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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.
It’s in the crockpot right now, looks like it’s going to be good.
Thanks Donna. I would love to hear how it turns out!
I make this regularly with gf noodles and it’s the BEST! Leftovers are even good, too! Keep bringing the good crockpot recipes!!
Fondly,
A working mom in NJ
Thanks so much for sharing! Hopefully it’s made your life a little easier 🙂
Great recipe! It was very salty, so next time I will only add 1 tsp, maybe less the 3rd try…we’ll see. Mine had to be gluten free and it was fine, I also used ricotta – couldn’t get my head around cottage cheese for this. I did cut down on the water as recommended but maybe a little too much. Everyone devoured it! Thanks for the recipe!!!
This was delicious! My husband, 27-month old, and myself loved it! (The 4 1/2 year old didn’t, but he’s in that “love-it-one-day, won’t-touch-it-the-next-day” phase.) The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because it did take awhile to prep. It tasted spectacular, though, and I will definitely make it again. Thank you so much for sharing! Oh, I made it exactly as is, but used a little onion powder instead of actual onions, and it turned out great.
Well I ran across this recipe last week and decided to give it a try. It absolutely turned out perfect as described. My only problem is that i’ve been crowned the best lasagna maker now in the family and have to make it everytime it is requested(lol).
I am going to make this for a work Christmas party but I have a coworker who requested it with just mozzarella cheese (no ricotta or cottage cheese). Is there anything additional I should do to make it work?
I was also planning on using store bought sauce (don’t have too much time), will that work the same as your (I’m sure much more delicious) homemade sauce?
Thank you!
Hi Laura, store-bought sauce will work great. For the sauce, instead of the cottage cheese, I would use a can of cream of chicken soup. Combine it with the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese to make that white layer (step 4). That should work great! Hope everyone loves it!
Yes, hard to believe that people don’t like cheese, especially combined with italian dishes. I never done lasagna with slow cooker, will try it this weekend!
Tried it tonight and it was delicious. This is definitely a keeper. Only difference is that i’m lazy and used store bought marinara sauce
Thanks for taking the time to comment–I’m so happy to hear you liked it!
What size slow cooker did you use?
This looks like the best recipe on the web!
Thanks!
Hi Lianna, I use a 6-quart slow cooker. I hope they turned out great for you!
So you can use regular uncooked noodles? Not the oven ready noodles?
Yes! Regular lasagna noodles 🙂