Lasagna just got soo much easier with this Slow Cooker Lasagna! Layer everything in the crockpot–even UN-COOKED noodles!
This week I’m going to do something a little special. Maybe I’ll call it “Back to the Basics!” Every day this week I’ll be sharing one of my favorite “basic” recipes. Those recipes that everyone loves (like Chocolate Chip Cookies…hint hint 😉 ) and everyone needs a great recipe for! I wont give any more away, but I’m really excited to share some total classic recipes here on the blog!
We just got hit with a huge snow storm last night so I’m starting the week off with this classic lasagna recipe that you can make in your slow cooker!
Want to hear something sad? My Dad and oldest brother don’t eat cheese! Seriously. They wont touch it! No cheddar, no mozzarella, no parmesan…nothing! How can you live a life without cheese??! That means that Lasagna, one of the most delicious meals of all time, was a rare specialty at our house. Whenever my mom would make it, (usually when Dad was out of town) the rest of us would be SO excited! It was gobbled up in minutes!
But for as delicious as lasagna is, it can be time consuming. That’s why I LOVE to make mine in the slow cooker. You don’t even have to pre-cook the noodles! Just layer sauce, noodles, cheese and repeat. Let it cook for a few hours and BAM! Tasty homemade Slow Cooker Lasagna with hardly any mess! I make my mom’s awesome homemade spaghetti sauce for the sauce, but you could use any marinara sauce you like! You could also cook it with slow cooker liners to make clean up super easy!
UPDATE: 3/8/16: After comments that the lasagna was a little too runny I reduced the water to 1 1/4 cups in the recipe!
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound Italian sausage (I use hot)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 large onion , chopped*
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 Tbsp parsley
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- 1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 (8 oz) package regular lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1-1/2 cups cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef, Italian sausage and onion. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, and water. Stir and simmer 15-20 minutes. (You could make the sauce in advance!)
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Spread a fourth of the meat sauce into the bottom of your slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over the sauce (break the noodles to fit, if necessary). Combine the mozzarella, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce and sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese, if desired.
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Cover and cook on low for about 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.
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Looking for some more awesome Slow Cooker recipes?! Try these:
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
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Lisa says
I’ve been wanting to try a lasagna in the crockpot, and this recipe looks easy and tasty. I’m going to give a try tomorrow. Thank you! I’m new to your blog so I’m looking forward to exploring your other recipes.
Lauren Allen says
Thanks Lisa! I’d love to hear how you like it!
Barb Chesser says
I made this last week for my Bible study group and everyone loved it. In fact a couple of ladies told me this week that they had made it for their families after I gave them the recipe. Btw I didn’t find it soupy at all and I liked your sauce recipe better than mine. I’ll be using yours now.
Heather says
I’m assuming you should drain the grease after browning the meat correct? I am making this for dinner tomorrow 🙂
Lauren Allen says
Yes, you should drain the grease 🙂
Doug says
Thanks for the recipe! I haven’t done a slow cooker lasagna before…is it easy to scoop out the leftovers to save in the fridge for the next day?
Malissa McConnell says
I noticed you have cottage cheese…..I have always made lasagna in a pan with ricotta cheese is there a big difference and could you use ricotta in place of the cottage cheese?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Malissa, You couldn’t definitely use ricotta cheese if that’s what you prefer! I’d love to hear how you like it!
Jerri says
this was very good but was more like soup than lasagna. I will try it again but will probably cut back on the amount of water to add…
Trish Newell says
I an cooking it as we speak. I am so excited. It smells amazing. Thank you for the wonderful recipe
Danielle says
Is the sauce suppose to be waterly ??
Lauren Allen says
Hi Danielle, do you mean after it’s finished cooking? The sauce should thicken up as it cools.
Alexis says
I made this yesterday and substituted the ground round for Italian Seasoned ground turkey along with the Italian Sausage and so I in turn did not use the Worcestershire sauce and it was amazing. I was so excited to have my parents and boyfriend try it and they all loved it.
Thank you and continue to post these amazing recipes.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Alexis, those substitutions sound amazing! Thanks for coming back to comment–so happy your family liked it!
Suzanne B says
If you use a crock pot liner and place all the ingredients in the liner, clean up is a breeze.
Nikki says
I made this lasagna yesterday. Everyone loved it. I made a few adjustments based on the items I had on hand. I would like to try it in the oven too.
