• Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Prep-Ahead Meals Cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Gardening
  • Kid’s Activities
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Budgeting Tips
↑

Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living

  • Cookbooks
    • Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches
    • Prep-Ahead Meals From Scratch
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area
    • Member Login
    • Join Us
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Garden
  • DIY
  • Kids
  • Budget

You are here: Home / Recipes and Cooking Tips / Skillet Lasagna

Skillet Lasagna

November 29, 2024 by Alea Milham 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
7 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
easy one-pot skillet lasagna recipe
how to make the best skillet lasagna using one pot
how to make skillet lasagna using one frying pan

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.

Jump to Recipe

easy one-pot skillet lasagna recipe

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.

cooking the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a frying pan

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.

adding the spaghetti sauce, water, and brooken lasagna noodles the the cooked hamburger mixture

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.

cook the lasagna noodles until they are al dente

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.

add dollops of the cheese mixture to the skillet lasagna

8. Place the pan under the broiler for 2 -4 minutes or until the cheese melts.

one pot skillet lasagna after being under the broiler

9. Sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve.

serving skillet lasagna from the pan

 

Printable Recipe for Skillet Lasagna

Print

Skillet Lasagna Recipe

This easy, one-pan Skillet Lasagna Recipe has all the flavors of lasagna without the work. The lasagna noodles are cooked in the skillet, so you don't need to precook them.
Course Main
Cuisine Italian
Keyword One-Pot Lasagna, Skillet Lasagna Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 30 minutes minutes
Servings 4
Calories 433kcal
Author Alea Milham

Equipment

  • 1 10.5 inch Oven-Safe Pan with Lid

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

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 433kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 982mg | Potassium: 808mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 815IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 177mg | Iron: 3mg

the best skillet lasagna recipe

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.

More One-Pot Recipes

Chipotle Pasta Skillet

Zesty Skillet Ratatouille

Italian Chicken and Rice Casserole

7 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Swathi says

    September 25, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    Delicious Lasagna, we are fan of lasagna, i usually make eggplant lasagna.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Recipe Rating




Search

Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches by Alea Milham

Recent Articles:

watermelon cupcakes with whipped cream frosting

How to Make Watermelon Cupcakes

Blueberry Popsicles made with real blueberries

Easy Homemade Blueberry Popsicles Recipe

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Prep-Ahead Meals from Scratch Where to Buy

BROWSE:

  • Blog
  • Cookbooks
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area

ABOUT:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

Copyright ©2025, Premeditated Leftovers™. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs