This is our really easy Instant Pot lasagna casserole with jar sauce recipe with pasta and ground beef. Made like our Crockpot lasagna casserole but cooked in just minutes. Lazy lasagna is deconstructed and can be made in a Ninja Foodi too.
If you love quick one pot meals you are going to love our lazy lasagna made in about 15 minutes. We have created a lot of easy Instant Pot recipes over the years but this is my kids’ favorite meal.
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!
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!
Ninja Foodi (Option)
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.
Lazy Lasagna Ingredients
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 spicy ground sausage or ground beef 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.
Jar of spaghetti sauce makes things a lot easier this go around though if you made Instant Pot spaghetti sauce ahead of time you could certainly use that.
Can you make lazy lasagna with ravioli?
Yes 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 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.
Do you have to boil noodles first?
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.
How Long to Cook Lazy Lasagna in Instant Pot
You are going to need a few minutes at the beginning with the saute function to cook the meat first. Then when you combine everything else together you only need 5 minutes for the noodles to get tender. If you are using small sizes or like them more al dente go for 4 minutes instead!
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.
Instant Pot Lasagna Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef, or spicy ground sausage is tastiest
- 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.