Joe says
Made this yesterday, and OMG it was delicious! Couple notes:
1. Used ground turkey and turkey sausage instead of beef/pork, and used 1 lb of each. It worked, but in hindsight, didn’t need THAT much meat in it, sauce was really more stew like as a result. On the other hand, those who mentioned theirs came out soup like, maybe that could help?
2. Used ricotta instead of cottage cheese since my son doesn’t like cottage cheese. Worked beautifully still.
3. I added some shredded parmesan to the mozzarella on top, that was AMAZING.
4. Maybe it was just mine, but this came out SUPER TALL. Like each square I cut from the lasagna was about 4 inches tall! Ended up cutting each square in half for portions, have a LOT of leftovers now.
But the biggest takeaway was how PERFECT it came out. Tasted exactly like the kind you would make in the oven, no problems with noodles being dry, etc. And because my slow cooker has a pre-set timer, I did low for 8 hours (4 and 6 hour settings are high temp) and that still turned out great.
Mikki says
Unbelievable taste. Will make it again. The mix of beef and sausage made the difference.
Natalie says
Do I need to cook the noodles befor I put it in the slow cooker?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Natalie, No, you add the noodles uncooked! Thats the beauty of doing it in the slow cooker :-)!
Beth says
I was so excited to find this recipe. My daughter is lactose intolerant and my son hates ricotta. Unfortunely.. The noodles kind of dissolved and it was very soupy. I’ll try again. We all loved the Flavors.
Ashlie says
Can I use traditional pasta sauce in place of tomato sauce? Started cooking and realized it’s in my fiance car 🙁
Lauren Allen says
Sure, that would work fine!
Kristin says
My first time making it in the crockpot and I won’t go back! Delish! Just like in the oven.
Nicole says
Great way to make lasagna! It was delicious! I used gluten free lasagna noodles and it turned out great. The one change I made: even before I added the water to the meat sauce, I felt that it was plenty watery enough. I saw other comments complaining about how it made lasagna soup, so I only added 1 cup of water, and it turned out perfect. Definitely wouldn’t have added any more than that!
Kristi says
I hate ricotta cheese and cottage cheese, is there a different substitute I could use?! Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Kristi, You could make the easy white bechamel sauce from this recipe as a substitute: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2016/02/classic-italian-lasagna.html
Christie says
Can you use oven ready lasagna noodles in your crock pot lasagna recipe?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Christie, that should work fine!
Monarch says
I just finished loading everything into the slow cooker – Hubby isn’t a huge fam of pasta and likes a ton of sauce so I added a can of diced tomatoes with the juice, and added 1 cup instead of 1.25 cups of water…. If it turns out to be a soup, I wont be disappointed lol. Will update the results later 🙂
Julie says
Can this recipe be cooked in the oven or do I need to reduce the water?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Julie, this recipe was really built for the slow cooker–you would need to adjust the liquid for the oven. I would high suggest this oven lasagna recipe instead (you can read the great reviews for yourself 🙂 ) https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2016/02/classic-italian-lasagna.html
Annette says
The meat sauce is awesome! My family loved it.
Heather says
I accidentally grabbed oven read lasagna noodles. Can that be used?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Heather, that should be fine–you wont need to cook it quite as long 🙂
Jordan says
I am definitely going to try this slow cooker lasagna this week I love slow cooker recipes so easy to do and takes so much stress away!
Shelley says
I will never again make regular lasagna! So easy! So good! I cooked the meats and onion the night before so it went together really fast. I used ricotta instead of cottage cheese (less moisture) but otherwise followed recipe exactly. It was perfect! I was having 5 guests and the recipe said it served 5, so I made 2 batches (the doubled recipe filled my 7 qt and smaller (5 qt?) slow cookers) but we didn’t even touch the smaller crockpot (it will freeze fine I’m sure so we’ll have it again in a week or two). I did make some roasted squash, a green salad and garlic cheese toast to go with it, so maybe people took less. Also I made small caprese skewers for an appetizer which saved us cuz half the guests were stuck in a freeway nightmare. The caprese skewers were great…tided us over but didn’t fill us up. Everyone raved about the lasagna and I have already sent all 5 guests the recipe (at their request)! One of the reasons I loved it so much was cuz I was able to sit and be with my guests and not be a slave to the kitchen! The lasagna was started 3 1/2 hours before guests arrived and I had the caprese done and the veggies and bread ready to pop in the oven…all I had to do was put them in the oven for 20 minutes and put the dressing on the salad and we ate as soon as the guests were all there. A perfect luncheon…and one I will repeat again and again! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!!!!
