I am always looking for a quicker way to make a wholesome, nutritious home-cooked meal. Today’s lasagna was easy and fun to make! And I didn’t end up with spills on the bottom of my oven, either! Yay!
Lazy Mom’s Lasagna
Put into your crockpot:
- 1 -2 lbs. of very lean hamburger, depending on how meaty you like it.
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
Break up the hamburger and stir the ingredients together. Turn the crockpot on high, put the lid on, and let it cook for an hour, more or less, until hamburger is cooked through.
Add:
- 3 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (16 oz.) can whole tomatoes in juice, cut with a knife while in the can
- 1 (6 oz.) tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- optional: parsley, dried kale or other greens, 1 cup chopped fresh spinach, etc.
I like to add a lot of nutrition-adding stuff to my sauces, since it is a great way to disguise things kids don’t like, such as kale, swiss chard, mushrooms, etc. I listed those as optional, but sneak in whatever you like.
Stir the sauce together and remove most of it from the crockpot, leaving 1/2 cup or so in the bottom of the pot.
Ready to assemble? You’ll need:
- 1 lb. whole grain lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 24 oz. cottage cheese
- 1 to 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese, depending on how cheesy you like it
Lay down a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce in the crockpot. Overlap them—it’s fine. I use whole wheat lasagna noodles. Break them to fit your crockpot. Top with cottage cheese blobs, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Spoon sauce on top. Now lay down the next layer of noodles. Then cottage cheese, then mozzarella and sauce. End with the mozzarella cheese on top.
Important part: pour 3/4 cup of water around the inside edges of the crockpot.
Put on the lid and cook on high for about 2 hours, or low for about 4-5 hours. I like “low” because there is less risk of overcooking the noodles, but if it is almost time for dinner, you better go with the “high” setting. Test the noodles partway through the cooking time to get them just right.
Easy! Makes your house smell wonderful all day long. Ready anytime. No stress. Only one crockpot, a spoon and a bowl to wash. Dinner’s ready! Yay!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I'd sure love to hear your comment!
My family loves this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing it!!
Kelly
Here's yet another way:
Instead of cottage cheese or ricotta cheese, my husband uses cream of mushroom soup. It's something you can stock up on (could even make your own and can it up) to keep handy whenever you need it. It's delish, and great for those who might have intolerance to milk products. It's also a great way to sneak mushrooms into the diet.
He gets 'oven ready' wheat noodles (the rest of the ingredients are about the same as yours) and just layers it into a baking pan (without cooking the noodles first) and cooks it all for about 30 mins in a 350 oven (sometimes with a loaf of bread right next to it!)
This looks so appetizing, I am going to have to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Diane, I made this for dinner on Monday. The family LOVED it!!! I almost ruined it, though, I made whole wheat pasta and the top layer had a hard time cooking because I had so much sauce that I had to take the lid off. But my wonderful husband fixed the problem, replaced the lid and a while later we had a DELICIOUS dinner. They are all asking for this again. Thank you!!!!
Shelly
I have been making this in the oven for years but this sounds even easier. Going to make it tonight! The recipe I use for the oven calls for two eggs in the cheese mix and Parmesan. Then the top layer is also plain mozzarella. I think this would work in the crock pot too. I really like the idea of adding fresh greens to it. Thanks Diane for sharing. You and your family are such an inspiration.
Thanks!
I get them from the health food store, or Trader's Joe whenever I take a trip to areas that have those stores. You can buy them online too. Enjoy!
This is brilliant!!!! I'm going to make it this week just because it looks yummy and so easy. Thanks for sharing.
~J
Where do you get your whole wheat lasagna noodles from Diane? We've gone several months without lasagna now, because Walmart stopped carrying them. We used to have to drive up to the Sprinville or Orem Walmart to get them because our Walmart didn't carry them. Now they've stopped carrying them also. Please help! Thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes and ideas!
I make mine in a crockpot like this, too, but never tried cooking the beef this way. Thank you, Diane. Your blogs are always right up my alley. Blessings!