Finding a quick and easy dinner that everyone loves kinda feels like winning the lottery. And that’s exactly what this Slow Cooker Million Dollar Pasta is! We’ve got all the beloved elements of a classic pasta dish like lasagna or baked ziti, but it’s cooked up right in the slow cooker. You don’t even have to boil the pasta ahead of time. Now that’s our kind of meal! It’s the perfect pick for feeding a hungry crowd any night of the week.
The one prep step you’ll need to do ahead of time is browning the beef. I’m sorry, I wish this could be done in the slow cooker too! But a quick stint on the stove top will have your beef browned and crumbled in no time. Then it’s on to the assembly in the slow cooker!
Layer in sauce, pasta, ground beef, and a delicious cheese mixture. You’ll need to pour a bit of water in with a couple layers to make sure the pasta has enough liquid to fully hydrate, but don’t worry, we’ll walk you through the whole process. Cook the dish on low for a little under three hours or until the pasta is al dente. The final touch is a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella (because you can never have too much cheese). Once the cheese is good and melty, your Million Dollar Pasta is ready to serve!
Slow Cooker Million Dollar Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup ricotta
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 (24 oz) jars marinara sauce, divided
- 1 (24 oz) jar filled with water
- 1 (16 oz) box bowtie pasta
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
Preparation
- Place ground beef in a large skillet and season with salt and pepper. Crumble and cook until fully browned. Drain grease and set aside.
- Add cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to a medium sized bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
- Pour half a jar of marinara in the bottom of the slow cooker and spread to the edges.
- Sprinkle half the (uncooked) pasta on top of the sauce and then pour the remaining half a jar of sauce over the pasta.
- Fill the empty sauce jar with water and pour half of it over the contents of the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle on half of the ground beef, then spoon all of the cream mixture over top in an even layer.
- Layer on the remaining pasta, then pour the second jar of marinara over the top.
- Gently pour the remaining half jar of water over top and finish off with a layer of the remaining ground beef.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 2.5 hours. Test if pasta is fully cooked, if not cook for another 30 minutes.
- Once fully cooked, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top. Cover again and cook until cheese is melted (about 20 minutes).
- Scoop from slow cooker to serve. Make sure to get all the layers in each scoop!
Recipe adapted from Thecountrycook.net