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–+ servings
black plate with slice of slow cooker lasagna garnished with sliced basil
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5 from 1 vote

Best Slow Cooker Lasagna

Easy weeknight meal - Slow Cooker Lasagna with layers of rich tomato meat sauce, noodles you don't have to pre-boil and plenty of melty cheese. Feed a crowd with the full recipe or scale or 2 with a leftover lunch or freezer meal.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories:

Equipment

  • slow cooker/crockpot

Ingredients

The sauce:

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 25 ounce jar marinara + splash of water, stock or red wine

Cheese mixture:

  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese see notes below for protein option
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 8 ounce block mozzarella cheese 2 cups if using pre-shredded) - divided

Also need:

  • 16 ounce package regular lasagna noodles NOT oven-ready
  • nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

MEAT SAUCE:

  • In a large skillet over medium heat brown ground beef. Season with salt, black pepper,  garlic powder and italian seasoning. Add onion and continue cooking 2-3 minutes or until onions are tender tender and beef is no longer pink.
  • Stir in worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Continue cooking 2 minutes. Drain any excess fat. Pour sauce into the meat mixture. Add a splash of water, red wine OR beef stock to to the jar. Cover, shake and pour into the skillet to get the rest of the sauce out. Cook 5 minutes to let flavors come together.

CHEESE BLEND:

  • To a medium bowl, blend ricotta, egg, parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and chopped parsley and set aside.

ASSEMBLY:

  • Lightly coat the bottom and sides of the crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Add about 1/2 cup of meat sauce -- enough for a thin layer. Top with a layer of uncooked noodles, breaking them to fit in a single layer.
  • Add spoonful's of ricotta blend over the top then spread to mostly cover the noodles. Repeat layers: SAUCE, NOODLES, CHEESE BLEND, ending with SAUCE.
  • Top with remaining mozzarella. Cover the crockpot with a clean dish towel then add the lid. The dish towel traps excess moisture so the lasagna isn’t watery.
  • Cook on LOW about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until noodles are tender. Let the lasagna rest 10 minutes before cutting into it. Note: Every slow cooker heats and cooks differently – trust your own. My lasagna was done in just over 2 1/2 hours on LOW. Yours may take more or less time.

Notes

Swap 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese for ricotta for added protein without altering the taste (puree cottage cheese before mixing with other cheeses).