Crockpot Lasagna is the gift that keeps on giving. Proud layers of saucy beef, melty mozzarella, tender noodles, and a sneaky spinach cottage cheese filling, this hearty Italian favorite can feed a crowd and tastes fantastic leftover too!
Email Me the Recipe!
From time to time, we'll send you Well Plated emails. You can unsubscribe anytime. Have an account? Log In.
Lasagna, simplified.
I won’t lie: this crockpot lasagna is easy, but it still requires a little bit of work—cooking the ground beef, for example. BUT! I’ve streamlined the process wherever possible.
The meat layer is made with spaghetti sauce to keep it easy, and the noodles don’t even need to be boiled first. Hooray! And the slow cooker means all of the work happens earlier in the day, giving you more flexibility before dinner. (For a slow cooker pasta with even less prep time, check out my Crock Pot Pasta, which doesn’t require assembling layers.)
The moment when you reach your biggest spatula down through the layers to reveal the masterpiece of stacked cheese, meat, and noodles within this crockpot lasagna one of glory and pride. And it tastes as good as it looks!
Want to enjoy lasagna next in deconstructed soup form? You must make my Lasagna Soup recipe.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Ground Beef. Lean ground beef is healthy, hearty, and flavorful, making it perfect for our easy crockpot lasagna recipe.
- Balsamic Vinegar. Helps give the meat layer a note of acidity.
- Marinara. I chose to use jarred pasta sauce for this lasagna, as it’s quick and easy.
- Low-Fat Cottage Cheese. Low-fat cottage cheese helps us create a lighter, protein-packed lasagna while still ensuring it’s rich and flavorful. You can swap part-skim ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese if you prefer.
- Frozen Spinach. Using frozen spinach in this lasagna is an easy way to sneak in extra nutrition.
- Egg. Egg helps bind the cheese layer together, ensuring it won’t run out during cooking and serving.
- Parmesan. Adds nuttiness and saltiness to the cheese mixture. Grate your cheese at home using a box grater or a microplane grater.
- Lasagna Noodles. Or for a no-noodle version, you’ll love this Crock Pot Low Carb Lasagna, which uses eggplant and zucchini noodles.
- Mozzarella. A delicious, gooey lid of mozzarella cheese is a hallmark of any good lasagna. I used part-skim mozzarella to keep things light.
- Water. Adding water to the lasagna helps create steam in the slow cooker. The moisture keeps the ingredients from drying out and kick-starts the cooking process.
5 Star Review
“This was AWESOME! Total cheese heaven and I felt good about the veggies. Kids loved it too.”
— Mary —
How to Make Lasagna in a Crockpot
Make the Meat Sauce. Brown the beef and onion. Set aside 1 cup of the marinara, then stir the remaining 3 cups into the pan with the beef.
Make the Cheese Layer. Stir the cottage cheese and spinach filling together.
Start Assembling. Spread the reserved marinara on the bottom of the slow cooker, then top it with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles.
Keep Layering. Add one-third of the meat sauce. Dollop the cheese mixture over the top, spreading it into an even layer. Top with part of the mozzarella.
Still More Layers. Layer in the next 3 noodles and half of the remaining meat sauce. Add all of the cheese mixture, and half of the remaining mozzarella.
Finish Assembling. Finish with the 3 final noodles and remaining meat sauce. Slowly pour the water over the top of the lasagna.
Turn on the Crockpot. Cook crockpot lasagna on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Turn the slow cooker off and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top.
Cool and Serve. Remove the slow cooker insert, cover it, and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Serve with fresh basil and ENJOY!
What to Serve with Crockpot Lasagna
You don’t really need a side with such a hearty dinner, but if you do want one, here are some ideas!
- Vegetables. Make a light veggie side like Sautéed Broccoli.
- Bread. Homemade Garlic Bread would be fabulous.
- Salad. This Arugula Salad is light and pairs exceptionally well with Italian dishes.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Put Your Spin on It. If you’re looking to shake up your lasagna game, there are a number of things you can add to it. Add some Roasted Garlic, Roasted Tomatoes, Roasted Red Peppers, Italian sausage, or take inspiration from my Eggplant Lasagna and add some thinly sliced eggplant.
- Get a Head Start. Up to 1 day in advance, prepare the recipe through Step 2. Refrigerate the mixture in an airtight storage container until you’re ready to finish the recipe.
- Don’t Forget About the Resting Time. When you uncover the crockpot lasagna, it will look soupy, but don’t panic. Once the lasagna rests for 20 minutes, it will set up and the excess liquid will be absorbed.
Crockpot Lasagna
email me the recipe!
From time to time, we’ll send you Well Plated emails. You can unsubscribe anytime. Have an account? Log In.
Ingredients
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 6 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 (32-ounce) jar good-quality marinara sauce (4 cups), divided
- 24 ounces low-fat cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese (about 3 cups)
- 1 (10-ounce) bag or box frozen spinach thawed and squeezed very dry
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves chopped, or ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus additional for serving
- 9 dry lasagna noodles do not use oven ready/no boil noodles
- 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Coat a 6- or 7-quart slow cooker very generously on the bottom and sides with nonstick spray. Heat a large, deep pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion, oregano, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Cook, breaking apart the meat with a spatula or spoon, until the meat is browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes and cook 30 seconds.
