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Our Slow Cooker Lasagna recipe is the ultimate set-it-and-forget-it comfort food! All the rich, cheesy, meaty layers of classic homemade lasagna made effortlessly right in your crockpot.
The Slow Cooker Lasagna That Practically Makes Itself
Using your crockpot/slow cooker is without a doubt the easiest way to make lasagna! You don't even need to pre-cook the noodles! Regular lasagna noodles cook right in the slow cooker as everything simmers together. Just layer them in (break the noodles to fit, as needed) and they turn out perfectly tender every time. I love a good classic homemade lasagna, but when I'm in a time crunch or don't want to turn on the oven, this crockpot lasagna saves me every time!
I whip up a quick homemade pasta sauce using canned tomatoes, since it's way less expensive (and tastes better) than a jar of spaghetti sauce. Cook the ground beef and sausage ahead of time to make this meal even quicker.
Try more of my Italian recipes, like Instant Pot Spaghetti, Pink Sauce Pasta, Meatball Subs, or One Pan Chicken Alfredo!
How to make Slow Cooker Lasagna:
Brown the Meat: Cook ground beef (or Italian sausage) with onion and garlic until browned. Drain, then stir in your favorite marinara sauce and set aside.
Cheese Mixture: In a mixing bowl, combine mozzarella, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese.
Assemble: Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker, then layer in uncooked lasagna noodles (broken to fit), meat sauce, and ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat the layers.
Cook and Serve: Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours until noodles are tender. Add shredded mozzarella in the last 20 minutes, then serve this crockpot lasagna topped with fresh basil and parmesan. Make sure to try my Skillet Lasagna if you need something quicker.
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage, or pork sausage
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large onion, , chopped*
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 29 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles, , uncooked
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, (or ricotta)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Brown Meat: In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef, Italian sausage and onion.½ pound lean ground beef, ½ pound ground Italian sausage, 1 large onion
- Make Red Sauce: 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!)1 ½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 6 ounce can tomato paste, 29 ounces tomato sauce, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 ¼ cups water
- Assemble: 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).8 ounces lasagna noodles
- Add Cheese Mixture: Combine the mozzarella, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice.4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 ½ cups cottage cheese, ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Finish Layers: Top with remaining meat sauce and sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese, if desired.
- Cover and cook on low for about 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I first shared this recipe February 2015. Updated March 2018, September 2023 and August 2026.
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.
I don’t like cottage cheese either and neither does my family but I’ve tried both with lasagna and you’d never know the difference.
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.
If you use a crock pot liner and place all the ingredients in the liner, clean up is a breeze.
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.
Hi Alexis, those substitutions sound amazing! Thanks for coming back to comment–so happy your family liked it!
Is the sauce suppose to be waterly ??
Hi Danielle, do you mean after it’s finished cooking? The sauce should thicken up as it cools.
I an cooking it as we speak. I am so excited. It smells amazing. Thank you for the wonderful recipe
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…
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?
Hi Malissa, You couldn’t definitely use ricotta cheese if that’s what you prefer! I’d love to hear how you like it!
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?
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.
Thanks Lisa! I’d love to hear how you like it!
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.
I’m assuming you should drain the grease after browning the meat correct? I am making this for dinner tomorrow 🙂
Yes, you should drain the grease 🙂