Ooooo you guys! I’m so excited to share this recipe for Crock Pot Lasagna with all of you!! It seems like you’ve been digging the Whole30 theme recently, but (1) I figure most of you are done with your 30 days by now, (2) I can’t stay away from my Italian roots, and (3) comfort food is a part of winter… and that’s a-okay. At least with me!
I usually stray away from making lasagna because it requires a lot of work, plus “healthy” and “lasagna” aren’t words used in the same sentence very often. Traditionally, there’s way more cheese, ground beef (or something similar), and sometimes even a bechamel sauce… all of which is kind of unnecessary when you think about! Who needs greasy meat or a creamy sauce when you still have a bunch of cheese, tomato sauce, lasagna noodles, and thin melty strips of zucchini?!
But the best part by FAR is the fact that you can cook this IN A CROCK POT. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!? Why didn’t anyone tell me about this sooner?! I’m not kidding, you’re going to laugh at how easy this recipe is… mix up some cheese, slice up some zucs, pop open a jar of sauce and start layering. That. is. it.
This recipe is actually featured on Corepower Yoga’s blog today, which is super fun for a few reasons. First of all, I always love working with them… but more importantly, you can prep this crock pot lasagna, set the timer, go to your favorite CPY class (C2 anyone?!), come home and shower… and then it’s DONE! Doesn’t that sound like the perfect Sunday?! I think so too ?
Let’s make crock pot lasagna
Scroll down for the full recipe, or follow along with the pictures!
Start by washing and slicing the zucchinis. It’s really important to cut them as thinly as possible – this way they kind of act like extra lasagna sheets! Also, the thinner they are, the more they soften and almost melt into the lasagna. Want to know a secret? The first time I made this, I only used 2 and my boyfriend (who doesn’t usually like zucchini) told me I could add more. Umm you want me to add MORE vegetables? You got it!!!
As for the cheese portion of the filling, I kept this pretty minimal. If you’re a cheese fanatic, you are welcome to bulk this up, but I liked that this amount kept the whole dish super light.
I also strongly suggest you get a GOOD tomato sauce if you’re not making it from scratch yourself. I used 365 Tomato Basil Sauce from Whole Foods, and the flavors were so good with this combination of cheeses. YUM.
Annndddd layer it up!
I told you this was easy…
Once you’ve layered everything in, set your crock pot on high for 3-4 hours. Mine was pretty much done after 3 hours… but it didn’t hurt to keep it running for another hour. The only difference I really noticed was around the edges, as a result of cheese cooking against the sides of the pot. Helllooooo caramelization!
If we’re being real, this turned out so much better than I expected ? I’m still not over it. Have you ever tried to make a crock pot lasagna before? Am I late to this party?!
Also, do you guys put any other fun veggies in your lasagna or do you have any other healthy hacks for me? I want to know!!
Ingredients
- 3-4 zucchini, very thinly sliced
- 1.5-2 jars of tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 15 oz low moisture ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- no boil lasagna sheets
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (for on top)
Instructions
- Wash your zucchini and thinly slice them lengthwise. The thinner the better!
- Add ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella and parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Spoon tomato sauce into the bottom your crock pot.
- Add a layer of zucchini, followed by a layer of lasagna sheets.
- Spread the ricotta mixture over the pasta sheets. It won’t cover every bit of the pasta sheets and that’s okay.
- Spoon more tomato sauce on top of that.
- Layer again with zucchini, lasagna sheets, ricotta mixture, zucchini, lasagna sheets, ricotta, etc.
- Top with sauce and the reserved cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover your crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- Serve warm!
This looks amazing! My husband isn’t a huge fan of zucchini- something with the texture, but I’ll remember this for another time. We love sauce and cheese and all things pasta in our house!
Britney! Sneak it in!! Lower the amount to 1 or 2 instead of 3 or 4,and slice them REALLY thin. I swear, they melt into the lasagna. My boyfriend, who doesn’t usually like zucchini, loved it! Just don’t tell him it’s in there 😉