Who loves lasagna??? We do! I make lasagna every couple of months and the kids love it! The last time I made it, I made fresh, homemade lasagna noodles and homemade sauce. Let me tell you….it was AMAZING! But, who has time for that? I don’t, or at least not on a regular basis. Well, if you follow my easy recipe for Ninja Foodi Lasagna, you can! It may not be your “traditional lasagna” but it sure is good!
I was skeptical…especially since I used no-boil noodles and not a lot of liquid. I was convinced that the noodles were going to be dry and disappointing. I don’t know how the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker did it…but the noodles were fully cooked and the lasagna was so delicious!
Seriously, nobody would know that I cheated and used no-boil lasagna and that it only took 24 minutes to cook. 24 minutes!!!! After the success of the lasagna, I have so many ideas on how to change it up and try different variations! I can’t wait to pressure cook lasagna again!
Tips for making Ninja Foodi Lasagna
Don’t be afraid to break up the noodles so that they make a full layer. I was hesitant to break up them up too small because I thought that the lasagna would crumple when I took the springform off the pan, but it stayed together incredibly well!
Yes, you can! You will probably need more layers of pasta and sauce if you choose not to add meat. I used a lot of ground beef in with my sauce and this created the pan to fill up faster than I expected. If you use a meat sauce, be sure to break the meat down into very small pieces so that it spreads out well and does not create an overly thick layer of meat. The more meat you use, the less room you will have for layers of cheese and noodles.
Use a sling to put your springform pan in and out of the Ninja Foodi liner pan. This will make it so much easier! You can either make a sling using foil or you can buy one. I recently bought the OXO Good Grips Sling from Amazon and absolutely love it.
You can. I use store-bought sauce because it’s quick and easy. But you can definitely make your own and use it instead.
I have not tried this. I would think the noodles would become way over cooked and very mushy. If you don’t boil the noodles- and you are using the kind that you are supposed to, the noodles will not cook all the way and the result will be a dry and crunchy lasagna.
Looking for more recipes for pasta? Check out some of my favorites below!
What you’ll need to make Ninja Foodi Lasagna
Ingredient substitutions and tips for making Ninja Foodi Lasagna
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
No boil lasagna noodles– Do not use regular boil lasagna noodles for this recipe. The noodles need to be put in the pan without being cooked first. Also called “oven ready.”
Mozzarella Cheese– Shredded- you can use regular or low-fat mozzarella cheese.
½ Cup parmesan Cheese- Shredded or grated will work.
Ground beef –You can substitute ground beef with ground turkey, ground chicken, or Italian sausage.
Jarred pasta sauce– If you prefer, you can use homemade or canned sauce. Pick your favorite recipe/flavor and use that.
Garlic– minced I always add this extra garlic but you can omit this if you prefer
Ricotta cheese– Some prefer to use cottage cheese. I like ricotta, but you can use cottage cheese if you would like.
Egg– Large egg
Italian seasoning– If you don’t have premixed Italian seasoning, you can use a combination of oregano, basil, and thyme.
Salt– Freshly ground, fine salt.
Black Pepper- Freshly ground
Feel free to add any additional spices like garlic powder, fresh basil, and extra tomatoes to the jar of spaghetti sauce, or even layer with veggies like spinach or zucchini!
Directions for making Ninja Foodi Lasagna
Make the meat sauce
1. Brown the meat in a large saucepan and drain grease.
2. Add sauce and garlic.
3. Simmer for 3 minutes.
Make the ricotta filling mixture
1. Mix ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning together.
2. Set aside until you build your lasagna.
Build the lasagna-Use a 7-inch springform pan
1. Break up no-boil lasagna noodles and cover the bottom of the springform pan- try to cover the entire bottom without layer more than 2 or 3 noodles on top of an area.
2. Cover pasta with a layer of meat sauce.
3. Cover meat sauce with a layer of ricotta filling.
4. Sprinkle ½ to ⅓ of mozzarella cheese on top of the ricotta filling.
5. Sprinkle ½ to ⅓ of parmesan cheese on top of mozzarella cheese.
6. Repeat steps 1 thru 5. Based on how much meat you used in your sauce, you will be able to create 2 or 3 layers.
Cook the lasagna
1. Cover lasagna with foil and place it on the sling.
2. Place the trivet or rack in Ninja Foodi.
3. Add 1 cup of water to Ninja Foodi.
4. Place lasagna, in the sling, onto the trivet.
5. Close the lid and set the valve to the “seal” position.
6. Cook on high pressure for 24 minutes.
7. Once the timer beeps, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.
8. Remove the lid and lasagna from the Ninja Foodi.
9. Remove the foil and then place the sling and lasagna back into the Ninja Foodi. Using the broiler lid, close the lid and broil on high for 5 minutes or just until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Pin Ninja Foodi Lasagna for later!
