Lasagna is one of our favorite meals. It’s comforting and delicious and something that, if it’s on the menu, we’re ordering it. That being said, it can be a bit of a pain to make ourselves and we reserve making it for very special occasions. Or at least that’s what we thought. We’ve made a couple versions of lasagna that are a little untraditional (slow cooker lasagna soup comes to mind), but this recipe is both one of the easiest versions we’ve tried and one that tastes the most like the real deal!
This is our instant pot lazy lasagna and let us tell you: we don’t see ourselves going back to making the old version. While layers and layers of sumptuous noodles are always going to be a way to our heart, this recipe gets you all the amazingly yummy, cheesy goodness of a lasagna, but with none of the work! And did we mention it takes about 15 minutes to cook?? Normal lasagna takes over an hour! All of this sorcery is thanks to our magical and wonderful instant pot pressure cooker. If you’re not on the instant pot train, this recipe will convert you.
While you could do this on the stove top or in your slow cooker, this is a one pot meal that cooks in under 20 minutes. It’s kind of like if you took your favorite lasagna recipes and mixed it all together, forgoing the layers…that’s what we achieve here. It’s saucy and cheesy goodness – no crunchy, dry pasta bits here – and there’s no messing about with making a bechamel sauce or a ricotta mixture. Feel like the ultimate champion when you put this dinner on the table (…and you don’t even have to tell them how easy it was)!
Lazy Lasagna
Yield(s): Serves 6-8
20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (25 oz.) jar marinara sauce
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups mini lasagna noodles or lasagnette noodles (or broken lasagna noodles)
- 1 1/2 cups Italian blend cheese or mozzarella, grated
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Press sauté on instant pot and brown beef until no longer pink.
- Season generously with salt and pepper, add in Italian seasoning, then add onion and garlic, cooking until softened and fragrant. Drain and discard beef, if needed.
- Pour in tomato sauce and mix together, then pour noodles on top of beef and water on top of noodles. Do not stir together once the water has been added.
- Seal lid on instant pot, making sure pressure valve is also sealed.
- Set instant pot to high pressure and cook for 4 minutes, then quick release pressure (spurting foam is normal).
- Add cottage cheese, then stir everything together. Sprinkle Italian blend (or mozzarella) cheese on top of pasta and close lid again until cheese has melted, then serve hot.
Recipe adapted from Meal Plan Addict