Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
Have you ever used a slow cooker to make lasagna before? If you haven’t you are truly missing out. For the past few months this recipe has totally rocked my world. I have been making vegetable lasagna for as long as I can remember, but like most people I made it the conventional way using my oven.
By using a KitchenAid® 6-Quart Slow Cooker, making lasagna has gotten a lot easier. Since there is no need to pre-cook the noodles, assembly is much faster. Pretty much everything is done for you with the KitchenAid® Slow Cooker. Another advantage of using the KitchenAid® Slow Cooker is that you can cook the lasagna either on medium or high. Since you can have the lasagna ready in either 3-4 or 5-6 hours, this will help you plan your dinner accordingly. If you like, you can even freeze any leftovers for a later date, which is what I do most of the time.
For my lasagna version I wanted to keep it simple so I decided to just use vegetables. You can also use sausage, ground beef, ground turkey or any other vegetable combination of your choice. Zucchini works really well. My kids have enjoyed a beef version in the past, however, you must cook the meat prior to adding it to your lasagna. This step won’t take more than 5-7 minutes so if you are a meat eater, go for it, it is delicious.
For the lasagna noodles I always use whole wheat noodles. Since these have more fiber they take a bit longer to cook but either way the KitchenAid® Slow Cooker does a great job cooking them all the way through.
For the top layer I used some sliced cherry tomatoes to add some colour contrast and make the lasagna more appealing. Note that I added them just to the top layer, but if you like you can also add them throughout. You can also add some fresh herbs, like basil, for extra flavour. Get creative with your lasagna recipe, anything goes.
Keep in mind that when you assemble your lasagna you will have to break the whole wheat noodles to fit the bottom of the KitchenAid® Slow Cooker as well as the additional layers. Don’t worry if the noodles look uneven because once the lasagna is cooked it won’t matter. It will look delicious and ready to eat.
Once you make lasagna in a KitchenAid® 6-Quart Slow Cooker you will never go back to the conventional way.
Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
Makes 8-10 servingsINGREDIENTS:
24-32 ounces marinara sauce
10-12 whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked
16 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed out and liquid squeezed
24 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2-2 pounds part-skim mozzarella cheese
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium mixing bowl add the ricotta cheese, spinach and salt. With a spatula combine ingredients until you obtain a homogenous mixture.
Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce to the bottom of the KitchenAid® 6-Quart Slow Cooker.
Break noodles to fit and cover the bottom of the Slow Cooker. Cover the noodles with about one third of the ricotta mixture followed by one third of the mushrooms, 1 cup marinara sauce, one third of the mozzarella cheese and more noodles. Repeat layers ending with a layer of noodles covered with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes. You should end up with a total of three layers.
Cover the KitchenAid® 6-Quart Slow Cooker and set on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.
Turn the Slow Cooker off and let the lasagna sit for 30-45 minutes. Sprinkle some parsley over the lasagna before serving.
