Not only is this the Best Slow Cooker Lasagna…it is also the easiest! UNCOOKED pasta, store bought Marinara, sausage and ricotta that we blend with cheese and herbs make up this delicious slow cooker pasta casserole!
Another fabulous and easy Slow Cooker recipe!
Some of your favorites include Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup, Slow Cooker Apple Crispy and Slow Cooker French Onion Soup!
We are always trying to find new ways to use our slow cooker and this may be the best yet!
Slow cooking created a deep flavor and tender pasta and talk about easy! Let me show ya!
Simply brown your sausage and add your store bought marinara to the pan. Bring to a simmer so the sauce is nice and hot when you start your Slow Cooker Lasagna.
Here is how we layer this Lasagna:
- Pasta sauce and sausage
- Uncooked Lasagna noodles – just break them up to fit. Nothing fancy here!
- Ricotta. We added cheese, pinch of salt and a dried basil to make it go boom!
- Mozzarella and parmesan
- Then repeat! Sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan.
- End with a layer of pasta, mozzarella and parmesan
Cook for 6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on High.
We prefer low and slow for this dish if you have the time!
Your casserole is perfect when the internal temp is around 165 degrees and a knife inserted in the center give no resistence. Like soft butta!
Notes to make the Best Slow Cooker Lasagna –
- use uncooked noodles. Either regular or fast cooking type will work. We recommend regular as fast cooking may lose it’s shape over the long cooking time.
- we used a mild italian sausage for this recipe. You can also substitute ground beef, ground turkey sausage or chicken sausage if desired.
- this dish is as good as your Marinara! Buy the good stuff. Keep it simple and get only Marinara rather than infused types like mushroom or beef flavor.
To comfort food!
Clink!
Kathi and Rachel
Still craving Lasagna? Try these favorites:
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Best Slow Cooker Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian Sausage or chicken sausage, turkey sausage or ground beef
- 2 24 ounce jars good quality Marinara Sauce
- 15 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 32 ounces ricotta cheese whole or skim
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In large skillet, brown sausage on medium heat breaking up with a spoon until crumbly. Discard any left over grease.
- Add both jars of Marinara to the sausage and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat and begin layering lasagna. (you want to start with warm sauce).
- Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, basil and parmesan to ricotta and combine.
- Spray a 6 quart slow cooker with non stick spray.
- Add a 1/2 cup sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with about 4 noodles, broken in half to fit.
- Top with 1/3 of the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzerella and two tablespoons of the parmesan. Repeat with 1/2 cup sauce, noodles, 1/3 cup ricotta, mozzerella and parmesan. Repeat again and finish with a layer of noodles, mozzerella and parmesan.
- Cover and cook for 6 hours on slow (our recommendation) or 3-4 hours on high.
- When internal temp has reached about 165 and noodles are soft in the middle. Turn off slow cooker and let sit for about 30 minutes. This will help to keep all those pretty layers in tact!
- Serve with a fresh green salad and french bread if desired!
LEANNA DWYER says
This sounds delicious! I don’t usually cook anything like this in my crock pot but am going to give it a try. Sounds very simple
Kathi & Rachel says
I was surprised at how deep the flavors got while cooking in a slow cooker! Hope you love it!