While I like to think that I am in charge of the menu at my house, I am quickly reminded that my 13 year old daughter is often in control of what we have for dinner. Why? Well, I can cook whatever I want, but that doesn’t always mean that she will eat it. Life is so much easier when I only get to cook one meal for dinner instead of 2! 🙂
So, when my daughter started asking to have lasagna on almost a weekly basis, I decided that I would give Lazy Lasagna a try. I expected it to come out very soupy with mushy pasta. To my delight, neither happened. The pasta cooked perfectly and all of the cheese incorporated well with the other ingredients. The final result is cheesy, meaty, pasta goodness.
I will still make traditional lasagna on occasion because there is just something about all of the stacked layers of pasta that just can’t be beat. But, my take on the Ninja Foodi Lazy Lasagna is a nice substitute if you want all of the flavor but not all of the time and energy that goes into making homemade lasagna.
Tips for making Lazy Lasagna-Ninja Foodi recipe:
1.Be sure to crisscross the pasta when you add it. Crisscrossing it helps eliminate the possibility of the pasta sticking together and cooking unevenly.
2.If possible, try to use fresh basil. Fresh herbs have a much fresher taste and texture than dried herbs.
3.If your family doesn’t like mushrooms (it’s a tricky vegetable for some!) you can omit it without altering any other part of the recipe. If you are feeling a bit more daring, you can even add in some spinach. This little addition will taste like spinach lasagna! 🙂
4.Don’t get the dreaded “burn” notice. I have never gotten this with my Ninja Foodi but have seen it on my Instant Pot. To ensure that nothing burns, be sure to deglaze the pan after browning the meat. Do so by scraping the bottom of the pot with your spoon or spatula to make sure that all of the cooked bits of meat are not stuck to the bottom. Also, do not stir once you have added the pasta. If you do, there is a chance that the pasta will get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
5.If you are using different pasta follow these instructions: When cooking pasta in the Ninja Foodi, feel free to modify the pasta from the recipe. If you like bowties- go for it. If you like penne- go for it. The trick is to look at the cooking times on the box. Whatever the box says- cut it in half and subtract 2 minutes. So, if the box says to cook for 10 minutes, you will cut that in half (5) and subtract 2. Altogether you would cook for 3 minutes.
Looking for more recipes for pasta? Check out some of our favorites below!
Ninja Foodi Shrimp Scampi Linguini
Ninja Foodi Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ninja Foodi Crack Chicken Pasta
Ninja Foodi Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
How to make Lazy Lasagna-Ninja Foodi recipe:
- Turn Ninja Foodi on saute-hi.
- Once pot is hot, add sausage, ground beef and onion and saute until browned.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and stir.
- Add seasoning and pasta sauce. Stir well. Be sure to use your spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned bits of meat.
- Add broth and water-do not stir.
- Add pasta by breaking in half or thirds and stacking in a criss cross pattern.
- Set Ninja Foodi to Pressure cook function on high for 3 minutes, close the lid and move valve to seal position.
- If you are using different pasta follow these instructions:
- When cooking pasta in the Ninja Foodi, feel free to modify the pasta from the recipe. If you like bowties- go for it. If you like penne- go for it. The trick is to look at the cooking times on the box. Whatever the box says- cut it in half and subtract 2 minutes. So, if the box says to cook for 10 minutes, you will cut that in half (5) and subtract 2. Altogether you would cook for 3 minutes.
- If you are using different pasta follow these instructions:
- When timer beeps, quick release pressure and then remove lid.
- Add in ricotta cheese and stir.
- Add in Parmesan cheese and stir.
- Add in basil and stir.
- Add in mozzarella cheese and stir.
- It’s time to eat! Enjoy!
Ingredients for making Lazy Lasagna-Ninja Foodi recipe:
Ingredients for making Lazy Lasagna-Ninja Foodi recipe:- ½ pound ground pork sausage
- ½ pound lean ground beef 90%
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 1.5 tablespoons minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 cup water
- 3 cups pasta sauce
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 16 oz dried pasta- skinny lasagna noodles
Ninja Foodi Lazy Lasagna
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Ingredients
- ½ pound pork sausage (ground)
- ½ pound ground beef (lean-90%)
- ¾ cup onion (chopped)
- 1.5 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups beef stock or broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups pasta sauce (jarred)
- ¼ cup basil (fresh and diced)
- 1 cup mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 16 ounces pasta (dried-skinny lasagna noodles)
Instructions
- Turn Ninja Foodi on saute-hi.
- Once pot is hot, add sausage, ground beef and onion and saute until browned.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and stir.
- Add seasoning and pasta sauce. Stir well. Be sure to use your spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned bits of meat.
- Add broth and water-do not stir.
- Add pasta by breaking in half or thirds and stacking in a criss cross pattern.
- Set Ninja Foodi to Pressure cook function on high for 3 minutes, close the lid and move valve to seal position.
- If you are using different pasta follow these instructions: When cooking pasta in the Ninja Foodi, feel free to modify the pasta from the recipe. If you like bowties- go for it. If you like penne- go for it. The trick is to look at the cooking times on the box. Whatever the box says- cut it in half and subtract 2 minutes. So, if the box says to cook for 10 minutes, you will cut that in half (5) and subtract 2. Altogether you would cook for 3 minutes.
- When timer beeps, quick release pressure and then remove lid.
- Add in ricotta cheese and stir.
- Add in Parmesan cheese and stir.
- Add in basil and stir.
