This slow cooker lasagna recipe is perfect for potlucks or a busy weeknight meal. No need to heat up your oven when you let this easy recipe for crockpot lasagna cook for 4 hours.
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🥫 Ingredients needed:
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
🗒️ Ingredient notes:
- ground beef I use 80/20
- Italian Sausage - ground sausage is used, I prefer the Italian version for this recipe.
- lasagna noodles - use a full box of lasagna noodes for this recipe. Do not use the no boil kind.
- pasta sauce Use your favorite brand. You will need 3 jars of it.
- cottage cheese - large curd cottage cheese is what i use. The large curds give an extra creamy, cheesy layer to the cheese mixture.
🔄 Substitutions
- Italian Sausage - If you family is not a fan of sausage in their lasagna you can substitute in ground pork or more ground beef.
🔪 How to make slow cooker lasagna, basic instructions
- Brown the meats, onions and garlic.
- Add the sauce to the pan.
- In a separate bowl, combine the cheese filling, reserving 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Cook the noodles.
- Layer the ingredients in the prepared slow cooker.
- Cook for 4 hours.
📷 Making lasagna in a slow cooker, photo instructions
- Brown the ground beef and the sausage, remove the cooked meat to a clean plate, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings in the pan.
- Saute the onion and garlic in the pan drippings. Combine sauce with the browned off meat.
- Reserve 1 cup of mozzarella cheese for the topping and combine the reamining cheeses, egg and seasonings.
- Precook the lasagna noodles for 4 minutes.
- Ladle sauce/meat mixture on the bottom of the crockpot.
- Layer par-cooked noodles to cover the bottom of the crockpot.
- Layer ⅓ of the cheese mixture over the meat and sauce.
- Top with enough sauce and meat to cover the cheese layer.
- Repeat the process staring with the cooked noodle layer.
- Finish the layering with noodles and the reserved cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Turn the crockpot on low for and cook for 3-4 hours. I would not recommend using the high setting as feel it dries out the noodles on the edges.
👩🍳 Chef Tips:
- To get out every last bit of sauce out of the jars, fill each jar ¼ of the way full with water, shake and and dump into the sauce/meat mixture.
- For easier clean up, spray a large crockpot with non stick cooking spray.
❓ Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
Slow cooker lasagna can be made a day or two ahead of then it will be served. Make the lasagna and assemble it in the crockpot, store covered in the refrigerator, and bake off a few hours before it is needed.
Frozen lasagnas are meant to be cooked in the containers they are purchased in.
Printable Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Lasagna
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb italian sausage
- ½ medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 box lasagna noodles boiled for 4 minutes
- 3 jars marinara sauce
- 2 cups cottage cheese large curd
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese divided divided
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and the sausage, remove the cooked meat to a clean plate, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings in the pan.1 lb ground beef, 1 lb italian sausage
- Saute the onion and garlic in the pan drippings. Combine sauce with the browned off meat.½ medium onion, 2 cloves garlic, 3 jars marinara sauce
- Reserve 1 cup of mozzarella cheese for the topping and combine the remaining cheeses, egg and seasonings.2 cups cottage cheese, 4 cups mozzarella cheese divided, ½ cup parmesan cheese, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- Precook the lasagna noodles for 4 minutes.1 box lasagna noodles
- Ladle sauce/meat mixture on the bottom of the crockpot.
- Layer par-cooked noodles to cover the bottom of the crockpot.
- Layer ⅓ of the cheese mixture over the meat and sauce.
- Top with enough sauce and meat to cover the cheese layer.
- Repeat the process starting with the cooked noodle layer.
- Finish the layering with noodles and the reserved cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Turn the crockpot on low for and cook for 3-4 hours. I would not recommend using the high setting as feel it dries out the noodles on the edges.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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Sarah Mock
She Does It All
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 13 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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