Lasagna makes for fantastic leftovers; it’s one of those things that tastes just as good (if not better) the second time around. But the problem with most lasagna recipes is that they’re quite time intensive. Even if you’re not making your own from-scratch sauce, you do have to brown meat and simmer things and mix and layer and bake and sometimes if you get really lucky, you get to boil the noodles first. It ends up being a sink-full-of-dishes, hours-long experience. Which means I might make lasagna once a year. Maybe.
Enter skillet lasagna–start to finish, it’s going to take about 30-40 minutes. No noodle pre-boiling, no layering, no baking. Just a single-pan meal that your family will ask for again and again. Edited to add that while I got this recipe from a friend and modified it to suit my own tastes (read: more cheese is almost always the answer), a few readers mentioned that it looked like an America’s Test Kitchen recipe. I checked my ATK cookbooks, and sure enough, the recipe I got from my friend was very similar to one in their Cook’s Country Cookbook. So while I didn’t originally find it there, and while I made some noticeable changes, I feel comfortable saying it was adapted from ATK.
Anyway. Back to the life-changing skillet lasagna. To get started, you’re going to need some olive oil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, some ground beef (I like 90% lean sirloin), Italian sausage (remove the casings if you’re using links), an onion, and a whole lotta garlic. Because that’s how we do things around here.
In a large skillet that has an accompanying lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are tender and the garlic is fragrant. Crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage into the skillet, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is completely cooked.
While the onions are cooking, bust open a large can of crushed tomatoes with basil and a small can of Italian tomato sauce, and round up 8 of those long, traditional, curly-edged lasagna noodles.
When the meat is done cooking, break the noodles into 1-2″ pieces and spread over the meat layer. Add the water, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover with the lid, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the noodles are cooked al dente.
While the noodles are cooking, get the cheese layer (aka the whole reason why we eat lasagna) together–you’ll need ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, plus some more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup of parmesan, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheeses with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
When the pasta is completely cooked, dollop the ricotta cheese mixture over the meat and noodle mixture and sprinkle with the reserved parmesan and mozzarella. Remove from heat and cover the pan for 4-5 minutes or until the ricotta mixture softens and the other cheeses melt. Top with chopped fresh basil and serve with a tossed green salad for a quick, easy weeknight meal!
Pop some skillet lasagna in one container, a salad in another, and you have the perfect pick-me-up for a friend or a special lunch for your kid’s favorite teacher. Or pack it along with you to work for a lunch that will turn a few heads (in the best way possible, not in the who-packed-fish-for-lunch-again way.)
Skillet Lasagna
- Total Time: 30
Description
This quick, easy, hearty, and satisfying stovetop lasagna will quickly become one of your family favorites!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 pound 10% lean ground sirloin
1/2 pound Italian sausage (if using link sausage, remove the casings)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
9–10 traditional curly-edged lasagna noodles (not no boil, not flat, just regular lasagna noodles)
1 cup water
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil
1 8-ounce can Italian tomato sauce (with basil and oregano or Italian spices)
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Instructions
In a large skillet that has an accompanying lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are tender and the garlic is fragrant. Crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage into the skillet, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is completely cooked.
Break the lasagna noodles into 1-2″ pieces and spread over the meat layer. Add the water, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover with the lid, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the noodles are cooked al dente.
While the noodles are cooking, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup of parmesan, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheeses with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. When the pasta is completely cooked, dollop the ricotta cheese mixture over the meat and noodle mixture and sprinkle with the reserved parmesan and mozzarella. Remove from heat and cover the pan for 4-5 minutes or until the ricotta mixture softens and the other cheeses melt. Top with chopped fresh basil and serve.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
Questions & Reviews
Love this recipe!! One of my favorites! Do you think you could cook it in the crock pot??
I probably wouldn’t, but I get overly cautious sometimes, haha. I get nervous when I cook pasta in a crockpot.
After making this recipe, I don’t think I’ll ever make regular lasagna again! I used ground turkey and added some oregano to the cheese mixture. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe and it was fantastic!
