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
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.
