Our slow cooker lasagna is bursting with flavor and is a snap to prepare. The combination of tomatoes, parmesan, and basil give it an umami kick that will have everyone asking for the recipe. And the use of ground turkey and cottage cheese make this a guilt-free dish that you’ll feel good about slicing and savoring.
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Yields: 8 servings | Serving Size: 1 slice | Calories: 403 | Total Fat: 14 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 78 | Sodium: 1015 mg | Carbohydrates: 33 g | Dietary Fiber: 7 g | Sugars: 8 g | Protein: 38 g | SmartPoints: 11 |
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey, or lean ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (25 ounce) jars pasta sauce, no sugar added
- 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
- 8 ounces shredded (part skim) mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pinch of salt
- 12 (uncooked) whole wheat lasagna noodles, (break in half before adding to slow cooker)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the turkey and onion to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the turkey has lost its pink color. Add the garlic and cook for one additional minute. Drain any fat from the cooked turkey. Add 1 1/2 jars pasta sauce and stir to combine.
- Combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, Italian seasoning, and salt.
- Add a 1/2 cup meat sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker. Next, add a layer of lasagna noodles and spread 1/4 cheese mixture over noodles. Repeat the layers until these ingredients are gone.
- Cover and cook in slow cooker on low-heat until noodles are al dente and cheese is bubbly, approximately 4-6 hours. Remove the lid and add the parmesan to the top. Turn off the slow cooker and allow the casserole to sit for 15 minutes before cutting. If desired, serve garnished with the fresh basil and additional parmesan.
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What size and shape slow cooker did you reccomend for this recipe? I have sizes from 2 2/2 to 6 quarts and both round and oval. I don't have the best luck cooking pasta in a slow cooker so I want to start off right to better my chances at a finished product. Thanks a lot!
Jennifer, I would recommend the oval 6 quart.
In the slow cooker now! One question…Ingredients list 2 (25 ounce) jars pasta sauce but only 1 1/2 are used in the recipe? I dumped the remaining and used for the bottom.
Barb, That's fine, a little extra sauce never hurts. How'd you like the lasagna?
Delicious! Consistency and flavor were perfect and used my Misto to make cleanup a breeze (still need to pull the trigger on the non-stick Hamilton Beach, just can't justify with 6 slow cookers already 🙂
Barb, Thanks so much for the feedback. I agree, our recipe is really yummy. BTW, this is going in my slow cooker this afternoon for a nice dinner. My family's favorite lasagna recipe. 🙂
I just want to be sure, are the noodles cooked at all prior to putting together the lasagna in the crockpot?
If it's the boil noodles yes, cook them first. If it's the no boil noodles, no, you do not need to do so.
Do you think you could possibly substitute the pasta for spaghetti squash?
Yes, it would be possible to use zucchini. If using zucchini, I would slice it lengthwise, not into rounds so you have nice long pieces to layer. You could use spaghetti squash to make more of a spaghetti like slow cooker pasta, since it comes out in thin strands. I would roast the spaghetti squash in 2 halves on a sheet separate, and slow cook the other ingredients separate for a cheesy spaghetti.
or maybe zuchinni?
Thank you for clarifying as the recipe is not clear about this. It calls for "whole wheat lasagna noodles" but nowhere does it say to boil them first if you are using regular noodles. I am glad that I found this comment as I was wondering the same thing as Nikki. I am making this today…………hope it turns out good!
High or low for 4 -6 hours??
Amy, Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours.
Hello
Do you think it's possible to use homemade fresh pasta with this recipe ? If so, do I need to cook it first ? I'm afraid of ending up with some kind of mash if not using industrial dry pasta…
Caco, Yes it's possible to use fresh lasagna noodles and it should not get too mushy.
Should it be boiled first? And does using fresh pasta affect the cooking time?
PastaGoose,
No you do not have to cook the noodles first. The cook time does not change for fresh pasta, but check after 4 hours to see if complete.
Do you think you could do this in the oven instead of the slow cooker?
M. Plummer, Yes, do it at 350 degrees F in the oven covered with foil as you would a normal lasagna, for about 40 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Unless using the no-boil noodles, you should boil the noodles prior to assembling for the oven.
Oh shoot I didn't cook the noodles prior cooking this. Am I doomed?
They aren't supposed to be cooked first, so you're good to go!
I am confused. Earlier posts say to cook the noodles first but the last post says otherwise. Making this for dinner tonight and not sure if I should cook or not cook the pasts first.
Kim, The noodles should be uncooked before adding to the slow cooker. I updated the recipe to reflect using uncooked noodles. 🙂
In the crock pot now! Hoping it comes out good. Instead of cottage cheese, i used part skim ricotta cheese.
Lisa, That should work fine. Keep us posted. 🙂
This is my first attempt with lasagna and a crockpot. Not much of a cooker. I accidentally bought turkey breast ground meat. I hope that doesnt change anything. Also, by only using 1/4 of the cheese mixture, it seemed like there would only be 4 layers…but each meat layer was supposed to only be 1/2 cup…i have much more than 4 1/2 cups of meat sauce. Also it was tough to get the whole oval covered in noodle by only splitting it in half. I ended up just layering in the middle and I lost count on how many noodles i used. Was the meat supposed to be the top layer? I probably should have asked all these questions before cooking but now im just waiting for the 4 hours to be up to peek at it. 4 to 6 hours is a rather wide range…how do i know its done? Thanks!
Jill, The cheese is typically on top, but no big deal either way. It’s done when the noodles are al dente, tender but not mushy. We give a range of hours because everyone’s slow cooker is a little different. How’d you like it? 🙂
Can I just built the lasagna on the crockpot without cooking the meat? Cause the meal will cook between those 4 to 6hrs?
Christian, Yes you can. 🙂
Hi Gale —
Do you think I could substitute uncooked edamame lasagna noodles for the whole wheat ones?
Denise, Interesting, I’ve never tried edamame lasagna but plan to. That should be fine. Please let us know how it turns out as other readers might be interested.
Do I have to use the cottage cheese?
Terri, Another soft cheese will work as well.