The Best Crock Pot Lasagna (+Video)
Enjoy a delicious and easy meal with this Crock Pot Lasagna recipe! Tender pasta, flavorful meat sauce, and creamy cheese come together for a satisfying and hearty dish!
A DELICIOUS LASAGNA RECIPE
Lasagna is a classic Italian dish that is loved by many for its hearty and comforting flavors. However, making lasagna from scratch can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. That’s where Crock Pot Lasagna comes in! This simple recipe allows you to enjoy all the deliciousness of lasagna with a fraction of the effort. With the help of a slow cooker, you can create a tender and flavorful lasagna with minimal prep time. Today I’m sharing my tried-and-true recipe for Crock Pot Lasagna so grab your slow cooker and get ready to enjoy a satisfying and delicious meal that will please the whole family!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Yes, of course. However, there is a reason I use cottage cheese in this recipe. It’s to keep it all from drying out. Ricotta is a drier, crumbly cheese. It can dry out pretty quickly in this recipe if it’s cooked too long. So, I use cottage cheese to keep it all nice and luscious!
Yes you can but it is not necessary in this recipe. No Boil noodles are a bit more expensive than regular lasagna noodles as well. I add water to this recipe to compensate for using regular lasagna noodles.
We prefer to have it with a fresh salad and garlic bread, garlic breadsticks or cheesy garlic bread.
Absolutely! Check out my recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo Lasagna for a creamy white version!
This particular recipe doesn’t work quite the same way in the oven. I created this recipe specifically for the slow cooker. However, if you want to make lasagna in the oven, try my Baked Lasagna recipe.
That extra bit of water is to help with the noodles. Since the noodles aren’t cooked. we want to add a bit more moisture to the pot to help those cook without drying out the lasagna.
Crock Pot Lasagna typically takes 4 hours to cook on low heat. However, cooking times may vary depending on the brand and size of your slow cooker.
Yes, Crock Pot Lasagna can be frozen for up to three months. Be sure to allow the lasagna to cool completely before placing it in a freezer safe container then wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- ground beef – you can use Italian sausage if you prefer.
- onion – I like to chop up my onion pretty small. If you don’t like onion just leave it out or add about a teaspoon of onion powder.
- garlic – I prefer fresh garlic, I think it packs more of a punch than the jarred stuff. But if that is all you have then go for it.
- spaghetti sauce – make sure it’s a spaghetti sauce you like. I really like Rao’s roasted garlic but it can be pretty pricey. I also like Prego chunky garden as it is more affordable.
- small curd cottage cheese – see my FAQ above about substitutions.
- mozzarella cheese – I really like the mozzarella that has the cream cheese in it since I think it melts nicer but use your favorite.
- parmesan cheese – you can use store-bought pre-shredded or shred it yourself.
- egg – the egg acts a binder and helps keep that layer a bit more firm.
- lasagna noodles – just the regular lasagna noodles. They do not need to be cooked first as they will cook in the slow cooker.
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT LASAGNA:
Brown and crumble ground beef in a large skillet. You need a larger skillet for this because you’ll be adding the spaghetti sauce and water to it later. Then add in onion and garlic and cook for additional 1-2 minutes. I like to season my beef mixture with a little salt & pepper at this point too.
Drain excess grease from beef. And put back into skillet.
Pour in spaghetti sauce and water.
Give it all a good stir (you can turn the heat off at this point.) Give it a taste test, add additional salt if necessary. In a separate bowl, mix together cottage cheese, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, egg, pepper and chopped parsley. Put your remaining cheeses back in the fridge, you’ll be using those as a topping later.
Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop approximately 1 cup of meat sauce into bottom of slow cooker.
Top with one layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. Just do your best to break them up to fit into your crock pot.
Next top with a layer of cheese mixture.
Keep adding layers, ending with meat sauce. I was able to get 3 layers in my 5-quart slow cooker.
Put the lid on and cook on low for 4-6 hours. You want most of the liquid to be absorbed and noodles should be soft.
When it is finished cooking, add remaining cheeses and sprinkle with a bit of parsley.
Put the lid back on for about 10-15 more minutes until cheese is melted.
