Like most moms (and dads!) who cook a lot, there are certain things I make that garner great fanfare with my kids and tend to get requested a lot. Oddly, they also seem to be the easiest recipes that have either few ingredients, take less than 30 minutes or require just one dish. I guess I should consider myself lucky because this lasagna recipe fits the last two of those and is a favorite around my house. I’ve adapted it over the years and this is the version that I’ve settled on. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
There’s no chopping here (bonus!) and most of the ingredients used for this lasagna recipe are pantry staples. The fresh basil comes from my garden – just one more reason to grow your own herbs – something for which I have always been a huge advocate. I always keep an extra box of oven-ready noodles in my pantry as well, which gives this dish the hearty texture without the tedious task of having to layer noodle after noodle, like you would in traditional oven-baked lasagna.
As far as special equipment, the only thing out of the ordinary is my oversized cast iron skillet. I’ve linked mine here. A 10″ diameter skillet is common, but this one is almost 12″ – it doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but it really does allow you to fit a lot more food into this dish. Invest in a good cast-iron skillet – you will use it all of the time. A word to the wise, you’ll probably need to let this pan soak after cooking. It gets crusty, but that just makes this lasagna recipe all the better. Let your kids do the cleaning!
One-Skillet 30 Minute Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey or beef
- 1 tsp salt & pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 25oz jar spaghetti/pasta sauce
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 package oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into 2-3" pieces (about 10 sheets)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 5-6 fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.
- Add ground meat, all spices and brown. Drain excess liquid.
- Stir in jar of pasta sauce, then stir in water. Bring to a boil.
- With broken pieces of noodles, tuck them into the meat sauce, all around and in the middle to form layers. Turn down heat to medium-low, and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes until noodles have softened.
- Add ricotta cheese in dollops all over skillet. Cover and cook for additional 5-10 minutes until melted.
- Take off heat, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and add torn basil leaves on top.
I sure hope you enjoyed this lasagna recipe. Please let me know if you try it! If you like pasta, be sure to check out my Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe here!
Hi, I am an Italian American gal and I love cooking for my family. My daughter-in-law Joanna brought this recipe to my attention and I said sure let’s try it, sounds good!
Not only sounded good it was delicious so good and even better the next day as leftovers. I can’t wait to make this for my brother and his wife when the next time they come over for dinner.
Thank you, Lory.
Lory,
I love the one skillet recipes and this one looks fabulous. Thank you for sharing great recipes and ideas to make delicious food without the added stress of cooking.
Xo,
Leslie