Mile-High Crock Pot Lasagna With Zucchini or Spinach
"This is such a wonderful lasagna recipe! Very hearty and delicious with nice deep layers, plenty of meat and cheese, and just the right amount of seasoned sauce--- plus it's a great way to sneak some veggies into your family's meal!! Very easy to prepare, and any leftovers are great reheated the next day. Equally good with chopped spinach or zucchini."
photo by BecR2400
- Ready In:
- 5hrs 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced thinly into 1/4-inch pieces (or about 1-2 cups chopped spinach)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano leaves
- 1⁄2 teaspoon basil leaves
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1⁄8 teaspoon anise seed, crushed (optional)
- 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms (optional)
- 1⁄4 cup snipped fresh parsley (optional)
- 1 (26 -28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor
- 1⁄4 cup dry red wine
- 11 -12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 1 lb part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
directions
- Brown the beef, onions, zucchini, and garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, stirring to break up meat.
- Stir in the oregano, basil, pepper, crushed anise seeds, sliced mushrooms, parsley, spaghetti sauce, and wine.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the beaten egg and the ricotta cheese, beating well until mixture is smooth. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese, combine well.
- Grease the bottom and sides of the crock pot (I use cooking spray or butter).
- Layer about 1/4 of the meat sauce mixture in the bottom of the crock pot. Put a layer of noodles on top of that (break noodles to fit, overlapping is fine). Put about 1/3 of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 of the mozzarella. Repeat with sauce, noodles and cheese for another two layers. Top with meat sauce and a little Parmesan and shredded mozzarella on top.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours (4 hours on HIGH plus 30 minutes on LOW, in my 1990s 'older' model 4-Quart crock pot), or until noodles are tender.
Questions & Replies
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This has the perfect taste and texture! My new favorite lasagna recipe!
Reviews
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I've been making lasagna most of my life. I've been called the lasagna wizard but, this one tops them all! I use Italian sausage and I use a couple different cheeses in addition to what is mentioned here. This is THE BEST lasagna recipe ever. I look at recipes as a "suggestion" and then go from there. This one is so good, I even converted it to an oven lasagna and it was just as good. Thank you for sharing!!! -
This is a delicious, hearty lasagna! I made it exactly as written, with the "optionals". It was wonderful, I wouldn't change a thing! The added bonus was making it in the crockpot! I will definately make this again. Thank you! -
I saved this recipe you posted months ago thinking it looks good maybe I'll try it. I finally gave it a whirl but not sure about the veggies inside. I will do lasagna no other way now! I really thing the veggies give it substance and doesn't subtract from the flavors in any way which is what I was originally afraid of. I use Barilla no boil noodles but know from my past experiments you can do the same with regular nooldes laryering them dry and obtain the same great results. BecR this is truly a gem of a recipe and one I will keep. I only hope more poeple with try it. Many Thanks! -
FABULOUS! My husband is not a fan of lasagne but he loved it and even asked me to be sure to save the recipe for repeats!! I did not use the fennel seed as I used mild Italian Sausage instead of ground beef, which has fennel already. The only other changes made were that I sauteed the sausage first, to drain well and did not add the zucchini to the sauce, but layered the slices following the sauce layers. I wanted to make sure each bite had zucchini. And as I grated my own mozzarella rather than buying a pre-grated package, probably used a bit more cheese. Again, a FABULOUS recipe.
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i had saved this recipe for a while now and decided to give it a shot. i thought it would be kinda soupy in the crockpot, but oh noooooo, it came out firm and tender, i made it with extra meet and made 4 layers- i will make lasagna no other way now!! most excellent!!!
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Tweaks
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FABULOUS! My husband is not a fan of lasagne but he loved it and even asked me to be sure to save the recipe for repeats!! I did not use the fennel seed as I used mild Italian Sausage instead of ground beef, which has fennel already. The only other changes made were that I sauteed the sausage first, to drain well and did not add the zucchini to the sauce, but layered the slices following the sauce layers. I wanted to make sure each bite had zucchini. And as I grated my own mozzarella rather than buying a pre-grated package, probably used a bit more cheese. Again, a FABULOUS recipe.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Married to my sweetheart for almost forty years and we have two wonderful children who are grown and have flown the coop. Also, we have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and beautiful daughter-in-law, plus FIVE grandchildren: two beautiful granddaughters ages five and eight, and three sweet adorable little grandsons ages 2 months, 2 years and 3 years. My husband and I share a combination of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, Swiss, Polish, Austrian, German and French heritage, and our son-in-law and daughter-in-law are both Hispanic. We've traveled extensively to many countries abroad (we lived in Germany), and have traveled and lived in several states here in the U.S.A. Many of the recipes I post here are influenced by our combined heritage or from our travels, or they are old family favorites that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy! Have been to culinary school with many years of cooking (mostly for my family) under my belt, so know my way around a kitchen. And I'm very lucky to have the best sous chef in the world, dddddh! One of my favorite chefs of all time is Jacques Pepin! I have several of his cookbooks, and enjoy watching his television cooking show Fast Food My Way. Another top favorite is Julia Child (of course!). A few other chefs I read/enjoy watching on t.v. are: Giada At Home, Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites, and Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and many more. On my bucket list is dining at Thomas Keller's establishment The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California... as well as Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and the James Beard award winning Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco. One day!! Hobbies/Interests: Decorating with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden is my passion, and brings me deep joy! It's really hard to beat!! I love connecting with others who enjoy the same. Gardening, decorating, sewing, music, dancing, film, and reading are also up there. Spending quality time with my grandchildren, family, and friends (and cooking holiday meals!). Currently, a newfound passion has been so richly rewarding for me: genealogical research. I heart ancestry dot com. And last but certainly not least, I absolutely LOVE cats--we have two half-Siamese fur babies (cats) that allow us to live here!! A Note of Thanks~ I try to personally thank everyone who kindly makes and reviews my recipes, but sometimes I am busy, late, or may forget. Please know that I am always humbled that you would try one of my recipes, and I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing all the pretty photographs. Thanks so much! </p>
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