One Pot Lazy Lasagna Pasta

Enjoy deconstructed lasagna, without all the work, in just 30 minutes! Ground beef cooked with a flavorful tomato sauce and pasta all in one pot, topped with a creamy dollop of ricotta filling. This delicious one pot lazy lasagna is so good, and easy to throw together for a cozy weeknight meal, or an impressive dinner for guests that everyone will love!

Full disclosure: I’ve never enjoyed making lasagna. We all have that one dish that we just don’t make, and for me, it’s lasagna. I enjoy eating it, but I do not enjoy making it. I find that sometimes lasagna can be a little dry, and I’m a saucy girl, I love extra sauce with just about everything. This one pot lazy lasagna is saucy, flavorful, and sooo satisfying. I would choose this lazy lasagna over stacked lasagna, any day!

What is lazy lasagna

Lazy lasagna is essentially a deconstructed lasagna. It contains the same staple ingredients, but a short-cut method, without all the prep work and layering. There are many different versions, some people bake the pasta mixture similar to a baked ziti, and in this method, we are making a tomato and beef base sauce for the pasta, with the ricotta as the topping.

A few notes about the ingredients

All the usual suspects for a lasagna recipe, minus the egg for binding, as there is no need!

• Ground beef – I use 85/15 ratio, or sometimes I like to use half ground Italian sausage.
• Tomato paste – This adds a little depth to the tomato sauce. I love using the tube concentrate to refrigerate and reuse!
• Chicken broth – I use regular sodium chicken broth, you can also use vegetable broth.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic cloves, always! Pre-minced garlic doesn’t have the same bite as fresh garlic.
• Onion – I like to add chopped onion with the beef for more flavor.
• Italian seasoning – Feel free to use a mixture of dried basil and dried parsley if you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand.
• Crushed red pepper flakes – Totally optional, but adds the slightest bit of heat.
• Crushed tomatoes – The tomato base for this sauce.
• Sugar – Jusssst a little bit to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Campanelle pasta – If you can’t find this pasta, you can always break up whole lasagna noodles into smaller pieces, or see more substitutions below.
• Parmesan rind – Cut the wide, darker end off the block of parmesan. This will cook with the pasta to add more flavor!
• Ricotta cheese – I recommend using a high quality brand for the ricotta topping, as you can especially taste the difference in quality of the cheese when it’s not baked in.
• Milk – You can use any kind of milk, I use whole. This helps to thin out the ricotta.
• Mozzarella cheese – I recommend using whole milk mozzarella for shredding and then shredding it yourself.
• Parmesan cheese – Same goes for the parmesan, use fresh grated, which should be easy as you’ll already be using the rind.
• Garlic salt – For just a touch of zip in the topping.
• Fresh basil – Optional, but highly recommend for the ricotta topping.

How to make one pot lazy lasagna

step 1

First we will cook the beef until browned, then set it aside.

step 2

Then we will add the diced onion and garlic to some of the beef fat and cook until translucent.

step 3

Next we add the remaining ingredients for the sauce, and bring that all to a simmer.

step 4

Add the pasta, the beef, and the parmesan rind and cook while stirring occasionally for 20 minutes until the pasta is done.

step 5

Mix together the ricotta topping ingredients until combined, then serve the pasta with a large scoop of the topping!

FAQs and substitutions

Can I substitute the beef?

You can use any combination of beef, Italian sausage or ground turkey.

Can I make this vegetarian?

Yes! Simply skip the beef and use vegetable broth.

Can I use different pasta?

I recommend using a larger pasta like farfalle (bow ties), cavatappi, or rigatoni.