Crockpot Lasagna Casserole

Our easy Crockpot lasagna casserole with jar sauce is packed with all the flavors of traditional lasagna but deconstructed! No boiling required, just dump ground beef, cheese, sauce and pasta in your slow cooker for this family friendly meal.

I have made a lot of things over the years but last night I decided to make what we are calling, lasagna casserole.  It’s now one of our favorite pasta crockpot recipes.  Boiling the pasta is not required but it is made with the same ingredients as the old fashioned layered dish you have made for years.

I love my slow cooker, it just make my life easier and meals simple in the kitchen. We both work full time in this house, and manage 3 kids on top of that. The goal is to also put a hot meal on the table for us and eat together a few nights each week, this makes it possible.

When I first starting using all of my countertop appliances I made a batch of Instant Pot lasagna casserole. It was such a hit that I wanted to figure out how to cook lazy lasagna like this low and slow prepped in the morning. It too was amazing!!

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

What is lazy lasagna?

So why is it called lazy vs. the traditional method you would normally layer and make in a pan?? Well this one skips the layering and long prep time. Instead of assembling sheets of pasta, ricotta, meat sauce, and cheese in multiple layers, lazy lasagna usually combines all the main ingredients in an easier way, often in a single pan or casserole.

I know, sounds like a dream and not possible right? We have made crock pot lasagna before, but this uses smaller noodles to make it more of a throw together casserole. I like this more than the traditional way because kids can eat it easily and it can fit on the fork with each bite.

The only real prep you need to do beforehand is to brown the meat. There are several choices as far as that goes too. Use ground beef, most common, but our most favorite would be a roll of spicy ground sausage from Jimmy dean. Adds a ton of flavor to the dish and a bit of heat too.

Ingredient Notes

I like my large 8 qt. crockpot for this one so it has lots of room to bubble up. You can use any small noodles but we like medium shells or elbow macaroni the best so you get a few in your mouth with each bite.

To make things easier I just use 1 jar of pasta sauce, jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce typically. If you only have tomato sauce I would add some Italian seasonings too.

• Mozzarella cheese is traditional for either way, it should be shredded.
• Ricotta or cottage cheese are optional but gives it a creaminess for sure
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (yes, it works great)
• Ground beef (can omit but adds a great taste), it’s one of our favorite Crockpot hamburger recipes but spicy Italian sausage works too
• Diced tomatoes (I like the petite version personally)
• If we have parmesan cheese we will put some on top when serving this

Substitutions

An alternative to that one would be cottage cheese. I have even found dairy free varieties so my husband can enjoy this dish with us. Daiya has options for everything except without the lactose.

Can you use frozen ground beef?

Yes! If you forgot to defrost it beforehand, follow these directions on how to defrost ground beef fast first and then brown before adding. That is really the only prep you’ll need to do outside of your slow cooker.

Since there are no regular lasagna noodles, there’s no need to boil any water for any reason. This cuts down on the cook time and frustration significantly.

It literally cost under $10 to make and feed all of us PLUS there was enough for me to eat the next day for lunch, bonus!! One of many easy cheap crockpot recipes on our site.

If you like a wetter consistency just add more spaghetti sauce. Then try our favorite Instant Pot lasagna soup seen here! Healthy and the kids will love it because it’s super flavorful.

What is a good side dish?

Whether I cook something lighter like our Crockpot Italian Wedding Soup or this I tend to make the same sides that we love.

Our favorite side dish would be this refrigerated biscuits pull apart bread. In each dish, top with remaining cheese and serve together or 1/2 hour before serving melt cheese on top of the whole thing in the pot. You can print recipe below. It is complete with nutritional information too, i.e. saturated fat and calories per serving.

What is the best way to freeze leftovers?

Even though this isn’t the “traditional way” to make it, since there are the same ingredients you’d treat it as such. Whether you made lasagna casserole in the oven or this you’d follow these steps;

• If you want to freeze it after some has been eaten, you can put leftovers into airtight plastic containers or freezer bags.
• Always allow food to completely cool to room temperature before packaging it up and putting it in the fridge or freezer. If you don’t it can grow bacteria easier when cooled and make you sick.
• You can freeze lasagna before you cook it as well! I haven’t tried this but know others who have done this.

If you’re a fan of batch cooking it’s a great idea to assemble the first 3 instructions below and store in freezer bags. Then defrost what’s in there, throw it in your Crock when you’re ready and continue with the next steps as usual. Here are more easy Crockpot dinner ideas too.