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.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
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.
Pressure Cooker Lasagna Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground sausage, spicy is tastiest, can use ground beef alternatively
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 24 oz., we use Barilla Traditional
- 2 cup water
- 2 cup pasta, uncooked, we use Barilla penne pasta
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese, we use Galbani with whole milk
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
Instructions
- Set your pressure cooker to saute.
- Add your olive oil, ground sausage or ground beef, and diced onions. Cook until outsides are no longer pink. Drain grease and return the pot to your pressure cooker.
- Turn machine off (important step so burn notification isn’t triggered because it is too hot). Add spices and stir with meat/onions.
- Spread ground beef/sausage mixture out evenly across the bottom of your pot. (it creates a barrier for the noodles so they don’t stick to the bottom)
- Add spaghetti sauce on top of meat, pour your 2 c. water into your spaghetti sauce jar and shake to get remaining sauce out, pour that into your pot on top of your sauce.
- Then pour your uncooked noodles in as the next layer. Do NOT stir! Just gently push down noodles so they are submerged into the liquid.
- Put lid on and set to pressure, high, for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release.
- Stir in 1.5 c. mozzarella cheese and allow to melt. Can either stir in ricotta now or just put a dollop on top of each serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
easy to make, i used ground turkey I have a picky older teen it was good
Oh good
Why does this call for 2 cups of mozzarella but instructions only show 1.5?
I typically keep 1/2 cup aside to sprinkle on the top when done
Sounds great. Question though – when you use hamburger, do you drain the grease after browning? What’s the easiest way to do that, without burning myself on the pot?
@Nicki, I just kind of wrap a paper owel around a wooden spoon and stir around the pot. Change out paper towel as often as you need to to get all the grease.
Can you add the ricotta and or cheese in before you cook it??
So I had the same issue as someone else did with 5 mins and the noodles were still hard. I did make sure they were totally submerged. Wondering if it’s the type of noodle used. I put the lid back on and am trying to PC it for 5 more mins to see if that helps. It does smell great though. Will update after dinner 🙂
Update, so what ended up being perfect was 10 mins PC with a 5 min natural release. Then add in the mozzarella and let sit for 5 more mins. Pasta came out perfect and tastes amazing!!
Wow! This was very tasty! I like my pasta super soft, so I did go 6 minutes instead of 5 and it was perfect!
Oh good!
We enjoyed this, but our pasta wasn’t cooked enough. Next time I’ll let it go the 7mins my Pot sets to automatically and it should work better. Added some Italian seasoning and I think will try some zucchini and/or spinach in there as well.
Sounds like noodles weren’t submerged in the liquid. I have never had the issue with noodles not cooking if you submerge them.
@The Typical Mom, I find that the rule of thumb that works for me (we like it softer than al dente) is half the time stated on the package, since different pasta requires different cook times. I give it an extra minute because we like it softer.