This easy, one-pan Skillet Lasagna Recipe has all the flavors of lasagna without the work. The lasagna noodles are cooked in the skillet with the sauce and a little extra water, so you don’t need to precook them.
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While meal planning, my oldest son requested lasagna. Unfortunately, our life is pretty busy right now and I couldn’t find a night where I had the time to make a traditional homemade lasagna. Instead of giving up, I used the same ingredients and created a quick and easy Skillet Lasagna that fits our current schedule.
I love one-pot recipes, especially when I am washing dishes! This one-pot lasagna starts on the stovetop and finishes under the broiler. Some people including Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman cook their noodles in a separate pot of water, but I prefer to add my noodles directly to the sauce and add a cup of water to eliminate the extra pot. While the noodles are cooking the pan needs to be covered, so the liquid is absorbed by the noodles rather than cooked off. So you will need an oven-safe frying pan with a lid. You can use a cast iron pan or even a ceramic-coated brasier. It just needs to be a 10-inch pan or larger.
Easy Skillet Lasagna Variations
To make this a Vegetarian Skillet Lasagna, simply leave out the meat.
If you want to add up to 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms or 1/4 cup of diced bell pepper, add them when you are cooking the ground beef and onion.
Do you like spinach in your pasta? Add up to 1 cup of baby spinach leaves when you add the lasagna noodles.
Pasta Substitutions: You can substitute gluten-free lasagna noodles to make this dish gluten-free. If you don’t have lasagna noodles on hand, you can use 8 ounces of bow-tie pasta or Campanelle pasta.
Meat Substitutions: Instead of using ground beef, you can use ground sausage or ground turkey.
Pasta Sauce Substitutions: While I prefer to use my easy homemade Spaghetti Sauce, feel free to use a 24-ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce. If you choose to use Marinara sauce, you will want to add 2 – 3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning to make it more flavorful.
Cheese Substitutions: Ricotta cheese is traditionally used in lasagna, but you can replace it with cottage cheese. My kids prefer cottage cheese over ricotta, so that is often what I use.
Skillet Lasagna Recipe
This easy skillet lasagna has all the cheesy deliciousness of traditional lasagna, but it is ready to eat in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves
- 2 1/2 cups of Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 cup of water
- 6 lasagna noodles, breaking each noodle into 2″ – 3″ pieces
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- fresh or dried parsley (optional)
Directions:
1. Place the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a lidded, oven-safe skillet or braiser. Cook until the meat is cooked through and crumbly, approximately 5 minutes. You can drain the grease if you wish to.
2. Add the spaghetti sauce and water. Stir to combine.
3. Add the broken lasagna noodles to the pan and stir to coat the noodles with the sauce.
4. Cook over medium-high heat until it reaches a boil.
5. Lower the heat, place the lid on, and simmer until the noodles are al dente, approximately 10 – 14 minutes. Stir occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom.
If your noodles have absorbed most of the liquid and are not yet al dente, add a little more water and let them continue to simmer.
6. While the noodles are cooking, combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
7. Once the noodles are ready turn off the heat and remove the lid. Add dollops of the cheese mixture to the lasagna noodles.
8. Place the pan under the broiler for 2 -4 minutes or until the cheese melts.
9. Sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve.
Printable Recipe for Skillet Lasagna
Skillet Lasagna Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves
- 2 1/2 cups Spaghetti Sauce or a 24-ounce jar of pasta sauce
- 1 cup of water
- 6 lasagna noodles breaking each noodle into 2" - 3" pieces
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
- fresh or dried parsley optional
Instructions
- Place the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a lidded, oven-safe skillet or braiser. Cook until the meat is cooked through and crumbly, approximately 5 minutes. You can drain the grease if you wish to.
- Add the spaghetti sauce and water. Stir to combine.
- Add the broken lasagna noodles to the pan and stir to coat the noodles with the sauce.
- Cook over medium-high heat until it reaches a boil.
- Lower the heat, place the lid on, and simmer until the noodles are al dente, approximately 10 - 14 minutes. Stir occasionally so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.
- While the noodles are cooking, combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
- Once the noodles are ready, turn off the flame. Add dollops of the cheese mixture.
- Place the pan under the broiler for 2 -4 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve
Notes
Nutrition
My son said this was the best lasagna, but it has been a while since I have cooked a traditional lasagna, so I told him it would be more fair to call it the best skillet lasagna.
Swathi says
Delicious Lasagna, we are fan of lasagna, i usually make eggplant lasagna.