Pressure Cooker Lasagna Casserole

This is our really easy Pressure Cooker lasagna casserole with jar sauce, pasta and ground sausage made like our Crockpot lasagna casserole recipe but cooked in just minutes. Lazy Instant Pot lasagna is deconstructed and can be made in a Ninja Foodi too.

If you love using your Instant Pot and the taste of lasagna, you can make lazy lasagna like this any night of the week in about 15 minutes. We have created a lot of easy Instant Pot recipes over the years but this is my kids’ favorite meal.

Instant Pot Lasagna Casserole

This is super cheesy, easier to eat than traditional lasagna, but only takes 10 minutes! It has the same great taste you love with most of the same ingredients but in a deconstructed way! We loved it so much I created a LONG list of Instant Pot casseroles for you to enjoy too!

In the past we just used our slow cooker for all the things. With that said this whole idea started there. Same ingredients but the noodles had to be added closer to the end so they didn’t get too soft. It took all day too though so I had to have it together in the morning to make it in a slow cooker.

You could call it cheater lasagna because it’s so much easier than the “traditional method”. It really does taste just like the traditional dish, we love but made in a much shorter time. And there were no big and slippery noodles that make it difficult for my kiddos to eat. 😉 If you’re looking for a fabulous comfort food your entire family will love, you’ve got to try this!

You do not have to have an IP to make this though. We have a few different brands at home so we can test them out. I will say all of them, the Mealthy, Crockpot Express and this makes a great Ninja Foodi recipe too. You just need the saute and high pressure function (with the lid that is not attached for the Foodi) to make this one.

There are several great things about this one pot meal. One is that it’s just that, you need just this one pot to brown the ground beef and don’t need another to boil the penne pasta either. And you literally can use any type of noodles you like too. I buy what is on sale, period. I do think the medium size pasta is best vs. bigger or smaller.

Ingredient Notes

There are a lot of noodles shapes in medium sizes. I also like elbow macaroni or Penne pasta shapes, the squiggly looks to them, shells, whatever. You literally use the same ingredients you would if you were making lasagna in a pan except for the long flat noodles. That is what makes it so much easier to eat.

Of course you can season it as you wish but if you use a jar of spaghetti sauce most of the Italian traditional seasonings are already there! As far as cheese we love a lot of cheeses (you just can’t have enough cheese in our eyes) but mozzarella is traditional.

I like ground beef or spicy ground sausage but for a low fat version you could certainly use turkey or chicken ground and sauteed with the same Italian seasonings. You could even add a packet of taco seasoning if you wanted bolder flavors and a fusion of Mexican in there. 😉 To make it spicy use a bit of red pepper flakes or chili powder.

Galbani Ricotta cheese is our fave, you can find this in the refrigerated section at Walmart with the cheeses. Cottage cheese could be substituted, or dairy free varieties of either works too.

Do you have to boil noodles first to make lazy lasagna?

Nope! Not if you follow our directions here. With this the pasta boils right inside the jar of spaghetti sauce and soak it up. With added water you just add all the ingredients together and cook together as a one pot meal.

Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna with Ravioli

You could even use small frozen ravioli in there!! That adds a whole new element since those are stuffed with cheese or ground beef. Same timing would apply. We have done this with other Instant Pot pasta recipes where you just dump them in (the small sizes) frozen submerged into the liquid at the top to get tender.

We have done this to make lasagna casserole made in the oven too. Another time we added about 1/2 of a cup of ricotta cheese into the mix when it was done as well as a dollop on top, that was fabulous too.

Ninja Foodi Lasagna Casserole

Directions and cook times below will apply for any style pressure cooker. You be using the saute function to brown ground beef Pressure button will then be pushed once everything is added, on high pressure Follow directions below and enjoy this easy Ninja Foodi recipe!

Let us know what you think of this easy recipe. If you add any other spices to this easy pressure cooker lasagna casserole to make it even better. You should try our Instant Pot lasagna soup after this that uses many of the same ingredients!

We are huge cheese lovers at our house so of course you need a large helping of shredded mozzarella inside but more on top too! Then you can either stir in ricotta now or just put a dollop on top of each serving which we do sometimes with our Instant Pot Spaghetti.

How to serve

Putting a dollop of ricotta on top is great too because you can really taste it at it’s finest all alone with some of your lasagna on your spoon as well as the cheese! It is totally up to you, either way is so yummy. Want to make this lasagna casserole another way?

• Our Crockpot lasagna made in your slow cooker we love as well, no boiling required for that one either
• If you want something a bit different but with the same flavors, give our lasagna soup a whirl, seen below.

Thinking outside of the box really changes up dinnertime and makes it more fun.