Use an instant-read thermometer to measure the temp in the center. Once it reads 165 degrees, the lasagna is done.

Variations

• Pesto. Add a hearty scoop of fresh basil pesto to the ricotta cheese mixture. This is a fun way to add fresh flavor and take the lasagna to another level.
• Veggies. I love to add sauteed veggies with zucchini, mushrooms, or broccoli. Saute the veggies first and allow them to release some of their liquid before adding them to the lasagna. Otherwise, the lasagna will end up watery.
• Bechamel. Add a creamy bechamel sauce in place of the ricotta cheese mixture or just add it in as an extra layer of richness.

All Crock Pots Cook Differently

• Depending on the size and age of your slow cooker, the cooking time for this lasagna may vary slightly.
• You might need to make this recipe a couple times before you know the sweet spot for cooking time with your specific crock pot.
• I love my 9×13 crock pot for this slow cooker lasagna, but you can just use a regular large crock pot as well. Any slow cooker that’s 3.5 quarts or larger will work for this lasagna recipe.

Layering the Lasagna

• With my 9×13 crock pot, I made 6 layers of 3 noodles in each layer so I used 18 noodles total.
• I added 4 layers of the ricotta cheese mixture. Before adding the cheese mixture, I scored it to create 4 equal quadrants for even layers.
• The number of layers will vary depending on the size and shape of your crock pot and how many noodles came in the package.
• You may need to break your noodles to make them fit in a single layer.
• Don’t worry too much about the assembly as long as you’re layering the ingredients and ending with the remaining sauce and then a hearty layer of cheese, it will taste delicious!

Making Crock Pot Lasagna Ahead of Time

• This crock pot lasagna is one of the easiest make-ahead meals.
• It can be prepped a few days in advance and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it.
• I like to throw it together on Sunday afternoon and save it for a busy night when I don’t have time to make dinner!

Storing Leftover Lasagna

Store leftover lasagna in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezing Crock Pot Lasagna

• Freeze lasagna for up to 3 months.
• Thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking in the slow cooker.
• Plan to add an extra 10-20 minutes or more of cooking time to account for the cold temperature.
• Make a double batch of this lasagna and freeze one of the batches for later!

Reheating Lasagna

• Don’t reheat lasagna in the slow cooker! Because it heats up slowly, the chances of bacteria growing during the warming process are much higher.
• Instead, transfer the lasagna to a baking dish and heat it in a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
• You can also transfer it to a microwave-safe dish and cook it in 30-60 second increments until warmed through.

Try these lasagna recipes next!

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