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 shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, 1 large egg and 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped.
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 8-10 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 3-5 hours. You want most of the liquid to be absorbed and noodles should be soft. NOTE: see the notes below for more cooking time information.
When it is finished cooking, add 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese evenly on top 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 READ: When I first came out with this recipe in 2012, slow cookers were all pretty standard and they cooked on low temperatures pretty evenly. Since then, slow cookers have evolved into many different types. I have found that newer slow cookers can run extremely hot. If you have a slow cooker with a metal insert or a newer model of slow cooker, please note that they can get very hot and can burn certain foods like this. So be aware of the type of slow cooker you have and how it cooks. If you have a metal insert or a new model of slow cooker, I would recommend that you check the lasagna after about 2-3 hours to see how it is doing. This is why you see the larger variation of cooking time between 3-5 hours.
FAQ's: Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to other popular questions.
If you have a slow cooker that has a locking lid, do not lock it while cooking. It is only meant to be locked while traveling. Locking the latches during cooking might build up pressure and might cause the lid to shatter or even cause the ceramic to break.
Only a 5-6 quart oval slow cooker will work properly with this recipe. A round slow cooker will not create the desired result.
Ricotta can be substituted for the small curd cottage cheese but that layer might be a bit drier and more crumbly.