Leah says
SO not sure if you’ll see this by tonight, but I’ll give it a shot.
I’m running way short on time. Do you think it could be cooked on HIGH for 2 hours and have the same results? I love the idea of it slowly cooking, but just a question! It might just have to be a later dinner 😉
Lauren Allen says
Hi Leah, I sure hope I catch you in time! I would par cook the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes or so and then I’m sure it will be perfect in 2 hours on high! Hope that helps!
Meredith says
Do not cook for full 5 hours! Left home and came back to a very burned lasagna!
Kelly says
I am making this recipe tomorrow. I was just wondering if you’re to add an egg to the cheese mixture? Looks GREAT!!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Kelly, no, I don’t add eggs to this recipe. Hope you like it!
Devon says
Looking to cook lasagna this week. 2 questions….
1. Will “oven ready” noodles work?
2. Will low for 8hrs yield a burnt lasagna? My crock pot tends to be on the slow cooking side.
Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Devon, I’ve never tried the oven-ready noodles in a crock pot but I imagine they would be fine if you cook the lasagna for less time. I wouldn’t cook it for 8 hours with oven ready noodles. And I’m not sure if it would burn–I’ve never cooked mine for that long….Sorry to not be of more help! I hope you enjoy it.
Jill says
You put all that water in before all the ingredients?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Jill, the water gets added in with all of the sauce ingredients in step one. Hope that helps…
Joy says
Do you think it would work to cook the sauce and the meat and do the layers the night before, refrigerate, and then cook the following day? My morning prep time is minimal. Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Joy, I think that should work great!
Laura says
I’m planning on making this for tomorrow. I’m in the same boat of minimal morning time and was thinking good idea to prep the whole thing the night before and just plug it in in the morning, how’d your’s turn out doing it that way?
Mel says
Your Dad and oldest brother are to be commended; they are smart people.
Cheese clogs up your arteries – I know; I am a physician.
Check your cholesterol
Jessica Flory says
YUM!! Lauren, we loved this!!! The sauce is just fantastic and you can’t beat the ease of using the slow-cooker!! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hillary says
Hello! I am excited to make this recipe… I’m wondering if I used a slow cooker liner if the lasagna would cook the same….
Lauren Allen says
Hi Hillary, I haven’t trie it but I’m pretty confidant it should work just as great!
michelle says
lauren my slow cooker has high 4-6 hours and low 8-10 hours, if i do high for 4 hours (dont have time for the slow 8-10) will that be too long..or will it turn out ok
Alex says
Hi , I was looking for this recipe all the day , actually this weekend was a pretty much free for me so I wanted to spend my time on cooking , yeah I tryed it and it worked great , By the way thanks gor this recipe
Alex says
I am not really a big fan of chopped onions so it’s awesome that you suggested a substitute for those.
Carly says
I made this for dinner tonight. I didn’t add any water. I did add chopped fresh mushrooms to it though. It was perfect!!!
Karen says
Can chorizo sausage be used instead of Italian sausage?
Lauren Allen says
I’ve never tried it with chorizo, but I imagine it should work great. The flavor will just be different
Christy C Anderson says
Okay, I always have hated making lasagne because it just takes too darn long to boil the pasta, layer the sauce, etc. etc. Making it in the crockpot without cooking the noodles first is life changing! I personally love that this lasagne is thick and hearty — not lots of runny sauce like the traditional recipes I’ve tried.
Michele Newton says
I already have my homemade sauce. I don’t use water in my sauce. Will this recipe cook the same way? Want to make this for a work luncheon tomorrow. I could plug it in when I get to work and it will be done by noon. And make the office smell good at the same time!
Megan says
I totally omitted 3/4 of the noodles by accident (sleep deprived mom here)! I thought I was going to end up with a soup like lasagna. I’ve never made lasagna before before and didn’t realize that I’m supposed to make layers of the noodles! Despite that mistake, I cooked it longer and used cottage cheese and it turned out AMAZING! My husband and best friend loved it!! It made plenty of left overs too. I highly recommend this recipe! I’m giving it a four only because it was time consuming prepping it.