Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna
Okay, I'll admit it. I'm lazy sometimes. Like today. I spent all of yesterday at an airshow, and have been doing mostly nothing today as I recover from all the excitement yesterday (hey, it was the first time I'd seen the Blue Angels perform in person). So today I wanted to make something simple... and quick... to match my lazy day.
And this is what I found. This is a simple, throw-it-in-and-cook-it recipe. The only complicated thing was dicing the onion, and I have a really cool kitchen tool for that. The only downside to me was the recipe calls for Ricotta cheese. I'm not a fan of Ricotta, but most of the suggested substitutes for it didn't sound much more appealing, so I used it. So if you like Ricotta, this recipe is right up your alley... and if you don't, it's not too bad (but I'm working on a suitable substitute anyway).
Adapted from The Recipe Well
A quick dump-and-go meal that has all the great tastes of lasagna. Perfect for a lazy day when all you want to do is get something on the table.
Adapted from The Recipe Well
- 1 lb Italian sausage or lean ground beef (see notes)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 5 clove garlic, minced
- 3 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 jar marinara sauce (24 oz)
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes (15 oz)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 16 oz short pasta (see notes)
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- fresh parsley (for garnish)
- grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot and allow to get hot. Add the sausage or beef and cook until almost browned, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. Add the diced onion and garlic and continue cooking until the onion has softened. Drain off any excess grease.
Press Cancel on the Instant Pot to stop the Saute function. Add a small amount of the chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, or else it may give a "Burn" message while cooking under pressure.
Add the remaining chicken broth to the pot and stir into the meat mixture. Add the following layers (do not stir them together): marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, onion powder, and top with the pasta. Press the pasta into the mixture (no need to completely submerge it in liquid).
Lock the lid on the Instant Pot and set the vent valve to Sealing. Press the Pressure Cook button and set the controls to cook on High pressure for 5 minutes.
At the end of cooking, use a slow release (gently bump the vent valve toward Venting to let the pressure release quicker than a natural release, but not so fast that it splatters). When the pressure is fully released, open the lid and stir the contents to combine. Add the Ricotta cheese and mix thoroughly. Top with the Mozzarella cheese, then replace the lid slightly ajar for about 10 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Serve with additional fresh parsley for garnish and Parmesan cheese as desired.
Servings 8
Serving Size about 2 cups
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 488kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 18.6g29%
- Saturated Fat 5.8g29%
- Cholesterol 47mg16%
- Sodium 1271mg53%
- Potassium 239mg7%
- Total Carbohydrate 55.7g19%
- Dietary Fiber 4.4g18%
- Sugars 9.7g
- Protein 22.5g45%
- Calcium 121 mg
- Iron 4 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
- This dish can be prepared using ground beef instead of Italian sausage. The Nutritional Info is based on using Italian sausage.
- "Short pasta" is a term that describes pastas that are not long string-like pieces such as spaghetti or linguine. Examples of short pastas are:
- Cavatappi (corkscrew shaped tubes)
- Farfalle (bowties, which were used in the recipe photo)
- Ziti (short straight macaroni tubes)
- Gemelli (two short lengths of tubes twisted together)
- Shells (seashell shaped)
- Adjustments from the recipe as originally posted:
- The original made 6 servings, but would have created leftover ingredients such as marinara sauce and pasta. Quantities have been adjusted slightly to make 8 servings instead.
- The original called for 1/2 teaspoon of salt. It was removed because of high sodium content in the other ingredients.
- The original called for a type of short pasta called Mafalda, which resembles miniature lasagna noodles. These are not normally found in a local grocer, so any short pasta can be substituted. When using Mafalda with the 8-serving version, use 14 ounces of pasta and increase the amount of chicken broth by 1/2 cup. This is because Mafalda absorbs more liquid than other pastas, and the resulting dish will be very dry without these adjustments.