Easy Slow Cooker Lasagne is a rich, comforting dinner that is wonderfully simple to prepare. This easy dinner recipe makes soft layers of lasagne pasta sheets with a creamy, flavourful finish as it cooks.
Made with lasagne pasta sheets, tomato meat sauce and cream cheese, this recipe is perfect for busy days or when you want a hearty family meal. It’s a simple way to enjoy a classic favourite with minimal effort.
Originally published March 26, 2020. Updated March 23, 2026.
My Easier Slow Cooker Lasagne Method
My usual method of baking a lasagne is a bit of an ordeal if I am honest, but of course the outcome is divine and so popular with the family that I make it this way often – you can find how I make my traditional lasagne here.
The best bit is when I make this easier version my son tells me this is hands down the best lasagne he has ever eaten… so I will take 30 minutes prep over an hour or more any day!
The Easy Cream Cheese Shortcut Instead Of Béchamel
For my oven baked version I tend to use every pot in the cupboard and have three going at once! Then the assembly and finally baking. So I thought if I was going to share a Slow Cooker version that makes life easier then I better make the method easy too!
In this lasagne I have not made a cheese sauce, certainly not one from scratch like I normally do. The bechamel sauce is of course one of the high points of a lasagne but I can assure you that my cheats version is absolutely delicious! The secret is cream cheese!
For this Easy Slow Cooker Lasagne I have used a combination of cream cheese, sour cream, egg and cheese to replace the cheese sauce. It works so well and is super quick to whip together.
Avoiding A Soggy Lasagne And Helpful Slow Cooker Tips
If your meat sauce is too wet when it goes into the slow cooker your lasagne may be soggy – delicious but soggy. The ideal is to have a lovely moist meat sauce but not too liquid.
If you’re learning how to adapt recipes for the slow cooker, my Slow Cooker Cooking Times Chart is a useful resource. Or if you’re new to slow cooking or have a question about how it works, you might find my Slow Cooker FAQ helpful.
Getting The Best Flavour And Texture From Your Mince
With regard to the ground beef mince, while I want this recipe to be easy, tasting great is so important too. Which is why I always brown off my mince before I add it to the slow cooker. This is for two reasons, the first is that I can drain off the grease and fat. When that sits in the slow cooker for hours it can give a greasy after taste to the meals, no one wants that.
The second reason is the taste, I feel it just tastes better if I have browned off the mince, broken it down into finer pieces and in this case added the tomato pasta sauce, herbs and garlic to simmer before I add it to my slow cooker. You have to trust me on this, it is so much better.
Using Pasta Sauce To Keep Things Simple
I use a can of pasta sauce for my mince recipes always, whether it be lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, nachos etc. If you have a favourite brand of pasta sauce just use that, you can often find one that already has herbs, garlic or onion in it, or use a simple passata sauce with extra herbs and garlic.
Choosing And Preparing Your Lasagne Pasta Sheets
The key is to create a sauce that is not too wet – the slow cooker of course makes things lovely and moist, but if you start with a sloppy meat sauce then it will only make things worse when it comes to serving. Will taste good but will be harder to get onto the plate!
The ingredients are incredibly simple, the steps even more so. You can use any sort of lasagne pasta you like, it does not need to be precooked. I have used dried lasagne sheets here, broken into different sizes to fit the dish, or you can use lasagne noodles or other dried pasta.
How To Assemble Your Easy Slow Cooker Lasagne
Assembling an Easy Slow Cooker lasagne goes like this:
- Tomato Meat Sauce
- Pasta
- Tomato Meat Sauce
- Cream Cheese Mix
- Pasta
- Tomato Meat Sauce
- Cream Cheese Mix
- Grated Cheese
- Pasta
- Tomato Meat Sauce
Finishing Your Slow Cooker Lasagne And Serving Ideas
After this has slow cooked for 3 1/2 hours you can then add an additional layer of cheese until melted, allow it to stand to set and then serve with your favourite crusty bread & salad. This recipe is incredibly simple, does not take too long to prepare, then it is slow cooked to perfection!
I highly recommend you try my crusty Slow Cooker Cheesy Savoury Loaf, it would go perfectly with this.
Slow Cooker Vs Oven Methods – What Works Best
How easy is that! I hope you love this new way of making Lasagne, you can of course make this in the oven, cook for 40 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown. But doing it in the slow cooker means you can get on with things and have a lovely dinner ready for you at the end of the day.
