Grandma’s Crockpot Lasagna

Grandma's Crockpot Lasagna - Family Fresh Meals Recipe

How to make Slow Cooker Lasagna

Being part of an Italian family is a wonderful thing. Every family gathering is a big event, with lots of kids playing in the yard, lots of grownups chatting in the house, lots of talk, lots of hugs – and of course, lots of FOOD. Platters of antipasto, bowls of salad, garlic bread – and in the middle of the table, the show-stopper centerpiece of the whole evening, Grandma’s lasagna.

This is always a masterpiece, with layers and layers of noodles, perfectly browned ground beef, tangy marinara sauce, and gooey cheese. Of course, it’s a lot of work to make (as Grandma will not hesitate to tell you), but it’s worth it if it makes her family happy.

Grandma's Crockpot Lasagna - Family Fresh Meals Recipe - Scooping out a slice of lasagna

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Well, guess what? Now you can have that same show-stopping dish any night of the week, without all the work. Your Crockpot makes it easy!

There is a little bit of prep work with this, but nowhere near as much as Grandma has to go through. First you brown the beef and onion together, then stir in the sauce and spices. Then you load this beef mixture into the crock, top it with noodles and cheese, and keep repeating until it’s all loaded up. Then all you have to do is let it cook for four to six hours on low and melt a little extra mozzarella on top about ten minutes before you serve.

And there it is – the taste of Grandma’s house, right in your very own kitchen.

How To Make Grandma’s Crockpot Lasagna

Ingredients you will need for Lasagna

  • lean ground beef
  • onion, chopped
  • tomato sauce
  • diced tomatoes, undrained
  • dried basil leaves
  • dried parsley
  • garlic
  • salt
  • mozzarella cheese
  • cottage cheese
  • Parmesan cheese
  • lasagna noodles
  • fresh mozzarella
  1. Cook beef  and onion in  skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, basil parsley, garlic and salt.Grandma's Crockpot Lasagna - Browning beef in pan
  2. Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the cottage cheese and Parmesan cheeses. (Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.)
  3. Prepare crockpot with cooking spray. Spoon one-fourth of the beef mixture into 6-quart slow cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with half of the cheese mixture and 4-5 slices of fresh mozzarella Then top with another one-fourth of the beef mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture, 4-5 slices of fresh mozzarella and one-fourth of the beef mixture. Top with remaining 5 noodles and remaining beef mixture.Grandma's Crockpot Lasagna - cheese placed in crockpotGrandma's Crockpot Lasagna - Sauce added to the top of lasagna in a crockpot
  4. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 5 to 6 hours or until noodles are tender.Grandmas Crockpot Lasagna - Cheese melted on top of lasagna in crockpot
  5. Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Turn off crockpot. Cover and let stand about 15-20 minutes to help it set. Cut into pieces.

Grandmas Crockpot Lasagna - Family Fresh Meals Recipe your family will love

Do you love Family Fresh Meals? Never miss out on  FUN new meals or Easy Lunchbox Ideas for the Family and SIGN UP to have my posts sent right to your inbox! It’s EASY PEASY! Just CLICK HERE and enter your email!

XO
Corey, Darryl, Big D & Little D

TOOLS USED TO MAKE GRANDMAS CROCKPOT LASAGNA

Slow Cooker – This is one of my favorite crockpots!

4.88 from 8 votes

Grandma's Crockpot Lasagna

Author Corey Valley
With my Grandma's Crockpot Lasagna recipe, now you can have that same show-stopping dish any night of the week, without all the work!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 cans 15 ounces each tomato sauce
  • 1 can diced tomatoes undrained
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
  • 2 Tablespoons dried parsley
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
  • 1 container 16 ounces cottage cheese
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 15 uncooked lasagna noodles
  • 8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella cut into 8-10 thin slices

Instructions

  • Cook beef and onion in skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, basil parsley, garlic and salt.
  • Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the cottage cheese and Parmesan cheeses. (Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.)
  • Prepare crockpot with cooking spray. Spoon one-fourth of the beef mixture into 6-quart slow cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with half of the cheese mixture and 4-5 slices of fresh mozzarella Then top with another one-fourth of the beef mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture, 4-5 slices of fresh mozzarella and one-fourth of the beef mixture. Top with remaining 5 noodles and remaining beef mixture.
  • Cover and cook on Low heat setting 5 to 6 hours or until noodles are tender.
  • Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Turn off crockpot. Cover and let stand about 15-20 minutes to help it set. Cut into pieces.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 510kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 894mg | Potassium: 498mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 655IU | Vitamin C: 5.4mg | Calcium: 537mg | Iron: 3.3mg

Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Make sure to share it with me below!

Ready for some more easy crockpot recipes?

4.88 from 8 votes (6 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Did you make this recipe? Rate it:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

11 Comments

  1. 3 cups of mozzarella cheese in list of ingredients, but I only see 2 being used. Where is the other cup?

    1. In step 5… You use the last cup to top the lasagna with.

  2. Do you use regular lasagna noodles (not the no-boil ones)?

    1. Regular noodles 🙂

  3. Liz Davis says:

    Can I use the ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese? I hate cottage cheese. Thanks, Liz

    1. I think ricotta would work well as a replacement.

    2. Thank you. I love your recipes. I have tried a lot. Keep up the good work.

  4. Mindy Cruz says:

    5 stars
    This is by far the best lasagna recipe I’ve ever made. I was really hesitant to make pasta in a slow cooker, but it turned out absolutely amazing!!

  5. Kathie Dawn says:

    4 stars
    The flavor was outstanding. The top layer of noodles were less well cooked, though. Did anyone else experience that? I’m already sharing this recipe with friends and family!