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The Amazing Slow Cooker Lasagna to Make For Family

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Here’s an easy put together dinner that makes enough for the whole family – a simple Ravioli Lasagna made in the slow cooker. It’s easy to put together in advance, and forget about it until a few hours later. Just add garlic bread and a salad for a complete meal!

I used up a few things I had in the fridge and freezer today to make mine. First, I had made some cheese ravioli out of won ton wrappers and a ricotta cheese mix a few weeks ago and put them in the freezer. It was time to use them up. Secondly, I had almost a quart of left over spaghetti sauce with a couple meatballs and a couple pieces of Italian sausage in it, hiding in the back of the fridge. I needed to use that up as well. Of course, a package of premade frozen/fresh ravioli and 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce will work just fine. Use what you’ve got; for cost cutting purposes, I use up every leftover that I can! I had a jar of 4 cheese sauce on the pantry shelf – just waiting for one of those days when I didn’t feel like making a pot of homemade sauce. Perfect!

The rest of the ingredients are things you are likely to have on hand in your pantry anyway – a pound of ground beef, salt and pepper, some dried herbs (Italian herb mix, basil and oregano), fresh garlic or garlic paste, garlic and onion powders. To punch up flavor, I also put in a little Better Than Bouillon roasted garlic (I LOVE all the Better than Bouillon products!). This hits all the different notes of garlic – fresh, dried, and roasted. But don’t worry, it’s not too garlicky. And of course some shredded mozzarella cheese. I always have a bag of grated or whole chunks of mozzarella in the freezer.

Start by using a large skillet to brown and break up the meat – it’s a meat sauce (except for my meatballs and sausage!) so break up the meat fairly fine, without big chunks of ground beef. Saute over a medium heat. Next stir in the seasonings. I used a garlic paste today, but a couple cloves of minced garlic will work just fine. Then stir in the spaghetti sauce, and finally the dried herbs. You are ready to assemble dinner!

Put 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom on your slow cooker. Layer in half the ravioli. I added a small handful of mozzarella next, then repeat the layers, with the final 1/3 of the sauce on top. Make sure the sauce covers the ravioli so that all the pasta dough cooks. Put lots of shredded mozzarella on the top! I brightened it up today with some fresh parsley (also in the fridge, the last of it from the garden). If you want a final layer of gooey cheese you can add more about an hour before it’s done. Cook for 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.

Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna

This dinner comes together easily and cooks without you overseeing it in a slow cooker or multi cook pot. A delicious short cut lasagna easy enough for a busy schedule.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword easy lasagna, easy weeknight dinner, ravioli lasagna, short cut lasanga, slow cooker italian dinner, slow cooker lasagna
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 306 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tbsp paste garlic or 2-3 cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp garlic powder or dehydrated garlic
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 2 jars spaghetti sauce 24 ox each
  • 1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 pkg frozen/fresh ravioli (about 1.5 pounds)
  • 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley if desired

Instructions

  1. In a large deep skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Once mostly browned, drain off the fat.

  2. Stir in the fresh garlic /garlic paste and saute for a few seconds. Add in the garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper. Stir to mix.

  3. Add in the sauce and Better Than Bouillon. Stir well to incorporate the meat throughout. Add in the dried herbs and stir to mix in.

  4. In the bottom of the slow cooker, place 1/3 of the sauce and spread out. Layer in half the ravioli. Sprinkle with a small handful of shredded mozzarella.

  5. Repeat the layer, ending with the last of the sauce on top. Make sure all ravioli is covered by sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.

  6. Cook on low 7 hours or on high for 4 hours (base the time on the way your slow cooker behaves). It's forgiving if over cooked. If you want, add more shredded cheese 30-60 minutes before eating.

  7. Turn off pot and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

Serve with a green salad and Italian bread or garlic bread. 

This will have a lot of sauce to cook the ravioli in. If you want to use less sauce, just know the “lasagna” will be thicker.  Thinning one jar of sauce with a little water will give the ravioli enough liquid to cook in.

Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna
Amount Per Serving
Calories 306 Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 9g
Cholesterol 83mg28%
Sodium 480mg21%
Potassium 246mg7%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 0.3g1%
Sugar 0.4g0%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 262IU5%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 213mg21%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

My multi cooker – I love the metal liner for browning and sauteing right in the pot, whenever I can use it!

What is your favorite slow cooker food to make?

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