Cheesy One Pot Lasagna

If you want all the flavors of a classic lasagna in half the time, give this Easy One Pot Lasagna a try! Beefy, cheesy, and saucy, this is everything you love about lasagna without all the work.

One Pot Lasagna: A Weeknight Dinner Miracle

I love lasagna but until recently I always considered it a “special occasion” dish. It’s not that lasagna is super fancy. After all, it usually ends up in a sloppy pile on your plate anyway. 

I mainly considered it a special occasion dish because of the drawn out process required to make it. Who has time to boil noodles, make sauce, assemble, and bake a lasagna on a typical weeknight? Not me, that’s for darn sure.

But then I discovered skillet lasagna–a one pot wonder that gives you ALL THE LASAGNA GOODNESS without ALL THE LASAGNA WORK.

All of the typical suspects for lasagna are here: tomato sauce, ground beef, Italian sausage, lasagna noodles, and, of course, multiple cheeses.

What’s not here is an hours-long bake time or a big stack of dirty dishes. Can I get an AMEN?

Here’s Why You’ll Love It:

• It’s done in 40 minutes. Not two hours. Not even an hour. 40 minutes.
• It serves a big family (or gives you leftovers for lunch the next day!). This recipe can easily feed 6-8 people, depending on their appetites and whether or not any of them are teenagers.
• It tastes really, really good. I mean, we all know saucy noodles + cheese is a match made in heaven, and lasagna is perhaps the pinnacle of this perfect combination.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Onion– A little onion sauteed in olive oil kicks off this recipe (and so many other great recipes!)
• Ground beef– You can use 80/20 or a leaner beef for this recipe.
• Italian sausage– We love the kick of fennel the Italian sausage lends to this dish, but feel free to substitute it with more ground beef if you prefer.
• Lasagna noodles- We use broken up lasagna noodles for this skillet version, but you could substitute penne, rotini, or bowtie pasta if you prefer.
• Diced tomatoes– We’ll use canned diced tomatoes + all the juices for the sauce.
• Jarred marinara or other pasta sauce– Pick your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce for this recipe.
• Cottage cheese– We are partial to cottage cheese in our lasagna, but you can absolutely use ricotta cheese instead if you prefer it.
• Mozzarella cheese– We have used both fresh mozzarella cheese (the kind you find in a ball shape in the deli area) and shredded mozzarella cheese. Both work very well. Fresh mozzarella cheese is thick and extremely stringy. Shredded will give you even coverage over every bite.
• Spinach- A totally optional addition, but it never hurts to add a little something green!

How to Make One Pot Lasagna

Step 1: Saute onions and meats. In a large oven safe skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute 2-3 minutes. Slide the onion to the side of the pan, and add the ground beef and Italian sausage, spreading it evenly over the pan. Brown for about 3 minutes, then flip, and stir the onions back in. Continue to cook another 3-4 minutes, or until no pink remains in the beef or sausage.

Step 2: Season. Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Season the beef with salt and pepper. If there is a lot of excess grease (more than a Tablespoon), drain it off before proceeding.

Step 3: Add noodles, liquids and sauces and simmer. Scatter the noodles on top of the beef. Do not stir. Pour the diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, and water over all. Sprinkle with basil and oregano. Cover the pan, turn the heat up to medium high, and bring to a simmer. Once the mixture is simmering, uncover, stir everything together and turn the heat down to medium low. Keep the mixture at a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom of the pan.

Step 4: Add cottage cheese, spinach and Parmesan cheese and continue to cook. Stir in the cottage cheese, spinach, and Parmesan cheese. Simmer for another 3-5 minutes, or until noodles are tender.

Step 5: Broil. Arrange mozzarella slices evenly over the dish. Place the pan under the broiler for 4-6 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

• Leftover skillet lasagna can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Reheat leftovers in the microwave, stirring every 45 seconds, until heated through.

Tips for Success

Because every stove top heats a little differently, it’s difficult to say exactly how quickly your One Pot Lasagna will cook.

If at any point the sauce is getting too thick and/or it seems like it might be burning, first turn the heat down, and secondly, add ¼ cup of water to the pan, scraping the sides and bottom well.

Equipment Recommendations

This skillet lasagna will require a big pot or skillet. The skillet pictured here is a 12 inch enamel cast iron chicken fryer.

You can also use a Dutch oven or another large, oven safe 12 inch skillet or pot with high (at least 3 inch) sides.

If your skillet doesn’t have a lid, cover it with a sheet pan.