I made this last night and it was so easy, ready in 35min, and had a ton of flavor! My husband and I both agreed it’s a staple for our house now. Please make this and I know you won’t regret it! We added a lot of fresh spinach and chopped kale to the meat just as it finished browning and it was a great addition. Next time we both agreed that we are going to add thin sliced zucchini and maybe even some small broccoli florets. The veggies in it really add a good consistency.
Also, we used 1 cup water, 14.5oz can of plain diced tomatoes, and 2.5 cups of regular Italian seasoned Prego sauce, because we didn’t have the other cans of sauce and tomatoes the recipe called for. Worked great! The diced tomatoes were a game winner in it.
This is delicious and I doubt I’ll ever make traditional lasagna again! Thank you.
HI! This is cooking and smelling great! Quick question – Can the noodle pieces overlap? I wasn’t sure, so I only used like 5 of them because I wanted to make sure they cook. Thought I would ask for next time. Thanks!
Yep, just toss ’em all in there. It’s kind of a miracle that it all turns out, haha.
Thank you! Looking forward to making it again tonight!
I made this for dinner a couple of days ago. It was amazing! The only swap – out I did was to use spaghetti noodles instead of lasagna noodles because we’re moving in 2 weeks & I’m trying to use up the food in my pantry. It will be even better when I make it next time following the recipe exactly. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it!!!
I also have made the ATK version of this and like it a lot. An even lazier version (which you might not be able to call lasagna, but maybe would have to name skillet ravioli) is to make the sauce, a little less water, and add fresh or frozen ravioli, sprinkle with cheese and basil.
I recognize this recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen! I LOVE this recipe, and I change up the cheeses just like you did!I always mix in mozzarella and parmesan and parsely too! Haven’t ever used sausage in it, though. 🙂
Looks and sounds delicious. I’m sure the answer to this is a resounding “No” since it’s not in the recipe and would make for a less fast-lane dinner, but, do you drain the grease from the skillet after browning the meat? Love your blog!
It depends on your personal preferences and how fatty your meat is. If everything is drowning in grease, go ahead and drain it really quickly, but if the grease situation isn’t too bad, you don’t need to worry about it. Super specific, right?! Ha. 🙂
Hi there. So my favorite component of lasagna is the layers of noodles stacked on each other–or at least Lots of noodles. But seeing as I’ve only ever made lasagna once in my life, the skillet idea is a winner! Does using 10 make it pretty noodle-y? or if I added more would I need to add water and/or more sauce? And thank you for your recipes. It’s the one place where I can always find something that will hit the spot!
10 would be pretty noodle-y–I think you’d be happy with 10. Because, you know, I know all about your noodle needs and wants. 🙂
I have been making this recipe for years – found in the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I have added zucchini before and its great in there. I saute it with the other veggies. I also use Campanelle noodles instead of broken lasagna noodles. They have the curly edges like lasagna noodles do and they are so cute too! Also, I hate breaking the noodles as little shards always fly across the kitchen so the campanelle solve that problem too! Thanks for adding this recipe to your blog – its a keeper!
Interesting–I heavily modified a recipe I got from a friend, so I wonder if the original source was ATK–I’ll have to check it out and see how they match up!
Lasagna has been my birthday dinner request almost every year since I was a little girl. I’ve never understood why people think it’s so complicated, but I don’t put ricotta in mine so I guess it’s one less step (and always use oven ready noodles!) I’ve always wanted to try a skillet version though! I’ve very intrigued by those containers, do they come in various sizes? I’m thinking that a single serving size would be handy for bringing my grandmother meals, or for a husband who forgets to take lunchcan containers home!
Yep, they come in different sizes–right now, there’s one that’s longer and skinner and another that’s deeper and more square-ish. Really, either one could work for a single serving, but they’re big enough to hold a few servings of leftovers. Which sounds more ambiguous than it actually is…if you saw the containers, you’d know what I meant, haha!