- Add in mozzarella cheese and stir.
- It's time to eat! Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Looking for more recipes for pasta? Check out some of our favorites below!
Ninja Foodi Shrimp Scampi Linguini
Ninja Foodi Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ninja Foodi Crack Chicken Pasta
Ninja Foodi Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
How to make Lazy Lasagna-Ninja Foodi recipe:
- Turn Ninja Foodi on saute-hi.
- Once pot is hot, add sausage, ground beef and onion and saute until browned.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and stir.
- Add seasoning and pasta sauce. Stir well. Be sure to use your spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned bits of meat.
- Add broth and water-do not stir.
- Add pasta by breaking in half or thirds and stacking in a criss cross pattern.
- Set Ninja Foodi to Pressure cook function on high for 3 minutes, close the lid and move valve to seal position.
- When timer beeps, quick release pressure and then remove lid.
- Add in ricotta cheese and stir.
- Add in Parmesan cheese and stir.
- Add in basil and stir.
- Add in mozzarella cheese and stir.
- It’s time to eat! Enjoy!
Ingredients for making Lazy Lasagna-Ninja Foodi recipe:
- ½ pound ground pork sausage
- ½ pound lean ground beef 90%
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 1.5 tablespoons minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 cup water
- 3 cups pasta sauce
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 16 oz dried pasta- skinny lasagna noodles
Ninja Foodi Lazy Lasagna
Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin RecipeEquipment
Ingredients
- ½ pound pork sausage (ground)
- ½ pound ground beef (lean-90%)
- ¾ cup onion (chopped)
- 1.5 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups beef stock or broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups pasta sauce (jarred)
- ¼ cup basil (fresh and diced)
- 1 cup mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 16 ounces pasta (dried-skinny lasagna noodles)
Instructions
- Turn Ninja Foodi on saute-hi.
- Once pot is hot, add sausage, ground beef and onion and saute until browned.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and stir.
- Add seasoning and pasta sauce. Stir well. Be sure to use your spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned bits of meat.
- Add broth and water-do not stir.
- Add pasta by breaking in half or thirds and stacking in a criss cross pattern.
- Set Ninja Foodi to Pressure cook function on high for 3 minutes, close the lid and move valve to seal position.
- If you are using different pasta follow these instructions: When cooking pasta in the Ninja Foodi, feel free to modify the pasta from the recipe. If you like bowties- go for it. If you like penne- go for it. The trick is to look at the cooking times on the box. Whatever the box says- cut it in half and subtract 2 minutes. So, if the box says to cook for 10 minutes, you will cut that in half (5) and subtract 2. Altogether you would cook for 3 minutes.
- When timer beeps, quick release pressure and then remove lid.
- Add in ricotta cheese and stir.
- Add in Parmesan cheese and stir.
- Add in basil and stir.
- Add in mozzarella cheese and stir.
- It's time to eat! Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
If I may make a suggestion to add the need for adjusted noodle cook time to the directions. I started to make this and followed it to the T and found out only later by reading the comments to see what my package says and divide in half and subtract 2. My noodles were not done. My son had helped and mixed already, so I’m about to add more water and hope that the noodles don’t stick to the bottom.
Hi Geneivieve! Thanks for your comment. I updated the recipe just in case anyone wants to use different pasta for the recipe. Thanks for the suggestion!. 🙂
Thank you for the great recipe! Absolutely loved it. I had to change a couple of items because of what I had on hand and I added a little red wine in place of the water……but it was fabulous!! I’m not super experienced with my Ninja Foodi so this recipe really helped me out. Looking forward to more of your delicious recipes!
Thank you for the quick reply. I will make it again tomorrow night! So good!!
I made this once last month and it was so yummy!!!! I was wondering if I could use rotini spiral noodles instead of the skinny lasagna noodles?
Hi Joan- I’m so glad you like our recipe for Lazy Lasagna! You can use any type of pasta that you would like. Just take a look at the box of pasta. Whatever the cook time is on the box, divide it in half and then subtract 2 minutes. So, if the cook time is 10 minutes, divide in half to get 5 minutes, and then subtract 2. So, the cook time would be 3 minutes. If you like your pasta a little more cooked, you can pressure cook for an extra minute or so. I hope that helps. Enjoy!!
Thank you for the quick reply. I will make it again tomorrow night! So good!!
If I use “no-cook” noodles would I not add the beef stock?
Hi Joanne- You would still need to add most of the beef stock even if you use no-cook noodles. I would just reduce the liquid by about 1/4-1/2 cup since the pasta will cook faster and won’t absorb as much of the liquid.
Can I use regular lasagna noodles and just break them in half or quarters? Going to try this tomorrow night. I will use cottage cheese instead of ricotta because I like it better. It looks very yummy
Hi Joan! Yes you can use regular lasagna noodles instead of the smaller noodles. I did this just a couple of weeks ago. I would recommend adding a minute or two of extra pressure cooking time to allow the larger noodles to fully cook. Enjoy!
You can also, when it’s done pressure cooking, take the lid off. Add the remaining ingredients, Stir and then after replacing the lid keep it on warm for about an hour! Sooooo good!
Is there a reason you don’t use eggs in the ricotta like traditional lasagna? Thank you!
Normally when I make lasagna, I do use eggs. The eggs help to bind everything together so that the lasagna all stays together. Since this is lazy lasagna, there is no need. The pasta is not layered with the cheese like with regular lasagna. Instead, it is all mixed together.