Vegetarian Crockpot Lasagna
Did you know you can make delicious lasagna in a slow cooker? It’s true! This easy vegetarian lasagna only requires a few minutes of prep. You don’t even need to cook the noodles in advance!
I had a slow cooker for a long time before I really started to use it. It seemed like most recipes weren’t vegetarian, or required a lot of steps before adding things into the slow cooker. But lately I’ve found some really delicious and simple ways to use it to make vegetarian recipes! This Crockpot lasagna is the perfect example of an easy recipe that doesn’t require a lot of preparation before you can set it and forget it!
Can You Make Lasagna in a Crockpot?
You may be wondering, “Can I really make lasagna in a Crockpot?” The answer is yes! It’s actually a great “set it and forget it” style recipe. Slow cookers can vary in terms of heat and cooking time so the first time you make this, you’ll want to keep an eye on the cooking time and adjust as needed.
How to Make Vegetarian Lasagna in a Slow Cooker
Add a little bit of sauce to the bottom of a slower cooker, then top with noodles. Layer with cheese, then top with spinach.
Continue to layer with sauce, noodles, cheese, and vegetables. For the final layer, add noodles, a thin layer of sauce, and cheese.
Finishing with a layer of sauce and cheese helps prevent the noodles from drying out.
Let cook on high for 2-3 hours until the noodles are softened. To test this, use a fork to poke one of the noodles at least 2 inches from the edge, to check for tenderness. Once the noodles are softened, turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil just before serving.
Tips for Making Slow Cooker Lasagna
- Be sure to use traditional lasagna noodles, not pre-cooked or no-boil noodles. Those will get soggy!
- With recipes like this that are only a handful of ingredients, using high-quality ingredients is essential. I love Rao’s tomato basil sauce for the pasta sauce.
- Crockpot times can vary so be sure to keep an eye on this recipe so I recommend checking it after 2 1/2 hours but it may need up to 3 hours.
How to Layer the Ingredients
I thought I’d outline the exact order I layered the ingredients, to make it a little less confusing. It’s important to end with noodles topped with sauce and cheese, so the noodles don’t dry out. So from the first layer to the last, here’s the order:
- Sauce
- Noodles
- Cheese
- Vegetable
- Sauce
- Noodles
- Cheese
- Vegetable
- Noodles
- Sauce
- Cheese
Vegetables to Add to Your Lasagna
You can play around with the vegetables, but it’s important to factor in the water content of certain vegetables. Eggplant, for example, should be microwaved for a few minutes to help draw out some of the moisture to prevent soggy lasagna.
- Spinach is an easy one that doesn’t quire any additional steps. Just add a few handfuls of fresh spinach for each vegetable layer.
- I recommend using at least one small zucchini squash or yellow squash, which will add a little moisture to the mix, but not too much to make things soggy.
- If you want to add eggplant, dice it into small cubes, add a pinch of salt, and microwave it for 4-5 minutes to help draw out some of the water so your lasagna doesn’t end up too soggy.
Vegetarian Crock Pot Lasagna
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Vegetarian
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This vegetarian crockpot lasagna recipe only takes a few minutes to throw together and then you can set it and forget it!
Ingredients
- 12 large lasagna noodles (a 1 lb box of noodles is plenty)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 24 oz jar of pasta sauce
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 zucchini or yellow squash, sliced into thin coins
Instructions
- Spray the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 cup mozzarella with the ricotta and Parmesan cheese.
- Add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Place a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. You’ll have to break them up to make an even layer. It’s ok to overlap the noodles.
- Top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, then top with a layer of squash.
- Top with sauce, then another layer of noodles.
- Continue to layer ricotta, spinach, sauce, and noodles.
- Add a final layer of ricotta, noodles, sauce, then cheese.
- Put the crockpot on high for about 3 hours. Let sit for a few minutes then cut and serve!
More Slow Cooker Recipes
If you’re looking for another easy way to make lasagna, try my 3 ingredient ravioli lasagna recipe!
