How to Make Slow Cooker Lasagna

I love lasagna, especially my mom’s. The layering and multiple steps can be time consuming, but the finished product is always worth it!  

Lately, I have been very curious about making lasagna in a slow cooker. Does it follow the same steps? Will it taste as good as Mom’s? Using the Slow Cooker Lasagna recipe from Betty Crocker and making some simple ingredient changes, I decided to find out! 

 Here is what you will need:

Brown the Italian sausage (which I removed from the casing…easier than I thought!) and onion in a pan.

In a bowl, mix cottage cheese (which I substituted for the ricotta), 1 cup mozzarella and all of the Parmesan cheese.

Add sauce to the cooked, drained Italian sausage and onion mixture. To save a step, I used my favorite store-bought marinara sauce. I also cooked the sauce a bit so the sausage took on some of the flavor.

Now starts the layering process. Honestly, when I first looked at the recipe, I was a bit overwhelmed. But just take one step at a time and remember that precision is NOT the name of the game with this recipe…trust me. So, first put down one-fourth of the sauce mixture.

Next, add some of the noodles. The best part is they do NOT need to be cooked! Just break them up and throw them in. (How cool is that?)

Layer with half of the cheese mixture.

Then add another one-fourth of the sauce, more noodles, the rest of the cheese mixture, one-fourth sauce, more noodles and the rest of the sauce. Cook in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours. Mine only took about 4 ½ hours, but my slow cooker runs pretty hot. You just want the noodles to be tender. After cooking, sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cover for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey…the best way to serve cheese!

Scoop out and serve with a salad and bread. It is easy and delicious. The recipe serves A LOT, so be sure you bring your appetite to the table for some Italian deliciousness! The good news...the leftovers freeze really well.