Cheesy Skillet Lasagna Recipe | Easy Weeknight Dinners

This Skillet Lasagna is the perfect meal when you’re craving traditional lasagna, but you just don’t have the time to make it. Full of cheesy classic lasagna flavors, it’s a complete meal made in one pan and done in under 30 minutes. Say hello to your new favorite homemade lasagna recipe!

Skillet Lasagna with cheese and fresh herbs.

Why You’ll Love This Skillet Lasagna Recipe

I love all things lasagna! But, it is quite a labor intensive dish to make. All the boiling, sauteing, mixing, and layering. Most days, I don’t have time for all the mess – especially not on a busy weeknight. Here’s why this skillet lasagna recipe is a keeper:

So much easier. Sometimes, I’m craving lasagna but I have no desire to go through the effort to make the traditional version. What’s a gal to do when she’s got no time to make what she wants but she just can’t kick that craving? Well, you create your very own, modified version for the skillet! Say hello to my new bff – skillet lasagna! All the great lasagna flavors in a fraction of the time.
Only uses one dish. With traditional homemade lasagna, you’re using multiple dishes, mixing bowls, and pans. This skillet lasagna only uses ONE skillet, which makes clean up an absolute breeze.
Deconstructed flavor. Deconstructed dishes are all the rage right now and I can see why. It’s a pretty cool thing to take a bite of a dish and taste LASAGNA without having to go through all the time and effort of layering ingredients over hours. While it looks simple, the flavors are anything but!

What You’ll Need

Olive oil
Butter
Veggies: We’ll be using onion, fresh garlic, and mushrooms.
Beef: I prefer a lean ground beef, but bison, lamb, or chicken would work as well.
Seasoning: Grab some Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Pasta sauce
Water
Egg noodles
Cheese: Just like with any homemade lasagna, we’ll be using fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese.
Garnish: While optional, I love topping this with parmesan cheese and fresh herbs like basil and parsley.

How to Make Skillet Lasagna

Saute. Heat your olive oil and melt your butter in an extra large nonstick skillet or dutch oven. Add in your diced onions, and cook them for 30 seconds. Add in the beef giving it a good stir as the meat cooks. Season everything with salt and pepper and cook for 5-6 minutes until the meat is browned. Add in the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add in the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for another 30 seconds.

ground beef browning in a skillet for skillet lasagna

meat, noodles, and pasta sauce cook in a skillet

Make the sauce. Add the pasta sauce and water and increase the heat to high. Once the sauce has come to a boil, add the uncooked noodles, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer covered for about 10 minutes. Give the sauce a good stir a few times while it’s cooking.
Melt the cheese. Remove the lid and add 6-8 mounds of ricotta cheese on top of the pasta mixture. Sprinkle fresh mozzarella over the entire thing. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melty and the ricotta is heated through.
Serve and enjoy. Remove the skillet from the heat, garnish, and enjoy!

Tips For Easy Homemade Lasagna

Homemade sauce. If you have frozen or jarred homemade tomato sauce, use that in place of your favorite store bought pasta sauce. It adds so much great flavor to this dish.
Meat. For even more flavor, you can substitute your ground beef for sweet or spicy Italian sausage. For a leaner option, you can use ground turkey. Really you can use any meat you choose in this!
Check the seasoning. Make sure you taste test the skillet lasagna before adding any additional salt. The cheese and jarred tomato sauce can be quite salty and it’s likely you won’t actually need to add any additional salt to the meal.
Broil. For golden brown and bubbly cheese on top, pop your skillet under the broiler for the last few minutes!

What to Serve With Homemade Lasagna

When it comes to any kind of easy homemade lasagna recipes, I like pairing it with the classics. Think warm garlic bread or no-knead cheesy skillet bread with a nice side salad. In fact, that’s my idea of dinner-time heaven!

Can I Store or Reheat Leftovers?

You can store your leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3 days.
You can also easily freeze homemade lasagna. Simply let it cool and then pop it into a freezer-safe airtight container. It will stay nicely in your freezer for just about 4 months. I like to do this with individual servings so I can grab a quick lunch when I want!
To reheat skillet lasagna, first bring it back to room temperature. Pour the contents of your container into a skillet, and bring it to a simmer on low until heated through. I’d top it again with fresh herbs like basil and parsley plus more parm, to give it new life!

Close-up shot of curly pasta noodles in meat sauce, topped with melted cheese and chopped herbs.

More Homemade Lasagna Recipes

by Katerina | FesuvThis Skillet Lasagna is the perfect meal when you’re craving traditional lasagna, but you just don’t have the time to make it. Full of cheesy classic lasagna flavors, it’s a complete meal made in one pan and done in under 30 minutes. Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion,, finely diced
10 to 12 ounces lean ground beef
salt,, to taste
pepper,, to taste
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
3 cloves garlic,, minced
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 jar (20 to 24 ounces) tomato-based pasta sauce,, use your favorite
1 cup water
6 ounces wide egg noodles
½ cup light Ricotta cheese
½ cup part skim mozzarella cheese,, shredded
grated Parmesan,, for garnish
chopped fresh basil,, for garnish
chopped fresh parsley,, for garnish

Instructions

Heat olive oil and melt butter in an extra large nonstick skillet or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add diced onion and cook for 30 seconds.
Add beef, stirring to break it up as the meat cooks. Season with salt and pepper; cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until meat is browned.
Stir in mushroom slices and cook for 2 minutes, or until they just start to brown.
Add garlic and Italian seasoning; stir and cook for 20 seconds.
Add pasta sauce and water; increase heat to HIGH and bring mixture to a boil.
Stir in uncooked noodles and return to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring 2 to 3 times while it’s cooking to prevent sticking.
Remove lid and add about 6 to 8 mounds of ricotta cheese on top of the pasta mixture. Each mound should be about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons big.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the pasta.
Cover skillet and continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until mozzarella cheese is melted and ricotta is heated through.
Remove from heat.
Garnish with Parmesan, chopped basil, and chopped parsley. Serve.

Nutrition

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.