With this post I promise many things.
Speed of preparation.
Simplicity in ingredients.
Easy, breezy clean up.
And possibly the most important thing of all, Skillet Lasagna goes exceptionally well with a nice glass of red wine.
You’ll have a hearty, wholesome, delicious meal on the table in about 45 minutes. This is the recipe I turn to when the boys are craving lasagna but my work day doesn’t allow me to be in the kitchen long enough to put together the traditional type.
Shall we get started?
The grocery list – Shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, shredded mozzarella & provolone cheese (or another Italian cheese blend), a jar of marinara sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, curly edged lasagna noodles, salt, pepper, ricotta cheese, onion, basil, a small zucchini and summer squash, minced garlic, and one pound of ground beef.
First, we need to prepare the ingredients. Dice up about 1/2 cup onion, a small zucchini, and a summer squash. I love the addition of zucchini and summer squash but mushrooms would be great in this too. Feel free to substitute with the veggies you have on hand.
In a medium bowl, mix together the marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and 1 cup of water.
Coat a deep 12″ skillet with non-stick cooking spray. A Dutch oven would work well too. Cook and stir the ground beef until no pink remains and then drain off as much of the grease as you can. Return the pan to the heat and add the chopped veggies, onion, and minced garlic.
Cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes until the veggies are fork tender.
Now the fun part. Break each lasagna noodle into 4 pieces and add them to the pan. For some reason I think it’s fun to break lasagna noodles.
Pour the tomato mixture evenly over the top of the uncooked pasta.
There is no need to pre-cook the pasta which I absolutely love. So fast and easy. Just make sure the tomato mixture evenly covers all of the pasta and it will cook perfectly.
Drop spoonfuls of ricotta over the top.
Sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella & provolone cheese and the Parmesan. Bring it to a good simmer then cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and let it cook for about 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove the cover, sprinkle the fresh basil over the top and remove the pan from the heat.
I like a lot of fresh basil. You can use more or less according to taste. It does a lot to brighten up pasta dishes.
Scoop it up.
Plate it up.
It’s excellent on it’s own. Or add a Caesar salad and some garlic bread to make for a complete meal.
And, of course, a nice glass of red. Cheers!
Skillet Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage (very good with Jennie-O Hot Turkey Italian Sausage)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup diced summer squash
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 10 curly edged lasagna noodles, each broken into 4 pieces
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella/provolone or Italian blend cheese
- 1/3 cup shaved or grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil
Instructions
- Coat a deep 12" skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the ground beef, breaking up with a spoon, over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain off as much of the grease as you can and return the pan to the stove. Season the meat with salt and pepper and add the chopped zucchini, summer squash, onion, and garlic. Continue to cook; stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 5 minutes or more.
- Meanwhile, combine marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and water in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Add uncooked lasagna noodles to pan to cover the meat, breaking each noodle into 4 pieces as you add them to the pan. Pour the tomato mixture evenly over the pasta,making sure that the edges are covered. Bring to a good simmer then reduce heat to medium, cover pan, and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove cover and drop spoonfuls of the ricotta over the surface of the lasagna. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella/provolone and Parmesan. Cover pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and serve.
Oh boy.. I need a BIG plate of that right now! Looks scrumptious!
Holy moses.
This looks amazing. So simple yet perfect.
Oh how I love all the promises of this dish. Your lasagana looks mouthwatering, how I wish I had a piece right now. I love lasagna but it takes too long so I don’t make it often. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!!
Oh this is SO much easier than making a lasagne casserole! So glad that you don’t have to pre-cook the noodles. Great recipe!
I love it! Perfect in every respect!
This is such a great idea, and looks so mouthwatering! Thanks for sharing, Valerie! Saving to try this very, very soon…
I come to your site when I need to feed a lot of people. This is another winner. I love how homey it looks and sounds when lasagna is being served in a skillet. Looks so good. You always make dishes that I wish it’s my dinner. 🙂
I love skillet lasagna! I’ve made it a few times! You just reminded me to make it again! I love your ‘step by step’ pics! I don’t like breaking the lasagna noodles as much as you do because mine never break how I want them to break! I know, I’m too anal about it! lol!
I have never made skillet lasagna…have I been living under a rock all these years??? Incredible recipe, Val.
Thanks Val 🙂
Valerie: I am eating leftovers of your Skillet Lasagna as I browse your website again! My husband LOVED it! I’m surprised he shared the leftovers with me.
So glad to hear it! I’m also glad your husband is sharing. The cook should always get some of the leftovers 🙂
I am so all over this dish Valerie. I know my kids (& hubby) will love it and I will love making it 🙂 I’ve never made a skillet lasagna and I honestly can’t believe it – great recipe!
Oh my…this looks divine!! I love lasagna, but I’ve never made it before. I would love to try this version first.
I have a recipe that is so close to this, but I use Mafalde noodles in it. I love the addition of the veggies…always like to sneak those in whenever I can. Your photos are great. Cheers!
I am making this over the weekend Valerie! yum yum. Sharing with my FB friends today 🙂
Thank you Julie!!!
What a great and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This was such an easy dish to prepare. I prepared it for my sister’s birthday on last evening and everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad to hear that it worked out for you Dnika! Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
Boys flew in at the last minute. Ran to store and will be throwing this together. Thanks so much for the inspiration Val!!!!
You got it Julie! Have a wonderful time with the guys 🙂
Turned out terrific! Next time I am going to try this with eggplant instead of zuchs!
So glad to hear it, Julie! Great idea to add eggplant 🙂
I’ve been making lasgana for decades and recently found this recipe. I have made this recipe twice now and I absolutely love it! It is excellent. I love the ease of the recipe since you arent boiling noodles or layering all the ingredients, but it also makes a very moist lasgana. Often the layered lasagna tends to get a little dry. It turns out exactly like the photo. This will be my go-to lasagna recipe from now on. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Jeanne! This is one of my go-to busy weeknight meals and we love it. Glad to hear you are enjoying it 🙂