I made this recipe and it was essentially tasteless. I have been using the crock pot for years and have done other crockpot lasagna reciped before, but this ome turned put dry and bland. I cooked for 6 hours on low. I used frozen spinach (rinsed and dried) along with fresh sliced mushrooms. Not sure what I’m going to do with the 80% that’s left in the crock. Ideas?
Hey Scott, I am SO sorry this recipe didn’t turn out well 🙁 The only thing I can think of is the brand of pasta sauce. I love Rao’s Tomato Basil because it has a lot of flavors already, but I think results could vary with other sauces. I’m so bummed this one didn’t work for you. Thanks for letting me know!
Yeah I know this post that you did was really old I’m hoping you still post vegetarian crockpot recipes I am so sorry I’m late to finding your website but like I said I’m new to crockpot and I’ve been doing it since I got one for Christmas which is not very often I use it are used it a lot when it was cold and then when spring and summer camp I stopped using it because the only thing I knew how to make and it was chi yeah I know this post that you did was really old I’m hoping you still post vegetarian crockpot recipes I am so sorry I’m late to finding your website but like I said I’m new to crockpot him I’ve been doing it since I got one for Christmas which is not very often I use it are used it a lot when it was cold and then one spring and summer camp I stopped using it because the only thing I knew how to make chili. My mom and my boyfriend don’t want chili or soup in the summer time so I’m glad I found a recipe but if you know anything else let me know please I am so glad I found your website because all the other vegetarian lasagna recipes for the crockpot seemed more complicated and too many other ingredients I didn’t think needed to be in there
So I just found a recipe and I making it right now I’ve always wanted to try lasagna in the crockpot ever since I got a crockpot for Christmas I have the round 4qtCrockpot so I don’t know if that’s going to work to make vegetarian lasagna since I’m a vegetarian I don’t know many vegetarian recipes you can make in the crockpot that’s not soup or chili I only know how to make a vegetarian chili and in the summertime that’s too hot to have I don’t want to make something that’s not chili or soup so I’ll let you know how the recipe goes I made it around 3 o’clock and it’s now almost 5 o’clo crockpot so I don’t know if that’s going to work to make vegetarian lasagna since I’m a vegetarian I don’t know many vegetarian recipes you can make in a crockpot that’s not soup or chili only know how to make a vegetarian chili and in the summertime that’s too hot to have I don’t want to make something that’s not chili or soup so I’ll let you know how the recipe goes I made it around 3 o’clock and it’s now almost 5:30So we will see how it turns out I keep feeling like I didn’t put enough of the ingredients in but we will see it’s just kind a hard to spread the ricotta cheese I did the best I could on that part but it still looks clumpy that was my only problem that I may not have put enough cheese but if you have any other vegetarian crockpot recipes that are simple ingredients I would love to hear about him because I’m just starting to learn to make other things in my crockpot and it’s hard to use the round crockpot to make anything other than supe so we will see how it turns out I keep feeling like I didn’t put enough of the ingredients in but we will see it’s just kind a hard to spread the ricotta cheese I did the best I could on that part but it still looks clumpy that was my only problem that I may not have put enough cheese but if you have any other vegetarian crockpot recipes that are simple ingredients I would love to hear about him because I’m just starting to learn to make other things in my crockpot and it’s hard to use the round crockpot to make anything other than soup or chilli. Because it’s not oval the person who got it for me for Christmas got it on Black Friday and they happen to have the size I have in the round on sale so that’s why I don’t have the oval one
looks so good! I would probably eat it in two servings 🙂
I remember the first time I made lasagna in the crockpot. I was surprised that it actually worked. I mean who woulda thought, right?! Ha!
This looks great! I’m loving crockpot recipes while I’m on maternity leave! Also I really like the format you have here for the recipe section.
lasagna in a crockpot? who know? not me, that’s for sure, or else i would have done this a while ago. imma follow your recipe to a tee and then tweet you about it 🙂 get ready!
Wow, best idea ever!!! Sounds amazing, I will definitely be trying!
-Brittney
I am totally craving lasagna now! I love it when you can cook hearty, delicious, healthy meals in a crockpot 🙂
Love the idea of lasagna in a slow cooker, one of my favorite kitchen toys for Fall and Winter! Can’t wait to try this veggie happy dish!