Traditional lasagna can be labor-intensive. You have to make a sauce, cook the noodles, assemble and bake. The slow cooker and a few other shortcuts change everything. This slow cooker spinach lasagna starts with jarred marinara sauce, frozen spinach, and uncooked noodles. Layer these ingredients together, cover, and cook. That’s it!
You can fancy up this recipe by using a homemade tomato sauce or just add minced fresh herbs to the sauce. A bit of fresh basil or oregano makes a real impact. All it needs is a side of garlic bread.
Slow Cooker Spinach Lasagna
6
15 minutes
3 hours and 30 minutes
3 hours and 45 minutes
Two 10-ounce packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
3 ½ cups jarred or homemade marinara sauce with ½ cup water stirred in
Six regular lasagna noodles
2 cups grated mozzarella
Squeeze the excess moisture out of the spinach. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach with the ricotta cheese, and stir to mix.
In another bowl, mix the marinara sauce with 1/2 cup water.
Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce mixture in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Arrange two of the noodles in a single layer on top of the sauce, breaking the noodles as needed to fit. Spread 1 cup of the marinara mixture on top of the noodles. Dollop half of the spinach mixture on top of that, then top with ½ cup of the mozzarella. Add two more of the noodles, a cup of the marinara, the remaining spinach mixture, and another ½ cup of the mozzarella. Finish with the remaining two noodles, the remaining marinara, the remaining mozzarella, and the remaining ½ cup Parmesan.
Cover and cook on low for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the pasta is cooked and the cheese is melted and bubbling.