This lasagna tastes like you spent all day making it without all of the work.
Lasagna was one of the first things I made from scratch in college when I finally started cooking on my own full time. It was so much work, and when I was finished I had used every pan in the kitchen and was completely exhausted. When I finally tasted it all could I mutter was…eh.
It was okay, but by no means worth all that work, and I would have taken a store bought lasagna over what I had just slaved over any given day. I didn’t have time for meals like that. I was a busy college student…I had boys to date, parties to attend, and reality TV to watch.
When I came across this recipe for Easy Slow Cooker Lasagna, I was intrigued. What a genius idea if this version truly was any less work than the traditional version. I was skeptical to say the least for the work that it was going to involve and had even lower expectations for what the taste would be.
he preparation was quick and seemed way too easy compared to what I was used to. As we sat down for dinner, I warned my family that this was an experiment and I had no idea how it would taste. I was pleasantly surprised, and swore this would be the only way we were doing lasagna in my house from now on.
For a busy mom like me, this kind of meal is ideal. Whew…how things have changed. Now I have kids to chase, spills to clean, and soccer games to watch.
Easy Crockpot Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces) ground beef
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 whole egg
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 6 uncooked lasagna noodles
Directions
- In a large skillet brown beef and onion. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Drain.
- Add spaghetti sauce and water and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan, egg and parsley.
- Pour 1 cup of spaghetti meat sauce into a 4 to 6 quart sized slow cooker. Place half of the noodles and half of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles (If the noodles don’t fit exactly break them to fit) and cheese mixture and meat sauce.
- Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until noodles are soft. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Cover with the lid to melt the cheese and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Do not overcook and don’t try to speed up the process by cooking it on high.
- *Works best with a 4 to 6 quart size slow cooker.