- Reserve 1 cup of the marinara sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining 3 cups marinara sauce. Stir to combine, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a fork to stir together the cottage cheese, spinach, egg, Parmesan, basil, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper until evenly combined. Use the fork to break apart the spinach as needed.
- Assemble the lasagna: spread the reserved 1 cup marinara sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker. Lay 3 of the noodles on top of the sauce, breaking them as needed to make a roughly even layer—it doesn’t need to be perfect and is fine if some of the noodles overlap slightly and parts of the sauce peek through. I typically lay one noodle down the center, then break the other two in half and arrange them in a wide "V" in the open spaces on either side of the center noodle.
- Top with one-third of the meat sauce, spreading it into an even layer.
- Evenly dollop half of the cottage cheese mixture over the meat sauce. With the back of a fork, spread it into an even layer.
- Sprinkle with one-third of the mozzarella.
- Repeat layers with the next 3 noodles, half of the remaining meat sauce, all of the remaining cottage cheese mixture, and half of the remaining mozzarella.
- Finish layering with the 3 final noodles and remaining meat sauce (refrigerate the last portion of the mozzarella until the end—if you add it now, it will disappear into the sauce while the lasagna cooks). Gradually pour the water in a slow stream over the top and around the edges of the lasagna, allowing some of it to trickle down the edges so it flows between the lasagna and the insert.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, until the noodles are tender and the lasagna registers 140 degrees F in the center (do NOT cook on high or the noodles will not cook through evenly— mine was done in 3 hours and 15 minutes). Turn off the slow cooker, uncover, and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
- Carefully remove the insert from the base and set it on a wire rack (use oven mitts if needed; the insert is hot). Recover and let the lasagna rest for at least 20 minutes (if you serve it right away, it will fall apart). To serve, sprinkle the top generously with more fresh basil. Cut the lasagna with a knife and scoop out servings with a big spatula or spoon. Enjoy hot.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate lasagna in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze leftovers in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
Join today and start saving your favorite recipes
Create an account to easily save your favorite recipes and access FREE meal plans.
Sign Me Up
Question,? Can I leave the spinach out or use something else?
Hi Susan! I’ve only tested it with spinach but you could likely leave it out, or maybe try mushrooms (although this would add a lot of moisture in). If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Great recipe
Thank you Paul!
There is no sodium listed in the nutritional facts. My wife and I are on a low sodium diet. I Could try to adjust ingredients, but starting point would helpful. Thanks.
Hi Vince, I stopped including sodium info because it can vary so much depending upon what products you used, and I found a lot of conflicting info online, so ultimately I didn’t feel comfortable publishing it because sometimes it wasn’t even in the ballpark. If you’d like to calculate it yourself, there are lots of free tools online (myfitnesspal.com is popular). I hope that helps!
Do you thaw the spinach first or can I toss it in frozen?
Hi Becky! If you check the ingredient list in the recipe card, you’ll see the note next to the ingredient for spinach it says “1 (10-ounce) bag or box frozen spinach thawed and squeezed very dry” Hope this helps!
This was AWESOME! Total cheese heaven and I felt good about the veggies. Kids loved it too.
Hi Mary! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Love this recipe. It’s the best lasagna and I get so many compliments on it whenever I make it. I usually use ground turkey instead of beef. Question – is it possible to make this in the oven and not the crockpot?
Hi Jess, you could probably easily adapt this to the oven. You’ll need to cook your noodles. You will still need to do all of the step but just assemble it in your dish for the oven. Cook till golden brown on the top and bubbling. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
This was the best tasting Lasagna I have ever made. The recipe is easy and though you have to do some maneuvering to make it fit in the crock pot, I made it work and we had it on Christmas Day.
Love to hear that, thank you Albert!
Wonderful recipe! Turned out great and perfectly moist! My husband is a hunter so we used ground venison and it was delicious! Thank you so much!
Thank you Elizabeth!
Never have I been able to make the perfect crockpot lasagna till you guided me through you wonderful recipe. Easley a 5 out of 5. It is my DOD favorite. That’s a Do Over Dude. Thanks Erin. Regards, Jarhead
You’re welcome! Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Paul!
I’ve made lasagna in the oven before, but this method was so much easier and just as delicious. I loved being able to assemble it in the morning, let it cook all day, and have dinner ready with no stress. Definitely a game changer!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica! Thank you!
I just made this yesterday while on vacation. Set it up, went to the beach for the afternoon and it was ready in time for dinner. It was delicious, with plenty of leftovers. Super easy as well!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Connie! Thank you!
I was a little hesitant about making lasagna in the slow cooker, but it turned out even better than expected. The pasta were perfectly cooked, the cheese was gooey, and the layers came together beautifully. I loved that I didn’t have to boil the noodles ahead of time—it saved so much effort!
So glad you enjoyed it, Danita!
Just saw this recipe today and decided to make it for dinner. It was fantastic! I love the fresh herbs and the ease of creating it and walking away for several hours. Mine cooked in 3.5 hrs and then let it rest for the recommended 20min. Delish and so grateful for this recipe! Adding to my regular recipes. Thank you Erin!
Makes me so happy to hear, Tammy! Thank you!
Do you know if this can be made with gluten free pasta noodles?
Hi Michelle, I haven’t tested it out myself, but I’m thinking they would not hold up in the crockpot. I don’t have a lot of experience with the gf noodles in the crockpot so that is my best guess. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!