Skillet Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- ¼ cup minced fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- 1 (9 ounce) package no-cook lasagna noodles
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic in hot oil until onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes; add the beef and cook, breaking into small pieces with your utensil, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Stir diced tomatoes, oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and red pepper flakes into the beef mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat.
- Stir the ricotta cheese, ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, the Parmesan, spinach, basil, and remaining salt and pepper together in a bowl.
- Reserve about three-quarters of the tomato sauce in a bowl. Spread the remaining sauce in a thin layer to cover the bottom of the skillet. Arrange about 4 lasagna noodles over the sauce, breaking and overlapping as needed to form a complete layer. Spread about one-third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Repeat the layering of the reserved tomato sauce, noodles, and ricotta mixture twice more. Finish by topping the ricotta mixture with a final layer of noodles (depending on the size of your skillet, you may not use all of the noodles) and covering with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle remaining ¾ cup mozzarella over the top of the lasagna.
- Tent the skillet loosely with aluminum foil, ensuring it does’t touch the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, remove the foil, and continue baking until the mozzarella is gooey and lightly golden, 5 to 7 minutes more.
- Allow the lasagna to rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into 6 to 8 pieces. Garnish with basil to serve.
This technique can easily be adapted to your use your favorite pasta sauces, proteins, and vegetables for your own custom version of skillet lasagna.
Reviews
What others are saying
Tarragon Boi says:
This recipe was great! I had heard that cooking with tomato sauce in a cast iron pan would ruin the seasoning on it, but I didn't have any problem with it. The lasagna came out nice and brown, and was perfectly cooked through. Also, way less cleanup than when i normally make lasagna!
Marlea Kent says:
We loved this recipe! I will double the meat sauce next time as I have a 12" skillet and could of used a little more to even cheese ratio and layers. Great weeknight recipe!
Laura Griffin says:
This meaty lasagna is so good! It's is a super easy recipe that I love to make, plus anytime I can use my cast iron skillet it's a win-win!
Selena Cortez says:
Delicious and easy to make
McKenzie C says:
I used a combination of ground beef and ground pork for this skillet lasagna. Loved the concept and it was really easy to pull off. I used an Italian-style seasoning in place of oregano and it worked out great.