Lasagna for a weeknight! Skip the hassle of preparing a lasagna and make this Skillet Lasagna instead. It is a one pan dinner that gives you a taste of Italy without all the work!
One pan or one skillet recipes are so great for weeknights. We especially love this One Pan Pasta with Bacon and Peas, and for a super simple dinner, this Skillet Pasta with Sausage.
Growing up, my mom was a meal planner. She’d write out the menu for a full month, and hang it on the inside of one of the kitchen cabinets. When she planned, she would follow a pattern each week. One day would be Mexican food, one day would be Italian, etc. I think it helped her to keep some variety on the menu, while making foods that she knew her family would like.
Now that I’m a mother myself, I completely understand the wisdom in planning that menu. And some months, I like to follow the same pattern.
There is one theme day that I know everyone will be happy with, and all of the food will be consumed that day. It’s Italian day. Which usually means pasta. (And tell my youngest that we are having pasta for dinner, and he will run around excitedly and become very impatient for dinner.)
One of our very favorite meals is lasagna, but let’s face it. Unless you are making the lasagna ahead of time, it’s not really a weeknight kind of meal. There is just way too much prep time involved. And cook time. So it’s almost always reserved for the weekend. But now you can get that real taste of Italy on a weeknight with this Skillet Lasagna!
Ingredients
For this skillet lasagna, you’ll use many of the same ingredients that you use in a traditional lasagna:
- Sausage: I like the flavor that sausage brings versus using ground beef. If you’d like to use ground beef, I’d suggest adding in some extra spices, as the sausage already has been seasoned.
- Garlic: Adding some garlic flavor is never a bad thing, in my opinion!
- Pasta Sauce: Use a jar of pasta sauce that you like, as the flavor will be pretty prominent. Or if you’d like, you can use a homemade marinara as well.
- Diced Tomatoes: Leave these undrained as you will need the extra liquid to help cook the noodles.
- Lasagna Noodles: I just use lasagna noodles that I have broken into pieces. You could also use a short cut pasta instead.
- Basil: I usually use fresh basil. If using dried basil, you use 1 teaspoon of dried to each tablespoon of fresh.
- Mozzarella: You’ll want to skip the fresh mozzarella and use a block that has been freshly grated.
- Cream Cheese: So this isn’t a typical lasagna ingredient, but it makes the sauce extra creamy.
- Ricotta Cheese: You top the skillet lasagna with this. If you don’t care for ricotta, you could use cottage cheese that has been pulsed in a food processor. Or you could skip it entirely and add a little bit of extra mozzarella to the top.
- Dried Parsley: This is just to give the ricotta some extra flavor.
- Parmesan: I like freshly grated Parmesan so that it melts better.
How to Make Skillet Lasagna
- Cook the sausage in a large pan, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the garlic, followed by the pasta sauce, water, diced tomatoes, broken lasagna noodles, and the basil.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Cook until the noodles are al dente, stirring everything together every 3-4 minutes to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the noodles are tender and the sauce has thickened, add the mozzarella cheese and the cream cheese, stir to combine, then put the lid back on the pan. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
- While it is sitting, stir the ricotta and parsley together. Remove the lid and drop dollops of the ricotta over the top of the dish. Sprinkle the parmesan on the top, put the lid back on the pan, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Tips and Tricks
*If you live at or near sea level, you might want to start with 1 cup of water, and add more water if needed during the cooking time.
*I use regular lasagna noodles. If you want to try no-boil lasagna noodles, start with leaving the water out completely, and only adding it in little by little if needed.
*If you choose to switch up the kind of pasta, the amount of water and the cook time may change.
*This is best made right before serving, just so the noodles don’t continue to absorb liquid and become soggy. If you are making it ahead of time, it will probably be easiest to reheat in the oven.
*If not everyone likes ricotta, you can let people add a scoop to their own serving once it is dished up.
More Favorite Lasagna Recipes
My Favorite Lasagna
Lasagna Soup
Lasagna Roll Ups
Chicken Lasagna with Green Chile and Cheese
Skillet Butternut Squash Lasagna
Lasagna Bread Pizza
Mock Lasagna
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Skillet Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound Fresh Italian Sausage
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 24 oz jar pasta sauce
- 1 1/2 cups water*
- 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes undrained
- 8 oz lasagna noodles broken into bite-sized pieces
- 4 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 oz cream cheese softened and cut into small squares
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- additional basil for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Remove the skins from the sausage and break into pieces. Add to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, breaking up even more as it cooks, until cooked though and browned.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the pasta sauce, water, diced tomatoes, broken lasagna noodles and basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.
- Cook until the noodles are al dente, and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15-20 minutes. I like to stir it every 3 or 4 minutes to make sure the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. This is especially important in the last 5 minutes, as this is when they start to stick the most.
- Remove the lid from the skillet and stir in the mozzarella cheese and cream cheese. Place the cover back on and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Let it sit, covered, for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir the ricotta and parsley together. When the lasagna is done, turn off the heat and dollop the ricotta mixture over the top. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Put the lid back on the skillet and let it sit for 5 minutes, then serve.
Ridae says
Yumm I am definitely making these for our next family camping trip!
Chels R. says
I love menu planning and organizing and planning AND this one pot wonder! You had me at lasagna, but you won me over with one skillet! 😉
Tori//Gringalicious says
This is my kinda meal! Loving the simplicity that still comes with all the flavor!!!!