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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.
Can this be made in an instapot?
It would work in a 6-8qt instant pot using a pot-in-pot method. That’s where you use a springform pan that fits inside the instant pot on the instant pot trivet. Follow the instructions to assemble the lasagna inside your springform pan then cover it tightly with foil. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water inside the instant pot then place trivet and carefully lower the covered springform pan inside. Seal lid and cook on high manual pressure for 20-24 minutes then let it naturally release for about 10 minutes. After removing the lasagna from the instant pot, let it cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting to let it set up.
I made this for my colleagues and they LOVED this lasagna, as I do! It’s even better than the pan lasagna I used to make, but this is so much easier! I didn’t use pork, however, and used 1 1/2 lbs. of lean ground beef. SO yummy!! (The noodles were tender after only 3 hours on low!)
Delicious. Maybe too much sugar- I’d cut that next time. But otherwise it’s great.
Amazing lasagna! I made one change, only using ground beef. The noodles were perfect. My family enjoyed this greatly! Will make this again.
Lauren, I bookmarked your site and I am looking for dinner for tonight.
I see some people complaining about runny sauce — I was wonder if anyone tried using 29 oz. of Tomato Puree to thicken it up? or not?
Should I stay with tomato sauce — just asking because this will be my first time making this.
This was fantastic, and I’ve made other slow cooker lasagna recipes before. I had time to make the sauce the night before, and I simmered it for an hour. I did not use the Worcestershire sauce or the onions for the sauce, but I doubled the beef and halved the sugar. You can’t go wrong if you use a sauce that you love. I also cooked it for about 3 hours, and it was perfectly done, crispy on the sides, not dried out. I did keep a little sauce on the side for anyone wanting it saucier!
Should the sauce be “soupy” before cooking so it cooks noodles? I made it before and it was so good but I don’t recall and now I am second guessing if I added water this time as it is not soupy at all and I am hoping noodles get cooked, thanks
Amazing! I was skeptical about doing a pasta dish in the slow cooker. I have been using your recipes for almost a year 3-4 times a week and my family loves them. I thought I’d give this a try and I’m so glad I did! This was so tasty and I love that I used less noodles. My boys loved the heartiness as I doubled the meat portion.
Thanks so much for the great feedback and for supporting TBFS!
This was fabulous! I love having guests for lunch after church, and this was perfect. I set it, went to church, came home to a beautifully hot meal and a nice salad. I was afraid the noodles would be mushy, but they were not at all-they were perfect. Will absolutely keep this recipe.
I’ve never been a believer of slow cooker lasagna, just felt wrong, but I have to say I was really craving lasagna and decided to give this recipe a good ole fashion try, and yes this is amazing! The only thing to keep in mind is my slow cooker even on the low heat cooks rather quickly so I had to keep this in mind and readjust my cooking time, but yes this is defetinaly a keep in my recipe box.