Crockpot Lasagna

Today was lasagna lunch at church.  I signed up to bring lasagna but I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep a steaming pan of lasagna hot for the two hours it would take from the time we left our house to the time we were going to eat. I have a insulated 9×13 carrier but I like my lasagna STEAMING. So crockpot it was going to be.

Ingredients: 

• 2 lbs ground beef, browned (or 1 lb. beef and 1 lb bulk sausage)
• 1 box lasagna noodles (boiled for 4 minutes…not 8-9 as stated on the box)
• 3 jars of your favorite sauce
• 6 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1-2 cups grated parmesan cheese (the stuff in the green jar is good for this recipe)

Procedure:

• Combine the 3 jars of sauce with the browned off meat.  Fill each jar 1/4 of the way full with water and swish to get out every last bit of sauce and dump into the sauce/meat mixture.  Wast not, want not! Plus the extra water will be absorbed into the par cooked noodles. Warm the mixture on the stove to heat through.
• Ladle a thin layer of sauce/meat mixture on the bottom of the crockpot.  This will help prevent the bottom layer of noodles from burning.

• Layer par-cooked noodles to cover the bottom of the crockpot. Over lapping each noodle by about 1/4 of the width of the noodle underneath.
• Top with enough sauce and meat to cover the noodles.

• Cover the sauce with a generous portion of mozzarella and grated parmesan cheeses. 

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• Repeat the process with a second layer of noodles but lay the noodles in the opposite direction of the first. I don’t know if it makes a huge difference but I think it makes the lasagna more stable when it is sliced and served.

• Continue the process until you have run out of noodles, sauce and cheese. Be sure to end with cheese so you have melted, gooey cheese on top.
• Turn the crockpot on low for 2-3 hours if you have warmed your sauce or 3-4 if everything went into the pot cold.  I would not recomend using the high setting as feel it dries out the noodles on the edges.

This was a big hit at the potluck lunch.  We did come home with leftovers but there were 8 lasagnas there for about 60 people. My children are still telling me that this was an excellent meal. They are my worst critic so I will consider this a success!

What is your ‘go-to’ meal in the crockpot?

Have you ever made a lasagna in one?

Are you in need of a Crockpot/Slow cooker? Here are some that might fit your needs: