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–+ servings

Crock Pot Lazy Lasagna

Created by: Sarah Mock
A white bowl filled with lazy lasagna, topped with melted cheese and herbs, sits on a white surface with a fork beside it.
prep time15 minutes
cook time4 hours
total time4 hours 15 minutes
Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound Ground Beef
  • 1 Teaspoon garlic (minced)
  • 2 24 ounce jars pasta sauce
  • 2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 25 ounces frozen raviolis
  • 2 Cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Instructions
 

  • Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. You are looking for no pink remaining and some real browning on the pieces; that color is flavor. Do not skip this step and add raw beef to the slow cooker. It will cook through, but the flavor will be flat and the texture will be soft in a way that doesn't work here.
    1 Pound Ground Beef
    Cooked ground beef in a nonstick skillet on a stovetop, with some pieces browned and spread evenly across the pan.
  • Add the garlic. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Watch it. Garlic burns fast, and burnt garlic is bitter all the way through the finished dish. The moment it smells fragrant, move on.
    1 Teaspoon garlic
    Cooked ground beef in a nonstick skillet on a stovetop, with some pieces browned and spread evenly across the pan.
  • Add the pasta sauce and Italian seasoning directly to the skillet. Stir to combine and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Taste it now and season with salt and pepper. Those 2 minutes let the flavors marry together before they go into the slow cooker.
    2 24 ounce jars pasta sauce, 2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning, Salt and pepper
    A skillet filled with red pasta sauce containing ground meat sits on a white cloth, with a small bowl of shredded cheese nearby.
  • Spread one-third of the meat sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker insert. This base layer prevents the ravioli from sticking and scorching on the bottom. Don't skip it.
    Uncooked ravioli placed in a black slow cooker over a layer of red pasta sauce, creating an easy lazy lasagna.
  • Arrange the frozen ravioli in a single, even layer over the sauce. Overlap is fine; stacking too deep in one spot means uneven cooking. Spread them out as flat as you can.
    25 ounces frozen raviolis
    Uncooked ravioli placed in a black slow cooker over a layer of red pasta sauce, creating an easy lazy lasagna.
  • Top the ravioli with another third of the sauce. Every exposed ravioli edge should have sauce coverage. Dry corners turn chewy and tough.
    A slow cooker filled with rich red tomato sauce and ground meat, viewed from above—perfect for making a hearty lazy lasagna.
  • Add the remaining frozen ravioli in the same flat, even pattern as before.
    Uncooked ravioli arranged in a black slow cooker on top of a layer of tomato sauce, creating an easy lazy lasagna.
  • Pour the last of the meat sauce over the top and spread it to cover every visible ravioli edge. If a corner is sticking out, tuck it under or spoon sauce over it.
    A slow cooker filled with red tomato sauce and ground meat, perfect for making lazy lasagna, sits on a white surface with a bowl of pasta nearby.
  • Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Start checking at the 3-hour mark. The ravioli should be tender and cooked through; the sauce should be bubbling at the edges. Every slow cooker runs a little differently — mine is consistently done at 3 hours. Past 4 hours, the ravioli goes soft and the layers lose their definition.
  • Add the mozzarella. In the last hour of cooking, scatter the shredded mozzarella over the top. The cheese will melt into a clean, even layer without going oily or separating. Adding it at the beginning gives you greasy, overcooked cheese; the last hour is the window.
    2 Cups mozzarella cheese
    A slow cooker filled with lazy lasagna, featuring a layer of shredded cheese on top of savory ingredients, ready to be cooked.
  • Serve!
    A serving of cheesy lasagna being lifted from a slow cooker, topped with melted cheese and garnished with parsley.

Notes

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The flavors settle overnight and this is genuinely one of those dishes that tastes better on day two.
Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely before freezing so you don't trap steam and create ice crystals in the sauce.
To reheat from the refrigerator, cover loosely and microwave in 90-second increments until warmed through, stirring gently between rounds. To reheat from frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator first, then reheat the same way. You can also reheat covered in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes if you're reheating a larger portion.

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