You can make this easy skillet lasagna in one pan and less than one hour and it tastes just as good as a big, baked pan!
Lasagna has always been one of my favorite Italian dishes. I’ve loved it as long as I can remember. Growing up it was my go-to order whenever we ate at a restaurant, and it was my most requested dinner meal at home. As I got older, it became one of the first dishes that I made on my own as an adult and I vaguely remember making it to impress a boyfriend once upon a time.
But let’s face it, lasagna can be kind of a pain to make if you’re making it from scratch. Each element takes a bit of time and then you end up with a lot of dishes.
However, I’ve found a way to short cut the sometimes-daunting task of making lasagna and it tastes just as good! As it turns out, you can get the same combination of ingredients and flavors you love by making an Easy Skillet Lasagna instead of making the whole pan.
What is easy Lasagna Skillet?
So, easy Lasagna Skillet is essential lasagna that’s made in one large skillet. It’s the only pan you use so there isn’t a lot of dishes to wash at the end AND it can be made faster from scratch than a traditional baking pan of lasagna.
Another thing that I like about easy Lasagna Skillet is that you can customize the amount you want to make. Instead of making a large pan that will create leftovers for days (usually too many leftovers for us) the easy Lasagna Skillet can be made for a smaller crowd. I still like to make a big skillet so this recipe will give you a big serving size, but it’s more like 6-8 versus a pan of lasagna, which can usually feed 8-12.
The best skillet to use
To make the easy Skillet Lasagna you will need to have a skillet or pan large enough to make it in. I used a Ninja Foodi Possible Pan for this recipe, and I would recommend using that or using a similar pan. It was given to me as part of an Instagram promotion, but they did not ask me to blog about it. However, I really love the pan and thought you might too.
The PossiblePan is a non-stick and non-scratch pan. I had been using Green Pans for a few years, but unfortunately, I’ve found they do chip AND they’re impossible to get olive oil off of. I’m considering buying the whole line of Ninja pans to replace them now. Olive oil doesn’t seem to stick, they brown everything really nicely and it’s nice to have a pan that I can steam in too.
No matter which pan you use, just make sure it has a 4 quart capacity. That’s how big my Ninja pan is and what you will need to fit the easy Lasagna Skillet into one pan.
Making easy Lasagna Skillet
To make the easy Lasagna Skillet, you will need to brown the meat first. I like using uncased, mild Italian sausage for this recipe. In my opinion, Italian sausage always adds so much more flavor to a dish than simple ground beef. You can also use a sweet or spicy Italian sausage if you prefer.
Once the meat is browned, remove it from the pan and wipe it out. Make sure you don’t burn yourself because the pan will still be hot. Then, add in olive oil, onions and chopped garlic and sauté.
Next, add in tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, fresh thyme, fresh basil, tomato paste and sea salt and pepper. The tomato items can either be homemade or canned.
And then, add in broken lasagna noodles. I ended up using almost the whole box so that should give you an idea of how big the pan is. Once the noodles are in add in chicken broth and water.
Cover and simmer this for about 15 minutes until the noodles are cooked. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is burning on the bottom.
When the noodles are done, add the Italian Sausage back in, then spoon ricotta cheese on top. Next sprinkle on mozzarella (heavily), add on additional thyme and basil and bake it all in the oven uncovered at 350 or until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbling.
Tips for making easy Lasagna Skillet
- Make sure to have all your ingredients cut and measured before you start. This recipe moves pretty fast and will move even faster if all the prep work is done.
- Use fresh basil and fresh thyme. The dried herbs just won’t taste the same and you will need more of them to compensate.
- Use good quality, extra virgin olive oil. This is a life rule.
- Use sea salt and not table salt. Just watch over salting since this uses tomatoes and chicken broth. Make sure to taste and then take baby steps with it.
- You can use low sodium chicken broth.
- You can use whatever kind of meat you prefer. As I mentioned above, mild Italian Sausage is my favorite. You can also make the easy Lasagna Skillet vegetarian by leaving the meat out.
- Ensure your pan/ skillet is big enough to hold everything. Mine was a 4-quart pan. If you’re looking for one, make sure to check out the Ninja one I used {HERE}.
Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! I hope that you and your family love this recipe. You can find the full, printable recipe for easy Lasagna Skillet below.
If you’re looking for other pasta recipes, click {HERE} to find them! For another great one skillet recipe, check out this simple and delicious Frittata {HERE}.
Easy Lasagna Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 package (16-19 oz) uncased Italian sausage, mild
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 large white onion, diced
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 cups tomato sauce You can use homemade or you can use canned or jarred.
- 1 cup diced tomatoes You can use fresh, canned or jarred.
- 8 oz. tomato paste
- 4 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
- 1 package lasagna noodles, broken
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Additional basil and thyme for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add Italian Sausage to skillet and brown. Remove from skillet to drain the grease and set aside.
- Wipe out the skillet and then add in olive oil. Heat through.
- Add in onions and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant.
- Add in tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Then add in the basil and thyme.
- Add in one cup of chicken broth and mix well.
- Next add in the broken lasagna noodles and the additional cup of chicken broth and one cup of water.
- Cover and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the lasagna noodles are soft and cooked through. Stir occasionally as it cooks so the noodles don't burn on the bottom of the pan.
- When the noodles are done, add the Italian sausage back in. Spoon the Ricotta cheese on top of the mix and then sprinkle on the Mozzerella. Add on additional basil and thyme.
- Then add the pan to bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is bubbling. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply