Crockpot Lasagna is the present that retains on giving. Proud layers of saucy beef, melty mozzarella, tender noodles, and a sneaky spinach cottage cheese filling, this hearty Italian favourite can feed a crowd and tastes improbable leftover too!
Lasagna is sort of an accomplishment.
The second if you attain your greatest spatula down by the layers to disclose the masterpiece of stacked cheese, meat, and noodles inside is one in every of glory and satisfaction.
Lasagna layers do take a while to prep, however this simple recipe streamlines them wherever attainable.
- The meat layer is made with spaghetti sauce to maintain it simple.
- The sluggish cooker means all the work occurs earlier within the day, providing you with extra flexibility earlier than dinner.
- No boiling of the noodles is required, hooray! Simply layer them proper into the sluggish cooker.
For a sluggish cooker pasta with even much less prep time, take a look at my Crock Pot Pasta, which doesn’t require assembling layers.
Or for a no-noodle model, you’ll love this Crock Pot Low Carb Lasagna, which makes use of eggplant and zucchini noodles.
The best way to Make Crockpot Lasagna
To pack within the max quantity of diet, I used protein-packed cottage cheese, handy frozen spinach, and lean floor beef.
Be at liberty to attempt a unique floor protein, make your crockpot lasagna with ricotta, or add extra sautéed greens like those you’ll discover in Vegetable Lasagna.
Tip!
While you uncover the crockpot lasagna, it’ll look soupy, however don’t panic. As soon as the lasagna rests for 20 minutes, it’ll arrange and the surplus liquid can be absorbed.
The Components
- Floor Beef. Lean floor beef is wholesome, hearty, and flavorful, making it excellent for our simple crockpot lasagna recipe.
- Oregano. Provides an earthy, herby taste to the meat.
- Balsamic Vinegar. Helps give the meat layer a observe of wanted acidity.
- Purple Pepper Flakes. For a contact of spice.
- Marinara. I selected to make use of jarred pasta sauce for this lasagna, because it’s fast and simple. Be certain that to make use of one thing good high quality that you just get pleasure from.
- Low-Fats Cottage Cheese. Low-fat cottage cheese helps us create a lighter lasagna whereas nonetheless guaranteeing it’s wealthy and flavorful.
- Frozen Spinach. Utilizing frozen spinach on this lasagna is a straightforward strategy to sneak in further diet. Spinach is full of fiber and nutritional vitamins.
- Egg. Egg helps bind the cheese layer collectively, guaranteeing it received’t run out throughout cooking and serving.
- Parmesan. Provides nuttiness and saltiness to the cheese combination.
- Basil. Tastes improbable within the cheese layer.
- Lasagna Noodles. Lasagna noodles are thick and hearty, making them best for the sluggish cooker. The tasty sauce, meat, and cheese layers all cling to them.
- Mozzarella. A scrumptious, gooey lid of mozzarella cheese is a trademark of any good lasagna. I used part-skim mozzarella to maintain issues mild.
- Water. Including water to the lasagna helps create steam within the sluggish cooker. The moisture retains the substances from drying out and kick-starts the cooking course of.
The Instructions
- Brown the meat and onion.
- Put aside 1 cup of the marinara, then stir the remaining 3 cups into the pan with the meat.
- Stir the cottage cheese and spinach filling collectively.
- Unfold the reserved marinara on the underside of the sluggish cooker, then high it with 3 raw lasagna noodles.
- Add one-third of the meat sauce.
- Dollop the cheese combination excessive, spreading it into a good layer.
- Prime with a part of the mozzarella.
- Layer within the subsequent 3 noodles and half of the remaining meat sauce. Add all the cheese combination, and half of the remaining mozzarella.
- End with the three remaining noodles and remaining meat sauce. Slowly pour the water excessive of the lasagna.
- Prepare dinner crockpot lasagna on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Flip the sluggish cooker off and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on high.
- Take away the sluggish cooker insert, cowl it, and let it cool on a wire rack for no less than 20 minutes. Serve with recent basil and ENJOY!
Wine Pairing
Serve this crock pot lasagna with Chianti, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or Sangiovese.
Storage Suggestions
- To Retailer. Refrigerate lasagna in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days.
- To Reheat. Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish within the oven at 350 levels F or within the microwave.
