This Easy Instant Pot Lasagna is like a lazy lasagna – you’ll sauté the ground beef and layer the noodles right in the pot!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Extra-lean ground beef – you could also try making this lasagna with ground turkey or chicken. Italian sausage or ground pork would also be good.
- Yellow onion – white or red onion can be used instead. If you don’t like onions, feel free to leave them out altogether.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic will give you the best flavor, but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Salt & black pepper – to taste.
- Lasagna noodles – you’ll need to break the regular noodles up a bit so they fit into the pot.
- Ricotta cheese – small-curd cottage cheese can be used but make sure to strain it first to remove some of the excess moisture.
- Baby spinach – fresh spinach is best but frozen spinach will work if you remove the moisture. You can also leave the spinach out altogether.
- Jar marinara sauce – use any store-bought marinara or spaghetti sauce of your choice. If you’re feeling fancy, you can use homemade marinara sauce instead with olive oil, onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, oregano, salt, pepper and fresh basil.
- Shredded mozzarella – I suggest grating a fresh ball of pizza mozzarella for best results.
How to make lasagna in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Brown the ground beef.
Set the Instant Pot to the saute function. Sauté the ground beef with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon. Turn off the sauté function.
Step 2: Remove most of the beef mixture.
Set aside 2/3 of the beef mixture in a large bowl, then add water to the pressure cooker.
Step 3: Layer the noodles and ricotta.
Add a single layer of lasagna noodles on top, followed by half the ricotta cheese.
Step 4: Add the spinach and beef.
Top with half the spinach and another third of the ground beef mixture.
Step 5: Top with the marinara sauce.
Pour in half the marinara sauce over top of the meat, top with another layer of lasagna noodles, then the remaining ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat with the remaining spinach, ground beef and noodles. Pour the rest of the marinara sauce and water over top of the noodles.
Step 6: Cook on high pressure then serve!
Cook on high pressure for 5 mins then do a quick release of the pressure. Sprinkle some mozzarella over top then close the lid to melt the cheese. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Here are some of my top tips for making this Instant Pot lasagna recipe:
- Break up the noodles: To get an even layer, you’ll need to break up the regular lasagna noodles a bit so they fit in the pot.
- Layer your lasagna: You should have three separate layers in this order: water, noodles, ricotta, spinach, ground beef, marinara sauce, noodles, ricotta, spinach, beef, lasagna noodles, sauce, water.
- Switch up the meat: Instead of ground beef, you can use ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork or Italian sausage removed from its casings.
- Add more seasonings: Add a bit more flavor to your lasagna by stirring in some Italian seasoning when you’re sautéing the ground beef.
- Mix the ricotta with egg: For an extra creamy ricotta, you can mix it with an egg before layering it into the lasagna.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many layers should the lasagna be?
This lasagna recipe is designed to have three layers, but there really aren’t any hard and fast rules. Just keep in mind that four layers might take you over the max capacity for the Instant Pot, which you don’t want.
What do you serve on the side?
When serving a hearty meal like this one, you really don’t need to serve a side dish unless you want to. A light garden salad is a nice choice, and of course, just about everyone enjoys warm breadsticks or garlic bread with pasta dishes. You can also garnish the lasagna with some parmesan cheese and herbs like fresh basil or fresh parsley.
How do you avoid the Instant Pot burn message?
It can be frustrating (and a little bit concerning) when the Instant Pot gives you a burn message. It’s a very common issue, so if it happens to you, don’t panic. Just turn off and unplug the Instant Pot before you attempt to fix the problem. To avoid the problem altogether, be sure you add water to the bottom of the pot with the ground beef. Also, don’t stir anything around after you’ve added it.
Can you make this recipe vegetarian?
If you want to make this lasagna vegetarian, swap out the ground beef for some sautéed veggies of your choice. Mushrooms and bell peppers would both be delicious! Layer and cook the lasagna as normal.
Storing and reheating
This recipe makes enough lasagna for 6 people, so if you’ll be serving less people than that, you can refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container. This recipe is also great for meal prep! Just transfer individual serving sizes to meal prep containers. The leftovers should last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat, sprinkle some water over top so the lasagna doesn’t dry out and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.
How to freeze lasagna
This lasagna recipe freezes beautifully! After cooking it in the Instant Pot, you can freeze the entire lasagna or single serving sizes. Make sure to store any leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe containers so ice crystals don’t form on top of the food. The lasagna should last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw the lasagna in the fridge overnight or microwave each slice straight from frozen for 6 to 7 minutes. Make sure you sprinkle some water over top before reheating so the dish doesn’t dry out.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls for the leftovers.
- I get all my grass-fed ground beef from Butcher Box.
Easy Instant Pot Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 2 cups water, divided
- 12 lasagna noodles, broken up
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1 (680mL) jar marinara sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode and wait for it to heat up. Once hot, add ground beef, onion, garlic and salt & pepper, sauteeing for 5 minutes until browned. Turn off saute mode.
- Remove two-thirds of the ground beef mixture and set aside in a bowl. Add 1 cup water to bottom of the pot, then layer in 4 lasagna noodles. Top with half the ricotta cheese, half the spinach and another third of the ground beef mixture.
- Pour in half of the jar of marinara sauce, then top with another layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat with the remaining ricotta cheese, remaining spinach and the final third of ground beef mixture. Top a final layer of lasagna noodles and pour the rest of the jar of marinara sauce and the remaining cup of water overtop.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then pressure cook for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure, then notify you it's done by beeping. Press the Cancel button then do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese overtop and close lid to melt cheese for 2 minutes. Cut lasagna into slices, then serve and enjoy!