My Easy Slow Cooker Lasagne Recipe
The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Slow Cooker Lasagne
Easy Slow Cooker Lasagne is an easy dinner recipe using lasagne pasta sheets, tomato meat sauce and cream cheese to create a rich, comforting layered meal.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 KG Ground Beef Mince
- 420g Tomato Pasta Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Water (add this to the can of sauce to get all the sauce!)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic, Minced
- 1 teaspoon Mixed Herbs
- 250 grams Cream Cheese
- 125 grams Sour Cream
- 1 Egg
- Pinch of Salt & Pepper
- 250 grams Grated Cheese, 2 Cups, aged hard cheese or mozzarella etc
- Pasta Sheets or Noodles
- Up to 125 grams Grated Cheese, 1 Cup, aged hard cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan etc
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan
- In two batches, brown the ground beef mince and break up any clumps of meat, and drain off any fat into a separate bowl (discard this fat safely later once cold)
- Add the batches together in the frying pan and add the pasta sauce, add the half a cup of water to the pasta sauce jar or can if using and swirl around, then add this to the beef mince
- Add the garlic and mixed herbs and stir this all well, allow to simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes
- While this is simmering, in a medium bowl prepare the cream cheese, sour cream, egg, salt & pepper and grated cheese in a bowl and mix together well. Set aside.
- Spray or grease the inside of the slow cooker then follow the order below
- Add a thin layer of the tomato meat sauce
- Place in the pasta sheets, you may need to break these up to fit the bowl
- A thin layer of the tomato meat sauce
- Dollop spoonfuls of the half cream cheese mixture over the meat sauce
- Place another layer of pasta sheets
- A thin layer of the tomato meat sauce
- Dollop spoonfuls of the remaining cream cheese mixture over the meat sauce
- Place another layer of pasta sheets
- Finally spread the remaining tomato meat sauce over the top of the pasta sheets
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 3 1/2 hours on LOW
- You want to cook this until the pasta sheets are soft and cooked through but it does not begin to dry out, so check at 3 hours.
- Once this occurs add the final Cup of grated cheese and cook for a further 30 minutes until completely melted
- Turn off the slow cooker and allow the meal to stand for 30 minutes to set before spooning onto plates
- Serve warm with crusty bread and salad
- Enjoy!
Notes
If your meat sauce is too wet when it goes into the slow cooker your lasagne may be soggy - delicious but soggy. The ideal is to have a lovely moist meat sauce but not too liquid.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 889Total Fat: 65gSaturated Fat: 30gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 277mgSodium: 876mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 60g
This nutrition calculation for Just Slow Cooker Recipes has been automated, please use your discretion with the calculation and use your own if unsure.
I Hope You Love This Recipe
I hope you love this Easy Slow Cooker Lasagne as much as we do. It’s such a lovely comforting dinner for busy days and one I come back to again and again.
If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments below.
Also, if you enjoy this recipe, please leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above. Your feedback helps other readers and really supports my recipes.
Thank you so much for visiting and taking the time to try this recipe. I hope you find plenty of slow cooker inspiration here on my blog.
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Happy cooking!
Anna
Only two layers of pasta? I always think of five as a minimum, with very thin layers of sauces between.
I have used three here, that is a suitable amount for the amount of meat sauce I use, which is on 4 layers. You are of course welcome to make it how you prefer, can add an additional layer on the base. It is a lovely versatile recipe.
Is it possible to replace the cream cheese and sour cream with a packet cheese sauce? I realise the flavour will not be the same – just from a budget perspective.
Yes if you prefer. Or a jar of béchamel or the proper lasagne cheese sauce made from scratch with butter, flour, milk and cheese
Hi Anna,
Do you think it would taste just as good if I boil the mince and let it stand over night to let the fat form on the top, then scrape off. (old fashioned nan)
Hi Ngaire. You could but it’s much quicker to drain it off as you cook it. I am all about saving time!
Hi Anna, what size and shape is your slow cooker?
Should there be an instruction 13.5, to add a layer of 2 cups grated cheese? Or have I misunderstood?
Defo giving this a try.
Hi, that’s mentioned on step 5.
Can’t wait to make this delicious lasagne 🩷
Love this recipe and keen to try it.
I find a traditional Lasagne is a real chore, hence why I don’t make it very often.
Anything simplified or less time taken is a winner in my book !!
😍