Crockpot Lasagna
Friday, October 14, 2011
My kids absolutely love lasagna, but usually only get it on Sundays when Daddy is in the mood to cook. When I saw this recipe for lasagna in the slow cooker in my ward cookbook (from church) I got excited to try it out for a weeknight meal. It's a similar process of making and putting together a traditional lasagna, but I liked being able to do it early in the day when life is far less crazy than during the after-school/dinner crunch time. I also loved walking into my house after an afternoon of errands and being greeted by the tantalizing aroma of lasagna baking.
My family was enamored with this low-fuss version of lasagna, especially my anti-cottage cheese son, and since the first time have requested me to make it for them multiple times. Based on the three times I've made it, though, I have a few words of advice to maximize yumminess and minimize any issues.
#1--Choose a good Alfredo sauce--whether it be your own homemade version or one you've tried and liked. (I found that I strongly prefer the Classico Garlic Alfredo sauce, over other brands and flavors)
#2--Don't let it cook longer than specified or it will start to burn around the edges.
#3--Know what to expect. While it still tasted delicious, it definitely didn't have quite the presentation WOW factor of an oven-baked lasagna. Of course, my family certainly doesn't care about how it looks.
The ingredients:
1-lb. lean ground beef ( I used ground turkey)
1 jar (26-28-ounces) spaghetti sauce
1 can (8-ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 jar (16-ounces) favorite Alfredo sauce (or 2 cups)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions: In a large skillet, brown ground beef (or ground turkey). Drain. Spray a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with non-stick spray. Spread 3/4 cup of the plain spaghetti sauce over the bottom of the slow cooker. Stir in remaining spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce with the ground beef (or turkey).
Layer three lasagna noodles over sauce in slow cooker.
NOTE: It is a little hard making rectangle noodles fit nicely into an oval shaped slow cooker, so don't be afraid to break up the noodles as necessary to get them to fit. They're getting covered anyway, so there's no need for them to look pretty.
Top with 1/3 Alfredo sauce, spreading it evenly over the noodles.
Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with 1/3 ground beef mixture, spreading evenly.
Repeat layering twice, ending with the sauce/ground beef mixture on top. Top with Parmesan cheese (and extra mozzarella, if desired). Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours (you won't want to let it go any longer than this or it will burn).
Makes 6-8 servings. Enjoy!
My family was enamored with this low-fuss version of lasagna, especially my anti-cottage cheese son, and since the first time have requested me to make it for them multiple times. Based on the three times I've made it, though, I have a few words of advice to maximize yumminess and minimize any issues.
#1--Choose a good Alfredo sauce--whether it be your own homemade version or one you've tried and liked. (I found that I strongly prefer the Classico Garlic Alfredo sauce, over other brands and flavors)
#2--Don't let it cook longer than specified or it will start to burn around the edges.
#3--Know what to expect. While it still tasted delicious, it definitely didn't have quite the presentation WOW factor of an oven-baked lasagna. Of course, my family certainly doesn't care about how it looks.
Click here for printable recipe.
The ingredients:
1-lb. lean ground beef ( I used ground turkey)
1 jar (26-28-ounces) spaghetti sauce
1 can (8-ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 jar (16-ounces) favorite Alfredo sauce (or 2 cups)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions: In a large skillet, brown ground beef (or ground turkey). Drain. Spray a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with non-stick spray. Spread 3/4 cup of the plain spaghetti sauce over the bottom of the slow cooker. Stir in remaining spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce with the ground beef (or turkey).
Layer three lasagna noodles over sauce in slow cooker.
NOTE: It is a little hard making rectangle noodles fit nicely into an oval shaped slow cooker, so don't be afraid to break up the noodles as necessary to get them to fit. They're getting covered anyway, so there's no need for them to look pretty.
Top with 1/3 Alfredo sauce, spreading it evenly over the noodles.
Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with 1/3 ground beef mixture, spreading evenly.
Repeat layering twice, ending with the sauce/ground beef mixture on top. Top with Parmesan cheese (and extra mozzarella, if desired). Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours (you won't want to let it go any longer than this or it will burn). 
Makes 6-8 servings. Enjoy!
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6 comments:
Oooo, that looks delicious. I'm always nervous about pasta crockpot recipes because it seems like they'd overcook or get mushy. Have you had any issues with that?
@ Quirky Jessi....I found that as long as I did not let it overcook, that I did not have either problem. One of the times, I did let it go an extra hour or so, and it started to burn around the edges. It was still edible, just not perfect. I'd heard of people complain about mushy noodles before in crockpot dishes, but we never had a problem with that, even when it overcooked that one time.
So, the Alfredo Sauce scares me a little - does it change the taste of the dish (we normally use cottage cheese in ours) or do you not miss the cottage cheese? I've wanted to try this dish in the crockpot but . . want to make sure it still tastes the same!
@ Jackie Koll, Yes, using Alfredo sauce definitely changed the taste somewhat. Having said that though, when I used the Alfredo sauce that we liked, I found that I really liked the difference and did not miss the cottage cheese at all. It gave it its own taste which we really enjoyed.
Thanks Lara :-)
This was DELICIOUS! Another dinner success. I also was a little nervous about the Alfredo sauce, but it ended up being so good. My oldest actually said it was so good she wanted it every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner :)
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