Recipe
Ninja Foodi Lasagna
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Ninja Foodi Lasagna Ingredients:
- 8 Lasagna Noodles (No Boil)
- 1 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese
- ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese
Meat sauce
- 1 Pound Ground Beef (For a less meaty and more cheese and noodle option- only use ½ pound of ground beef. You can substitute the ground beef with ground turkey, ground chicken or Italian sausage)
- 24 Ounces Pasta Sauce (Jarred or Canned)
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic (Minced)
Ricotta Cheese Filling
- 8 Ounces Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Egg
- 1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
Make the meat sauce
- Brown the meat in a large sauce pan and drain grease.
- Add sauce and garlic.
- Simmer for 3 minutes.
Make the ricotta filling
- Mix ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning together.
- Set aside until you build your lasagna.
Build the lasagna-Use a 7 inch springform pan
- Break up no boil lasagna noodles and cover the bottom of the springform pan- try to cover the entire bottom without layer more than 2 or 3 noodles on top of an area.
- Cover pasta with a layer of meat sauce.
- Cover meat sauce with a layer of ricotta filling.
- Sprinkle ½ to ⅓ of mozzarella cheese on top of ricotta filling.
- Sprinkle ½ to ⅓ of parmesan cheese on top of mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat steps 1-5. Based on how much meat you used in your sauce, you will be able to create 2 or 3 layers.
Cook the lasagna
- Cover lasagna with foil and place on sling.
- Place trivet in Ninja Foodi.
- Add 1 cup of water to Ninja Foodi.
- Place lasagna, in the sling, onto the trivet.
- Closed lid and set valve to "seal" position.
- Cook on high pressure for 24 minutes.
- When the timer beeps, let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.
- Remove lid and lasagna from Ninja Foodi.
- Remove foil from lasagna and place the sling and lasagna back into Ninja Foodi. Using the broiler lid, close lid and broil on high for 5 minutes or just until cheese is melted and golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only.
Dione Levine says
I’m a complete novice at using my foodi. I have smaller than the size noted and haven’t learned to use the pressure yet because I’m afraid it will explode. I haven’t got a clue about no boil pasta (I’ve survived on plenty of pasta but I always boil it) and I don’t know what a springform for the foodi is. Did it come with the device or do you buy it separately? I really would like to try to make some delicious food besides chicken breast and potatoes but am stymied about how to go about it. I’m in healthcare so my prep time is limited but I’d love not to have to lift and drain boiling pots of water. Any suggestions for a real novice?
Lauren Cardona says
Hi Dione, A springform is a small round pan with straight sides, the bottom slides in and you lock in place with clamps on the side. It allows you to add the lasagna to the pan but then you can unclamp the side when the lasagna is finished cooking and remove the sides of the pan. The springform did not come with the machine. I purchased it separately.
If you are using the Ninja Foodi, you don’t need to drain all pasta. It just depends on the recipe.
I would start with an easier recipe like mostaccioli instead of the lasagna recipe. You don’t need special pans or special pasta for the mostaccioli. You don’t need to drain any water from the pasta in my mostaccioli recipe. Similar flavors to lasagna. https://thetastytravelers.com/ninja-foodi-mostaccioli/
Pam says
This was so easy to make. I replaced the ricotta with a traditional bechamel sauce and added mushrooms and spinach between the layers. Cooked it for exactly the same amount of time which was spot on. It was so delicious. I didn’t have a trivet or sling so just put my cake tin on the reversible rack with no problems at all. Thank you for this fabulous recipe.
Sonia Westbrook says
So I tried this and my Ninja food cooker kept telling me to add more water when I had put 1 cup prior to hitting the start. So I released the pressure and added more water and restarted again and cut time to 15min so it started boiling and again it beeped to add more water. I figured I will just let it sit so it de-pressures on it’s own but since it’s my very first recipe I was wondering if you could tel me why this is happening. It looks like it’s going to be delicious. I hope it cooked enough. I’ll rate it then. Thank you.
TheTastyTravelers says
Hi Sonia- It’s possible that the valve was not set to the seal position. When that happens, all of the water is released and you will get the add water error.
Kevin Ryan says
This was fabulous!