Crockpot Lasagna

Easy crockpot lasagna recipe with no boiling required. Great pasta dinner your whole family will love using just a few ingredients and cooks quickly in your slow cooker. It’s one of our favorite crock pot recipes because you can dump it in and go.

This is almost as easy as our slow cooker lasagna casserole but with the same wide noodles you use in the old fashioned method. I will never make this dish in the oven again after this!

No Boil Crockpot Lasagna Recipe

For me the tedious and frustrating part is cooking the noodles. Trying to take one out at a time while they’re scalding hot and trying not to break them is the worst. Another way to cheat in a way is to just use bottled sauce, no guilt, just do it. If you have time to do from scratch then by all means go ahead and do that but either way is great.

I LOVE my crockpot…..and not ashamed to admit it!  It’s not just for stews and casseroles anymore, and what better dish to cook than a down home favorite!! Before we had made a version of lazy lasagna which is a sort of deconstructed version. Now it was time to see if we could use the same ingredients in our step by step lasagna recipe in a pan in the oven, this way.

with Spaghetti Sauce

If you follow my blog at all you know I am all about EASY meals my whole family (of 5) will enjoy and takes little time to prepare.  With 3 kids, a household to maintain, working full time, and taking care of myself I like easy meal ideas such as this one. With that said we are using a jar of Ragu (or Prego works) vs. homemade.

I use one for this recipe, one to make my muffin tin pizzas, and then have  another for spaghetti during the month as well in just one purchase.

It’s super tasty and everything you need is all in the jar so it’s a great for busy Moms! Next on the list are the other things listed in the recipe below….I will show you the steps and how easy to prepare this is in the next few pictures. 😉

Ingredient Notes

For the meat we are going to use and precook a roll of Ground beef, Italian sausage or spicy Jimmy Dean ground sausage will give it some heat. Use half and half if you want a little bit of a kick cooked in a skillet over medium heat to begin with and drain.

For the layers we are going to use typically the traditional items you would normally like Ricotta cheese but I also add in there some Cottage cheese (yes really) for added protein, I think it melts really well together.

I buy bags of already shredded mozzarella cheese to my life easier but it is a bit more expensive so go for a block and shred yourself if you’d rather.

Lasagna noodles (NO need to boil before putting in your crockpot – Yes!) are used and I just break them to fit in each layer. You could even break into thirds to serve up easier so they don’t flop around.

In this case when I make Crock pot lasagna or spaghetti I will use jarred spaghetti sauce, meat sauce or the one with fresh basil is a nice touch if you can find that version of pasta sauce. Italian seasoning or other seasons you normally add to your pasta can be mixed in there if desired.

Dairy Free Option

Okay so my husband is now lactose intolerant so things have had to change around here. Surprisingly enough I have found dairy free all the things at the store, just look for it. Daiya has great shredded vegan cheeses, and Lactaid cottage cheese he says is quite good. Total comfort food I tell you.

with Alfredo Sauce

If you wanted to make Crockpot white lasagna instead you should just swap out the same amount of that type. This is another fun version that we love that offers a whole new tweak. You still follow the same sauce, noodles and cheese combo just with alfredo instead.

with Ravioli

You could use these as another version of noodles too, like our baked frozen ravioli lasagna. Just throw them in frozen right out of the bag in the layer where the others would be. Do not overlap them so they can absorb the liquid and get tender.

Tips

Now first spray the inside with non stick cooking spray (will be easier to clean later). On your first layer, add tomato sauce so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of your slow cooker really. Break your lasagna noodles in half and lay them over the sauce mixture. It won’t be perfect but that is the beauty of lasagna, it doesn’t have to be!

Next…..spoon the cheese mixture on top of your uncooked noodles. Seriously……I just glob it on there and don’t bother smoothing it out, it will be perfect when it is done my friends. 😉

Put your slow cooker on low for about 4 hours, don’t use high or it will get too done on the outside. If you want cheese on the top just add some mozzarella. Then recover for about 10 minutes.

You will need to precook your meat, you don’t want to add it in there raw in this case. Same goes for making other dishes like our Instant Pot lasagna soup, deconstructed and simple to throw together for another night. 😉

FAQ

Cook on low for about 4 hours cooking time. Add additional mozzarella cheese about 10 min. before serving, recover until melted and then serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese! This is how to reheat lasagna in oven if you don’t finish it all.

Once you’ve tried this you should give these other lasagna recipes a try our Crockpot pizza which is always fun! Printable recipe with nutrition facts such as saturated fat and calories in recipe card.