Slice and serve it up with a salad and some garlic bread.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: February 2012
Updated & republished: August 2020
Crock Pot Lasagna (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce (a 32 ounce jar can be used if necessary)
- 1 cup water
- 15 ounce container small curd cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided use
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided use
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
- 4-6 uncooked lasagna noodles
Instructions
- Brown and crumble 1 pound ground beef along with 1 small onion, finely diced in a large skillet (or if your crock pot has a saute setting, use that.)
- Then add in 1 tablespoon minced garlic and cook for additional 1-2 minutes (until fragrant).
- Drain excess grease from beef and put back into skillet. Pour in 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce and 1 cup water. Give it all a good stir.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 15 ounce container small curd cottage cheese, 1/ 1/2 cups of the 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 Tablespoons of the 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 large egg and 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped. (Put the remaining cheeses back in the fridge, you'll be using those as a topping later)
- Spray a 5-quart or larger oval crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop approximately 1 cup of meat sauce into bottom of the slow cooker.
- Top with one layer of the 4-6 uncooked lasagna noodles. Just do your best to break them up to fit into your crock pot.
- Next top with a layer of cottage cheese mixture.
- Keep adding layers (meat sauce, noodles, cottage cheese mixture). Keep enough of the meat sauce reserved so you can top off all the layers with some meat sauce. I was able to get about 3 layers in my 5-quart slow cooker.
- Put the lid on and cook on low for 4-6 hours. You want most of the liquid to be absorbed and noodles should be soft.
- When it is finished cooking, add remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses and sprinkle with a bit more parsley (optional)
- Put the lid back on for about 10-15 more minutes until cheese is melted.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- Slice and serve it up with a salad and some garlic bread.
- Ricotta can be substituted for the small curd cottage cheese but that layer might be a bit drier and more crumbly.
- Only a 5-6 quart oval slow cooker will work properly with this recipe. A round slow cooker will not create the desired result.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Edited to add: The original post had a giveaway. That giveaway has ended.
I have two big ole boys. This has been their favorite dish for about 40 years, and it so very like my recipe,(that I don’t even go by). Never made it in a Crock Pot before. I bet this is delish., that I have to try it. I am glad it ran across it.
Absolutely love the recipe, turned out perfect. Was definitely better than I expected. Will do it again thank you.
Thanks so much Suzanne! I really appreciate it!
So easy and absolutely delicious! make the night before, place in refrigerator, to let flavors meld even better.
Thanks so very much Bobbi!
Love the taste!
I’ve made this recipe at home and am now making at our vacation house as we have a crockpot in the cupboard. The basic ingredients are readily available (lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, mozz, pasta sauce, and an egg) at about any grocery store. You don’t even have to include meat it you don’t want to. Put it all together after lunch and when dinner time rolls around the house smells fabulous and you’re DONE! Maybe steam up some fresh or frozen broccoli and/or make a quick green salad. PLUS, there’s leftovers.
Thanks so much for this great comment! I am so thrilled to hear you enjoy this one. Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment!
Very good recipe. I skipped the water and used the rest of the jar of spaghetti sauce. Why toss it out? It was perfect.
So you must’ve had a jar larger than 26 ounces since this recipe does use the whole jar. Glad you enjoyed this one!!
This is the only way I make lasagna, in the crockpot! I like to prepare it by Noon and turn it on for several hours. This recipe is so good! You can use Italian sausage/ ground beef combo for a change, but the recipe as it is, delicious!
Making it this weekend! ❤
I have never made lasagna in the crockpot so my expectations weren’t high,BUT this recipe was sooo great! Everyone in the house loved it and it is perfect on a hot summer day when you cant use the oven. So definitely will be using it often!!
Our oven is not working and won’t be fixed for another three days. Stumbled on this while looking for non-oven meals. Awesome is the only way to describe how delicious this is. It gave me and hubby the lasagna fix we were craving without having to do take out. I did substitute low sodium beef broth for the water and layered shorter sized noodles vertically in the crockpot, as the size was almost a perfect match. Mine only had to cook for four hours, not including the 15 minutes after adding some grated pecorino romano and shredded mozzarella on top. Hubby is a huge fan of my oven version of lasagna, so the kudos from him should tell you this recipe is a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing!
Can you make it with cooked noodles and just cut cooking time in half ?