Crockpot Lasagna is juicy, cheesy, beefy, and tastes just as good as a Classic Lasagna, but easier! There is no need to pre-cook noodles, you just add them raw and they cook up perfectly tender in the slow cooker. This is also a make-ahead lasagna that can be assembled a day ahead for convenient meals (hello Sunday lunch).
Slow cookers have been a little neglected with the popularity of Instant Pots and air fryers, but let’s not forget why we love them in the first place – you can set it and forget it until dinner time (like Crockpot Chili), so it’s ready when you are.
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You’ll Love this Crockpot Lasagna
Lasagna in the slow cooker is one of my favorite Sunday lunch ideas. You can assemble it a day ahead and refrigerate, then turn it on before heading off to church and have it ready when you get home. It works perfectly because we love our leisurely Sunday morning pace and it’s great to know I already have lunch figured out.
I took a crockpot of this yummy lasagna casserole over to my parent’s house one Sunday afternoon for our weekly family lunch and everyone in my family (young and old-ish) was completely smitten with it. This is a KEEPER!!
Ingredients for Crockpot Lasagna
- Ground Beef – The best beef for lasagna should have about 20% fat content
- Onion & Garlic – aromatics that give deep flavor and aroma
- Salt, Pepper & Oregano – simple pantry staples are all you need
- Red wine adds incredible flavor to the meat sauce
- Marinara – use a high quality store-bought marinara, or homemade marinara
- Parsley – added to the meat sauce and cheese sauce
- Lasagna Noodles – Use regular uncooked lasagna noodles (NOT “oven ready).
- Cheese – This lasagna combines 3 cheeses. The cottage cheese might surprise you but takes the cheese sauce to the next level.
- A little water is added to help with hot spots and to cook more evenly. If your crockpot is prone to hot spots, consider using a slow cooker liner or a different slow cooker.
How to Make Crockpot Lasagna
1. In a large deep pan over medium heat, saute the ground beef and onion for 5 min or until no longer pink, breaking it up with your spatula. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute then add 1/4 cup red wine and simmer until nearly evaporated (5 min).
2. Add 3 cups marinara, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp chopped parsley. Mix well, cover and simmer 5 min while you stir together your cheese sauce.
3. For the cheese sauce: In a medium bowl, combine 15 oz ricotta, 16 oz cottage cheese (un-drained), 1 large egg, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 2 Tbsp parsley. Mix well.
4. Lightly oil your slow cooker. Spread 1 cup marinara on the bottom then add 3 noodles, breaking to fit. Top with 1/3 of the Meat Sauce, sprinkle on 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, then spread with 1/2 of your cheese sauce and repeat until you have 3 layers of noodles. Top with remaining meat sauce, 3/4 cup mozzarella and pour 1/2 cup water around the edges, allowing some of it to go down the side of the dish into the lasagna.
5. Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 to 4 hours**. If desired, soak up any excess oil with a paper towel then sprinkle on the remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella, cover and cook for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
Let the lasagna rest 15 minutes before serving, otherwise, it will be blazing hot and too loose to serve.
What’s the best slow cooker? We used a 6 Quart programmable slow cooker when I took these photos. We have since upgraded to an 8 Quart crockpot. Note: If you use a 3 quart, you will need to cut the recipe in half and break the noodles in half so they fit easier into the crockpot.
Crock Pot Lasagna Layers
Here is a visual reference on how to assemble a slow cooker lasagna in order of adding to the crockpot. I follow this list every time.
- 1 cup marinara – spread on the bottom
- 3 noodles (broken to fit)
- 1/3 of the meat sauce
- 3/4 cup grated mozzarella
- 1/2 ricotta cheese sauce
- 3 noodles
- 1/3 meat sauce
- 3/4 cup of grated mozzarella
- 1/2 ricotta cheese sauce
- 3 noodles
- 1/3 meat sauce
- 3/4 cup of grated mozzarella (refrigerate remaining cheese)
- 1/2 cup water around the edges
- After 4 hours, top with 3/4 cup of grated mozzarella
Common Questions
Yes, you can substitute with beef broth if you prefer. If alcohol is a concern, keep in mind, it’s mostly cooked out on the stove.
