Easy Skillet Lasagna That Uses Real Lasagna Noodles

Recipe

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Real lasagna without turning on the oven? Yep. This recipe is fast, filling, and made in one skillet.

This stovetop lasagna is rich, cheesy, and loaded with flavor. It's the kind of dinner that leaves everyone scraping the skillet for more.

overhead view of a skillet with lasagna made with lasagna noodles, tomato sauce, meat, and cheeses using a wooden serving spoon to serve

Quick & Easy Stovetop Lasagna

Skillet dinners are total lifesavers on busy nights, and this stovetop lasagna is one of my OG recipes I first shared back in 2015. Since then, I've put my skillet to work in other family favorites like my goulash pasta, stovetop chili mac, and taco pasta. You’re going to love how quick this comes together without sacrificing the classic flavors you love.

Ingredients

While you can use ground meat, Italian sausage (made of chicken, pork, or beef) is what brings out the classic flavors in this skillet lasagna, along with onion and garlic. Tomato sauce and water for the sauce, and cooking the lasagna noodles (both regular or no-boil work) here. A mix of shredded Mozzarella, Ricotta, and Parmesan cheese for that cheesiness we love.

How to Make Lasagna in a Skillet

4 image collage with the steps for making skillet lasagna. top left is browning meat. top right adding tomato sauce and lasagna, bottom left is after cooking the noodles, bottom right is adding the cheeses

Here’s a quick overview of the simple steps to make this on the stovetop. If it’s your first time making it, watch the video in the recipe card.

Cook the ground sausage and aromatics in a skillet.
Until the onions are soft and translucent and the sausage is no longer pink.
Add the liquids and bring them to a simmer. Then, add the lasagna noodles.
Mix them well into the sauce so every noodle is covered.
Cook for 15 minutes, covered.
Make sure to open the lid and stir a couple of times, to move the noodles from the bottom up, so they all cook evenly and nothing sticks.
Make it cheesy.
Add half of the mozzarella and parm to the skillet and stir. Then sprinkle the other half as a layer on top, and then distribute the ricotta. Close the lid and wait 3 minutes for the cheeses to melt.
Serve it warm as is, with some easy Dutch oven bread, or with an easy side salad.

overhead view of a plated serving of a quick and easy lasagna made in a skillet from a one pot lasagna recipe

Laura’s Quick Tips for Easy Stovetop Lasagna

How to prevent the noodles from sticking

Breaking up the large lasagna noodles into smaller pieces, anywhere between 1 to 3 inches in size, will help mix them with the sauce more easily. Mixing the mixture halfway through cooking also stirs the sauce and moves the noodles from the bottom to the top so they all cook evenly.

Which lasagna noodles to use?

You can use regular lasagna noodles or no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna noodles. There’s no need to boil them either, since they’ll cook in the skillet with the sauce.

Skillet size. How big is large?

A 12-inch skillet with 2-3-inch sides is essential for this family-sized recipe. If you don’t have one, a 5.5-quart pot will fit everything as well!

Do I need the oven?

Not at all! Everything cooks on the stovetop, including melting the cheese.

Doubling the recipe

To make a large batch of this lasagna recipe, use a Dutch oven or a (5.5-quart or larger pot with a lid instead of a skillet. You’ll need to stir a couple of times to mix the noodles and the sauce so everything cooks evenly.
testimonial of how easy and delicious making this skillet lasagna recipe was

Easy Skillet Lasagna

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 25

Real lasagna without turning on the oven? Yep. This recipe is fast, filling, and made in one skillet.

4.97 from 258 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

1 pound Italian sausage, or ground meat
1 small onion, about ½ cup chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
24 ounce jar pasta sauce, your favorite
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 cups water
9 lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, more for serving

Instructions

Cook:

Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, cook the sausage or ground meat if using, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks until it’s nearly browned. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the sausage and cook, until the onions are soft and translucent and the sausage is no longer pink, about 3 more minutes.
Pour the pasta sauce and Italian seasoning and stir. Add the 2 cups of water, stir, and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Add the pasta:

Add the broken lasagna noodles to the skillet and mix them around so every noodle is covered with the liquid. Once it's simmering again, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for a total of 15 minutes, checking every now and then to give the mixture a stir, until the pasta is tender. Turn off the heat.

Make it cheesy:

Add half of the mozzarella to the skillet and stir to mix it in with the cooked lasagna noodles. Distribute heaping tablespoons of ricotta on top, Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the lasagna, then the Parmesan. Cover with the lid for 3 minutes so the cheeses can melt.

Serve & store:

Serve it warm.
Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container or freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

Notes

You can use ground pork, chicken, or turkey sausage or sausage in casings (links) for this recipe. Or, ground meat of any variety, beef, turkey, or chicken.