.jpg "Hearty Slow Cooker Lasagna Recipe")
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 cartons (15 ounces each) part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, chopped
- 12 no-cook lasagna noodles
- 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Quartered grape tomatoes and additional chopped fresh basil, optional
- Cut three 25x3-in. strips of heavy-duty foil; crisscross so they resemble spokes of a wheel. Place strips on bottom and up sides of a 5-qt. slow cooker. Coat strips with cooking spray.
- In a 6-qt. stockpot, cook beef over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink; drain. Set beef aside.
- In same pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, zucchini and carrot; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Stir in beef mixture, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning and if desired, crushed red pepper. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, eggs and basil.
- Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. Layer with four noodles, breaking as needed to fit. Top with 1-1/2 cups meat mixture, 1-2/3 cups cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice. Cook, covered, on low 4 hours or until noodles are tender. Let stand 30 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with grape tomatoes and additional basil. Yield: 8 servings.
Reviews forHearty Slow Cooker Lasagna
My Review
Average Rating
"This is an excellent lasagna! Love that I can prep it the night before and the kids can set it and forget it when they get home from school. I also lined mine with foil as Wildwestwishes suggested."
"Was just ok. I agree with Imm2497 - more difficult than making lasagna in a baking pan."
"Linda line the crock pot with foil. Then spray with cooking spray ;0)"
"I haven't tried this recipe yet, and before you all go ballistic, I have a question. The picture looks really nice, but how did you get it out of the crock pot without it completely falling apart? I understand about the foil directions. Do you do the spokes so closely as to completely cover the bottom AND sides of the pot? And does it cook so solidly that it isn't juicy and alternately isn't dripping when you remove it? I really think this would be something I want to try, but have concerns that serving something like this would fall apart or be over cooked.
Addendum: Thank you to 'wildwestwishes' for your response. This makes better sense than the foil strips. I think I will give this a try later this week."