Hey Kate! This looks so good. Any ideas for making it meatless? Just skip the meat step? Would you keep all of the other ingredient amounts the same? I suppose you could also add in veggies in place of the meat…. Your advice would be great!
I would load it up with veggies–eggplant, carrots, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, red bell peppers. Hope that helps!
I need to take a few meals to someone and thought these containers looked perfect! I ran to walmart today but couldn’t find them. Where did you get yours?
Do you have a Target nearby? That might be your best bet. You can also order them on Amazon with Prime Pantry if you have a prime account. Hope that helps!
I am SO happy about this recipe!!! Growing up it was a tradition to get to eat whatever you wanted on your birthday and I ALWAYS had Lasagna with garlic bread and salad and texas sheet cake for dessert. I don’t think I’ve actually made a lasagna in the last 5 years though. I think that means I didn’t that the last 5 birthdays didn’t count and I’m still 20 something.
They toooootally don’t count. It’s the little-known Lasagna Exception.
Could I substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta? I live ricotta, but unfortunately my husband doesn’t.
People use cottage cheese instead of ricotta–that’s how I grew up eating it. So it’s possible. Maybe blend it up in a blended first to get a finer consistency?
This looks delicious! Just curious- I have another lasagna recipe that uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta. My kids eat a ton of cottage cheese, so we always have some in the fridge. Would that maybe work in here? If so, now I know what’s for dinner! 🙂
People use cottage cheese instead of ricotta–that’s how I grew up eating it. So it’s possible. Maybe blend it up in a blended first to get a finer consistency?
Yum! This looks so delicious! I’m definitely going to try this out soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I’ve made a lot of meals from scratch, but lasagna (and pie crust!) is one I have yet to attempt… which is a sad day for my husband, because he loves lasagna! I think this will be a good place to start and lot a less pressure!
P.S. Thanks for keeping up such an awesome blog! I don’t comment nearly as much as I should, but I still check in every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and look forward to your recipes and delightful commentary!
I’m totally with you on leftovers. I plan at least 2 meals a week completely based on whether they will have enough leftovers for a second dinner. I even bought a giant 9×13 pan (which technically would be an 11×15) so I could make some of our favorite meals big enough to eat for 2 nights.
I also plan dinners around what will use the fewest dishes and your skillet baked ziti is one of our favorites on that score. This skillet lasagna sounds like it will be another winner. Thanks for posting it!
For the record, sometimes I also plan dinners based on what will be healthy or what’s on sale at the grocery store. But really, it’s all about finding a way not to have to cook another night or do too many dishes.
Can you freeze these containers? I love making freezer meals for new moms, sick friends, etc. I generally end up using disposable metal pans. I love that these are single serving!
I haven’t tried freezing them and the Reynold’s website doesn’t recommend it (probably because they’re semi-porous and not oven safe.) But. If you’re planning on reheating in the microwave, maybe you could pop them into a freezer bag?
Those pictures of the finished product are gorgeous. Makes me want skillet lasagna for breakfast. I’m super excited to try this out this week. I love lasagna but never want to spend the time making one from scratch. So, lasagna night at our house typically stars Stouffers. And these people who don’t do leftovers? I can’t even. I LIVE for leftovers. Like you said….nothing to plan, cook, or shop for. And, like no dishes to boot! Leftovers are my favorite.
Love this for the new mom who just had a baby or the neighbor who’s mom just passed. Great that you can label them and be done with it because those types don’t need to worry about returning the dish. Lasagna is on the brain these days too.
Laura! Tom’s better half! 😉 Hi!
I don’t see the noodles on the Ingredient list. Are the the no bake? Thanks! We love skillet pasta dishes!
Okay, I SWEAR I had that in there because I agonized about how many noodles I used, but apparently me thinking a lot about it didn’t make it reality, haha! It’s about 9-10 noodles; if you’re wanting to stretch the meal or if you want it soaking up more of the sauce, use 10. Otherwise, 9 is plenty. And it’s just the plain ol’ regular lasagna noodless–curly edges, nothing special. Hope that helps!