Spinach is delicious in lasagna. We used it in our Chicken Lasagna recipe. One of our readers reported great results using chopped fresh spinach here. You could stir it into the cheese sauce.
You can use oven-ready noodles, but they will cook faster than regular lasagna noodles which can get too soft, which is why I prefer uncooked lasagna noodles.
We have tested this with Gluten-Free lasagna noodles but they did become mushier than traditional noodles.
Fully assemble and cook, then cool to room temperature, transfer to a freezer container, and freeze. To serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and reheat portions in the microwave or oven until roll-ups are heated through and cheese is melted.
You can substitute it with some more ricotta.
A great big cheesy slice for me, please! I hope your whole family falls in love with this Crockpot Lasagna recipe. It’s one of the easiest dinners and one that the kids always enjoy. Meat sauce, cheese sauce, melty cheese between the layers – what’s not to love?
More Crockpot Recipes
- Pork Carnitas – Mexican pulled pork
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili – it doesn’t get any easier
- Crockpot BBQ Chicken – delicious in sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce is perfect over any pasta
- Crockpot Pulled Pork is so tender and saucy
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos for taco Tuesday
Easy Crockpot Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
For the Meat Sauce
- 1 lb ground beef, (80/20 fat content)
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/4 cup red wine, or beef broth
- 32 oz marinara sauce
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped and divided
For the Cheese Sauce:
- 15 oz reduced fat ricotta cheese
- 16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 lb mozzarella cheese, (4 cups shredded), divided
For Assembling Lasagna:
- 9 lasagna noodles, uncooked, NOT “oven ready”
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a large deep pan over medium heat, combine ground beef and onion. Cook, breaking up meat with a spatula until no longer pink (5 min). Add garlic and sauté 1 to 2 mins. Add 1/4 cup red wine and simmer until nearly evaporated (5 min).
- Add 3 cups marinara, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp chopped parsley. Mix well, cover and simmer 5 min.:
- Make the cheese sauce: In a medium bowl, combine: 15 oz ricotta, 16 oz cottage cheese, 1 large egg, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 2 Tbsp parsley. Mix well.
- Lightly oil a 6 qt slow cooker. Spread 1 cup marinara sauce on the bottom then top with 3 noodles, breaking them to fit. Top with 1/3 of the Meat Sauce, sprinkle with 3/4 cup of your mozzarella cheese, then spread the top with 1/2 of your ricotta cheese mixture and repeat until you have 3 layers of noodles. Top the third layer of noodles with remaining meat sauce, 3/4 cup mozzarella and pour 1/2 cup water around the edges, allowing some of it to go down the side of the dish into lasagna.
- Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 to 4 hours** then top with reserved mozzarella, cover and cook 10 mins or until cheese melts. Let the lasagna rest 15 mins for easier serving.
Notes
**Cook 3 1/2 hours on low if slow cooking right away and 4 hours on low if slow cooking after having the lasagna assembled and refrigerated overnight.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
My crockpot is also 8quart. How much should I increase the recipe for another layer?
Since you’ll be adding another layer, you have to also slightly increase the amoung of ingredients. Just make sure make that the layers fit within the crockpot and that the ingredients are spread evenly.
Made it yesterday and it was delicious and the people I shared it with said it was so good too
I’m so happy you all enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Susan!
I used this recipe, but made it Gluten free (sub with Catelli no boil GF lasagna noodles.)
Because the noodles are thin and get rather soft quickly, I double layered them, cooked on low for 1h30m, rest 30m, and served. It held shape and the texture was spot on. Great recipe and happy to have lasagna again. I did drain the beef after cooking, before creating the meat sauce, and reduced the amount of cheese sauce slightly just for preference.