We have picky eaters at our house. I know, I know, it’s probably all my fault, but after multiple vomiting episodes at the dinner table I stopped forcing people to try one bite of everything. And while the older boys are doing a much better job trying and liking new foods these days, we still have a somewhat limited repetoir of dinner items everyone will eat. Lasagne happens to be one of them. Unfortunately, when the temperature outside starts climbing into the 90s and above I simply can’t stand to turn on the oven for an hour and a half, so we usually take a bit of a lasagne break over the summer. But not this summer! I recently discovered that my normal old lasagne recipe performs superbly in the crockpot – some of us even prefer it. If I happen to have cooked ground beef in the freezer I can get everything ready to go in under 15 minutes just before lunch, and by 6 pm we have a delicious dinner everyone will eat with nary a gag and a nice cool kitchen. Perfect.
Our lasagne is a very basic (read: easy & fast) recipe using jarred spaghetti sauce, which I know is sacrilege to some. If you want to substitute your own homemade sauce it should be pretty simple to do so. Also, there’s no need to precook your noodles OR to use oven ready lasagne noodles – the normal old kind soften up nicely in the slow cooker. I do use more sauce than usual in this recipe since the noodles suck up quite a bit of the moisture, but that leaves the lasagne with a lot of flavor. It cuts and serves beautifully.
NOTE: Please be sure NOT to use no-boil or oven-ready noodles, as they will get too mushy. Normal lasagne noodles work perfectly!
As usual, I forgot to put a yield on the recipe card, but I’d say it can feed 6 adults or up to 8 adults and kids (we have a family of 7 and almost always have a piece or two leftover). Also, I have an oval 6 qt crockpot – if yours is a different size or shape you may have to adjust the layers slightly.
Click here to be taken to a printable version, and check out the photo instructions at the end of the post.
(Just click the image above – normal click, not right click – to be taken to a downloadable/printable version.)
Denise says
I am sooooo glad you posted this! I have heard of crock pot lasagna before but was sure the noodles would come out rubbery. But I trust you, so I’m totally going to try this! (Looks like our recipes are very similar, but I never add Italian seasoning — great addition!)
Denise says
I am sooooo glad you posted this! I have heard of crock pot lasagna before but was sure the noodles would come out rubbery. But I trust you, so I’m totally going to try this! (Looks like our recipes are very similar, but I never add Italian seasoning — great addition!)
beatrice lawson says
Sounds brilliant!! Thank you for sharing, I am making it this weekend.
Tom says
Adorable..Simply Loved it
Karen says
Do the noodles need to be the “no boil” kind?
annamarie dodge says
do not use the no boil noodles…the recipe asks for regular lasagna noodles
Allie d. says
This recipient looks great can’t wait to try it!!
Lynn D. says
I made this today, and it’s GREAT! I used no-boil noodles, and it was done even quicker than the stated time. Since it’s pretty hot here today, I appreciate a lovely dinner without heating up the kitchen! I will be doing this again!
autumn says
Thanks for letting me know it worked out Lynn! I love to hear from readers. Sounds like using no-boil noodles would be a good solution if you don’t get it started early enough to go the full 5-6 hours. Thanks again!
Katie says
Why cottage cheese & not traditional ricotta, curious.
autumn says
Totally personal preference! You could certainly use ricotta instead.
Elizabeth says
Made this last night & was delicious, such an easy way to make a good family meal–thank you! I much prefer this way than the long oven routine I usually follow with lasagna. Cheers!
Jeannie says
I never make lasagna, I have some kind of fear it will fail. I think it’s cooking the noodles that worries me. Therefore, your recipe may make a lasagna maker out of me yet! Pinned and cooking for the family on their next visit.
Kristi says
What is the purpose of the egg? I have never made this in the crockpot, only just the oven. I have never used an egg before and didn’t know if it was needed for the crockpot recipe.
autumn says
Hi Kristi! The egg was in the original (bake in the oven) lasagne recipe that I modified for crockpot use. I think it just acts as a binder in the cottage cheese, and I’m sure you could make it without.
Jody says
Can you recommend a good jar marinara sauce?
autumn says
Well…we are totally not picky on our marinara sauce here. I like Prego traditional the best, but we often use store generic brands and the lasagne always turns out great!
Andi says
What size slow cooker does this recipe need? I have a family of six and would like to double the recipe.
terra says
This was aweful! I used no boil noodles because you said it didnt matter and i cooked it on low for 4 hours. It turned into a big pile of mush of sause and cheese. The noodles were so soft you couldnt even taste them. Very disapointed.
autumn says
I’m so sorry Terra – that’s super disappointing. The post says to use normal noodles, not oven ready (or no boil) – I’ll update the post to make that more clear.
