Slow Cooker Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups cottage cheese (drain off excess liquid if there's a lot)
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley, or a couple tablespoons fresh
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 9-12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 10 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded, (2-3 cups)
Instructions
- Lightly coat the inside of a round 4- or 5-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, thyme, garlic powder, and balsamic vinegar.
- In another bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley and pinches of salt and pepper.
- In the slow cooker, spread about 1/2 cup of sauce across the bottom. Add a double layer of noodles, breaking to fit. Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture (it's ok if the layer is spotty and not overly thick), followed by 1/3 of the remaining sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat the layers (noodles, cottage cheese mixture, sauce and mozzarella) twice more.
- Drizzle 1/3 cup (more or less) of water around the edges (see note above).
- Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Turn off, remove the insert (if it's removable) to a heatproof spot or trivet and let sit for 20 minutes before serving (you can dig in before that but it might be just a tad soupy and lava hot).
Notes
Slow Cooker: slow cookers vary in size and shape. The only slow cooker I've ever made this in is 4.5-quarts and about 8 3/4-inches in diameter and 5 inches deep (the lasagna doesn't fill it up all the way; there's probably a couple inches left after layering). You could easily 1 1/2 or double the recipe for larger slow cookers (or decrease for smaller).
No-Boil Noodles: I've made this with several brands of no-boil lasagna noodles. I've found the Barilla brand needs hardly any water around the edges before cooking whereas the Target whole wheat lasagna noodles and Trader Joe's lasagna noodles need 1/4-1/3 cup water. It will vary based on brand.
Layers: it's a little counterintuitive to stack lasagna noodles on top of each other but in the case of slow cooker lasagna, it's ok and actually helps give a nice, hearty layer of noodles after cooking. A single layer of noodles cooked this long in the slow cooker would be unnoticeable (and dare I say a little mushy) after cooking.
Noodles: I've only ever used no-boil noodles here so feel free to experiment with regular noodles (I'd suggest cooking them for a couple minutes but leaving them quite al dente).
Meat: the recipe as written is for a meatless lasagna but we've added meat now and again. Simply brown whatever meat (ground turkey, beef, sausage, pork, etc) with a bit of salt and pepper and maybe some diced onion and minced garlic, drain any excess grease and stir the meat into the red sauce mixture before assembling.
Cottage Cheese: and finally (phew!), I've tried this with ricotta and we much prefer it with cottage cheese. If you aren't a fan of the texture of cottage cheese, get over it. Ha! Just kidding. You can try blending the cottage cheese a bit to smooth out the texture. I found that ricotta (no matter how much water I added around the edges) dried out the lasagna, probably due to the long cooking time, plus I'm steadfast in the cottage cheese loving camp so I prefer it here.