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This 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna is the perfect one pot weeknight dinner when you’re craving bold flavors, but also want to get dinner on the table quickly. The noodles cook in the sauce, therefore eliminating any extra pots and pans. This recipe has been adapted from CarnalDish.
Skillet Lasagna is my favorite dinner to make when I’m just too tired to make anything else, or when I’m pressed for time. I’ve been enjoying playing around in the kitchen while figuring out how to make quicker meals. Elaborate meals are great & they drive my creativity, but I know that not everyone has hours on end to dedicate to cooking. You can certainly make incredible meals with simple ingredients and a small window of time. This skillet lasagna is made in a 12 inch cast iron skillet & serves around 6-8 people.
Skillet Lasagna Ingredients
My favorite jarred pasta sauce is undoubtedly Rao’s. The flavor is incredible and layered, so you don’t have to add anything to this sauce to boost it. This pasta sauce is a little more expensive than other sauces, but I am consistently able to find large jars at a discounted price in wholesale clubs, such as BJ’s Wholesale Club. You can use your favorite jarred sauce, but I really recommend you try out this sauce if you can or if you’re interested.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, small dice
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, diamond crystal
- ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 24 ounce jar of pasta sauce, Rao’s tomato basil sauce
- 1 cup water
- 7 lasagna noodle sheets, broken into 1-2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 7 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
Chiffonade herbs are a great cut to use for garnish, however be sure to chop the basil as your last step so they don’t wilt. I stack the basil leaves on top of each other and then roll them into a cigar shape, length wise. I run my knife through the length of the herbs in a slicing motion and I don’t lift my knife up from the cutting board while doing so. This will create perfect long strips of basil.
How To Make 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna
- In a 12 -inch cast iron skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the diced onions until they become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the ground beef and kosher salt & ground black pepper. Break up and brown meat 80% of the way, then add sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 1 minute, until garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add in balsamic vinegar and cook for two minutes. Add in Rao’s pasta sauce (or your favorite jarred pasta sauce if you can’t find Rao’s) & water. Stir.
- Place broken noodles into the sauce and submerge each noodle so they’re covered. Reduce flame to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook until the noodles are al dente, about 20-25 minutes. Be sure to stir the noodles every few minutes so they won’t stick to the bottom.
- Mix the ricotta, parmesan, and 1 tablespoon of chiffonade basil together, then season with kosher salt & pepper to taste.
- When the noodles are al dente, sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese into the lasagna and mix it in. Spoon the ricotta mixture into little mounds all over the lasagna & sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top. Cover to melt the cheese. Uncover and place the skillet under the broiler for a few minutes to slightly brown the cheese. Enjoy!
30-Minute Skillet Lasagna
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
This 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna is the perfect one pot weeknight dinner when you’re craving bold flavors, but also want to get dinner on the table quickly. The noodles cook in the sauce, eliminating any extra pots and pans.Â
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, small dice
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, diamond crystal
- ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 24 ounce jar of pasta sauce, Rao’s tomato basil sauce
- 1 cup water
- 7 lasagna noodle sheets, broken into 1–2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 7 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a 12 -inch cast iron skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the diced onions until they become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the ground beef and kosher salt & ground black pepper. Break up and brown meat 80% of the way, then add sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 1 minute, until garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add in balsamic vinegar and cook for two minutes. Add in Rao’s pasta sauce (or your favorite jarred pasta sauce if you can’t find Rao’s) & water. Stir.
- Place broken noodles into the sauce and try to submerge each noodle so they’re covered. Reduce flame to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook until the noodles are al dente, about 20-25 minutes. Be sure to stir the noodles every few minutes so they won’t stick to the bottom.
- Mix the ricotta, parmesan, and 1 tablespoon of chiffonade basil together. Season with kosher salt & pepper.
- When the noodles are al dente, sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese into the lasagna and mix it in. Spoon the ricotta mixture into little mounds all over the lasagna & sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top. Cover to melt the cheese. Uncover and place the skillet under the broiler for a few minutes to slightly brown the cheese. Enjoy!
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Looks good, Speshyl! Adding it to my list. =:)…
Yay! Thank you, Donna. I hope you enjoyed it! 🤗
I LOOOOVE this recipe. I made this lasagna for my family and it was a total hit. Because I work all the time I don’t like to spend more than 30 minutes on a nice balanced meal and this was IT! I love that I had most of the ingredients too! Thank you for sharing such great recipes!
-Jazmin C.
Wow! Thank you so much, Jazmin! I am glad you enjoyed it 🥰
Amazing recipe! Made it last night with Rao’s sauce, ButcherBox ground beef, and Flatiron Pepper four pepper blend (quantity cut in half). Top notch in my book and will be a regular dish for me. Also be sure and use the aged balsamic if you can; perfection!
Oh, the aged balsamic tip is great! I will definitely be trying that soon. Thank you, Laura! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🤗
This lasagna is sooo good! My new all time favorite! I’ve already made it on three separate occasions!
Three times!!! Thank you so much, Courtney! I’m so glad you enjoy this dish 🥰