Lazy Lasagna
Lazy lasagna is the weeknight answer to every craving for a proper lasagna when you do not have the time or patience to layer a full baking dish. Ground meat browned with onion, garlic, and pesto, simmered in marinara or vodka sauce with beef broth, broken lasagna noodles cooked directly in the sauce until tender, and finished with heaping spoonfuls of ricotta dropped over the top and fresh basil scattered across everything. One skillet, thirty minutes, and every single element that makes a classic lasagna worth making in a format that requires almost no effort.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Lazy Lasagna
- Main Ingredients: ground meat, onion, minced garlic, basil pesto, jar, beef broth, heaping tbsp ricotta cheese, Lasagna noodles
- Why You'll Love It: This lazy lasagna cooks broken lasagna noodles directly in a meaty marinara sauce with pesto and beef broth, finished with dollops of ricotta and fresh basil. A one-pan dinner ready in 30 minutes.
The pesto is the detail that makes this taste more intentional than a standard skillet pasta. Two tablespoons stirred into the meat before the sauce goes in adds a herby, garlicky, slightly nutty depth that runs through the entire finished dish and makes the flavors taste more layered and developed than the cook time would suggest.
Ingredients Needed to Make Lazy Lasagna
One skillet and simple Italian-American pantry ingredients. Here is what you need.
The Meat Base
Ground beef, pork, or Italian sausage all work well here. Italian sausage removed from its casing adds extra herb and spice flavor that pairs naturally with the pesto and marinara. Whatever ground meat you use, the onion, garlic, and pesto stirred in after browning build the flavor base of the entire dish.
The Sauce
Marinara sauce is the classic choice with a clean, tomato-forward flavor. Vodka sauce produces a richer, slightly more indulgent result with a creamy depth that makes the finished dish taste even more like a proper lasagna. Beef broth adds liquid for the noodles to cook in and a subtle savory depth that water cannot replicate.
The Noodles and Cheese
Lasagna noodles broken into rough, irregular pieces cook directly in the sauce and become tender while absorbing all the flavor around them. Heaping spoonfuls of ricotta dropped over the finished pasta add the signature creamy richness of lasagna in a completely hands-off application.
How to Make Lazy Lasagna
1
Heat a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it apart, until fully browned with no pink remaining. Drain any excess grease.
2
Add the diced onion to the same skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the pesto and cook for 1 minute, letting it coat the meat and aromatics.
3
Pour in the marinara or vodka sauce and beef broth. Stir well to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Break the lasagna noodles into rough pieces directly into the sauce. Stir to submerge as many pieces as possible. Cover and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring every 4 to 5 minutes, until the noodles are completely tender and have absorbed most of the surrounding sauce.
4
Drop heaping spoonfuls of ricotta over the surface of the finished pasta, distributing them evenly across the skillet. Do not stir them in. Cover the skillet and let sit off the heat for 2 to 3 minutes so the ricotta warms through and softens slightly into the pasta below.
Lazy Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat beef, pork, or Italian sausage
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp basil pesto
- 1 jar 24 oz marinara or vodka sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 6 heaping tbsp ricotta cheese
- Lasagna noodles broken into pieces
- Fresh basil for topping
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the ground meat, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain excess grease if needed.
- Add the diced onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Stir in the pesto and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the marinara or vodka sauce and beef broth. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Break the lasagna noodles into rough pieces and add them directly to the sauce. Stir to submerge and cover. Cook for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender and have absorbed most of the sauce.
- Drop heaping spoonfuls of ricotta over the top of the finished pasta. Do not stir in completely. Cover and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes so the ricotta warms through.
- Top with fresh basil and serve directly from the skillet.
Notes
The pesto adds a herby, slightly nutty depth that makes this taste more complex than a standard skillet lasagna. Do not skip it.
Drop the ricotta on at the very end rather than stirring it through so it stays in visible, creamy pockets rather than disappearing into the sauce.
Vodka sauce produces a richer, slightly more indulgent finished dish than marinara if you want to lean into the comfort food direction fully.