Freida says
My family doesn’t like cottage cheese or ricotta is it absolutely necessary or can I just skip this step? We are regular cheese lovers and when we make lasagna in the oven we use a lot of cheese I mean like 2 large bags…lol
ashley says
This isn’t turning out well. There were not enough ingredients. I used how much you said was needed and fell quite short.
Louanne pierce says
We used this recipe and loved it! I would add more sauce, but I like sauces.
Michelle says
I got so excited when I saw this recipe! I’ve been craving Lasagna, but again, baking all that time, this recipe looks so much easier and I can’t wait to make it tonight. My husband is super excited too 🙂 Thanks a million for the recipe. 🙂
MS sloCum says
If you don’t have 5-6 hrs can you cook it on high for less time? Do you think it would turn out ok?
autumn says
I don’t know – I’ve never tried it. I think I’d be worried it would get too hot and burn around the edges, but I’m really just not sure. Let me know if you try it!
Donna says
Just tried this, and it was delicious!! Though, I’m not sure if my crock pot is high intensity, but after just 4 hours, the noodles were done and the edges looked black, but they weren’t burnt! Other than that, I loved it!
Nia says
Just made this for me and my boyfriend. It tasted great and was super easy! My Boyfriend said it was very good. I’m not the best cook in the world but this recipe made it look like I know what I’m doing in the kitchen!
Accidentally cooked on high and was ready in three hours. Only a very small piece was burnt.
Matea says
A few weeks ago my friend showed me how to make crockpot lasagna and it was delicious! She even made her own dough for the layers!
Dineen says
I made this last night using gluten-free rice lasagna noodles, ricotta (no egg added), and sliced meatballs which I had already made. It was cooked on high for about 4 hours. The result was GREAT. Thank you for the idea
Ellen says
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS AND EASY TO MAKE – BEST OF ALL MY SON LOVES IT!
Kimberly Garcia says
Can you assemble this the night before and turn it on in the morning?
Kim says
This turned out great! I used no boil noodles so cooked it for only 3.5 hours and it was perfect.
Cassie says
I tried this recipe and it was delicious. I had to feature it on my blog, of course with a link to yours!
Freya cole says
Holy cow! I made this last night and it turned out phenomenal! Will definitely make again, sooo soo good!
Megan says
I tried this tonight and I cooked it for the full six hours on low and the edges turned out burnt. The noodles were slightly mushy. Still delicious and will definetly do it again but for less time. Thanks for the recepie!
Gina says
This turned out great. My family is picky and don’t eat cottage cheese or sour cream (so I usually sneak it in)….so Hubby was surprised when I told him I put a whole container of cottage cheese in the lasagna. It was a little burned around edge but was delish !
Katlyn says
I was wondering if you could layer it as much as you wanted to make more? Thanks!
Penny richards says
this was GREAT!! loved it
Casey says
Made this tonight. following recipe -used regular lasagna noodles – this was eaten up and it appealed to young and old…my own taste makes me want to experiment with ground Italien sausage lots of finely chopped onions more hot spices….however I was making this also for 2 young children so followed basic recipe and it worked out well and will make again
Jaimie says
All i have is the oven ready noodles how do i modify the time for this recipe?? I want to make this so bad tonight. But i bought wrong noodles.
autumn says
Sorry, I didn’t see your comment until just now. I don’t know if you’ve already tried it, but if you haven’t I would not use the oven ready noodles in the crockpot – they might go to mush. You should be able to assemble it as written and bake in the oven for about an hour though!
Carrie Burgett says
I did use ricotta cheese and I used prego sauces 2 jars it was delicious.
Jennifer says
Can u freeze the leftovers?
Sheryl Pullium says
I improvised with grournd turkrey. Really excited to try this tonight!
Denice says
Does that imply a teaspoon of Italian Seasoning, or a Tablespoon?
Michele says
This lasagna was very yummy! The whole family loved it. I did half hamburger and half sausage sautéed with a chopped onion and some garlic. Everything else was the same. Looking at the comments some people said theirs burned. You’ve got to know your crockpot. Recipe said cook five to six hours on low. My crockpot cooks really hot. My noodles were done after 2 1/2 hrs. I’ve found my pot will boil stuff even on keep warm. It’s all about knowing your pot.
Thank you for the recipe! It’s a keeper!
MJfamilyC says
We tried this for dinner tonight, but due to a rush in time, followed the layering directions (except we used whole wheat penne because that was in the pantry) as we popped it into the instant pot. We did add one cup water extra. We cooked it on manual high pressure for 12 minutes. It was absolutely yummy! Family loved it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Cheryl says
Best lasagna ever!!!! and it was soooo easy!! Thanks for recipe!