- To Freeze. Freeze leftovers in an hermetic, freezer-safe storage container for as much as 3 months. Let thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
Meal Prep Tip
As much as 1 day upfront, put together the recipe by Step 2. Refrigerate the combination in an hermetic storage container till you’re prepared to complete the recipe.
What to Serve with Crockpot Lasagna
Crockpot lasagna pairs nicely with every thing from roasted veggies to salad to garlic bread.
Advisable Instruments to Make this Recipe
The Greatest Sluggish Cooker
Put together your favourite meals hands-free with this equipment. This model is programmable, which helps deter overcooking.
Make this tonight and prepare for the oooohs and ahhhhs!
Incessantly Requested Questions
Sure, you possibly can simply make this recipe gluten free by swapping the common lasagna noodles for gluten free lasagna noodles.
In a phrase, no. In the event you cook dinner on excessive as an alternative of low, the noodles is not going to cook dinner by evenly.
- 1 pound 90% lean floor beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon floor black pepper divided
- 6 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon crimson pepper flakes non-obligatory
- 1 (32-ounce) jar good-quality marinara sauce (4 cups), divided
- 24 ounces low-fat cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese (about 3 cups)
- 1 (10-ounce) bag or field frozen spinach thawed and squeezed very dry
- 1 massive egg
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup packed recent basil leaves chopped, or 1/4 cup chopped recent parsley, plus further for serving
- 9 dry lasagna noodles don’t use oven prepared/no boil noodles
- 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup water
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Coat a 6- or 7-quart sluggish cooker very generously on the underside and sides with nonstick spray. Warmth a big, deep pan over medium-high warmth. Add the meat, onion, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Prepare dinner, breaking up the meat with a spatula or spoon, till the meat is browned and cooked by, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, balsamic vinegar, and crimson pepper flakes and cook dinner 30 seconds.
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Reserve 1 cup of the marinara sauce. Take away the pan from the warmth and add the remaining 3 cups marinara sauce. Stir to mix, then put aside.
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In a big bowl, use a fork to stir collectively the cottage cheese, spinach, egg, Parmesan, basil, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper till evenly mixed. Use the fork to interrupt aside the spinach as wanted.
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Assemble the lasagna: unfold the reserved 1 cup marinara sauce on the underside of the sluggish cooker. Lay 3 of the noodles on high of the sauce, breaking them as wanted to make a roughly even layer—it doesn’t should be excellent and is ok if a few of the noodles overlap barely and components of the sauce peek by. I sometimes lay one noodle down the middle, then break the opposite two in half and prepare them in a large “V” within the open areas on both aspect of the middle noodle.
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Prime with one-third of the meat sauce, spreading it into a good layer.
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Evenly dollop half of the cottage cheese combination over the meat sauce. With the again of a fork, unfold it into a good layer.
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Sprinkle with one-third of the mozzarella.
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Repeat layers with the following 3 noodles, half of the remaining meat sauce, all the remaining cottage cheese combination, and half of the remaining mozzarella.
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End layering with the three remaining noodles and remaining meat sauce (refrigerate the final portion of the mozzarella till the top—in the event you add it now, it’ll disappear into the sauce whereas the lasagna cooks). Steadily pour the water in a sluggish stream excessive and across the edges of the lasagna, permitting a few of it to trickle down the sides so it flows between the lasagna and the insert.
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Cowl the sluggish cooker and cook dinner on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, till the noodles are tender and the lasagna registers 140 levels F within the heart (do NOT cook dinner on excessive or the noodles is not going to cook dinner by evenly— mine was executed in 3 hours and quarter-hour). Flip off the sluggish cooker, uncover, and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
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Rigorously take away the insert from the bottom and set it on a wire rack (use oven mitts if wanted; the insert is scorching). Get well and let the lasagna relaxation for no less than 20 minutes (in the event you serve it instantly, it’ll crumble). To serve, sprinkle the highest generously with extra recent basil. Minimize the lasagna with a knife and scoop out servings with an enormous spatula or spoon. Take pleasure in scorching.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate lasagna in an hermetic storage container for as much as 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish within the oven at 350 levels F or within the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze leftovers in an hermetic, freezer-safe storage container for as much as 3 months. Let thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
Serving: 1(of 6)Energy: 587kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 52gFats: 20gSaturated Fats: 10gPolyunsaturated Fats: 1gMonounsaturated Fats: 6gTrans Fats: 0.5gLdl cholesterol: 119mgPotassium: 1154mgFiber: 5gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 6702IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 586mgIron: 5mg
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