Instant Pot Lasagna
This Instant Pot lasagna is a one pot classic lasagna that is made in your pressure cooker in under an hour. Enjoy this delicious dish without ever turning on the oven!
This Instant Pot Lasagna is one of my new favorite dishes! After trying out Instant Pot spaghetti and Instant Pot chicken Alfredo I’ve become a true believer in pressure cooker pasta.
I decided I was ready to try lasagna in the Instant Pot and now I’m hooked!
Lasagna is one of those tasty homemade meals that we often think, oh it takes too much work! Sure, it tastes great, but do you really want to spend hours putting it together? Making it in a pressure cooker is quicker and easier with less clean up.
Pair it with some Texas toast and a nice panzanella salad and you’ve got yourself the perfect weeknight dinner.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious lasagna quickly in the Instant Pot:
- Proteins – We use a combination of ground Italian sausage and ground beef. For a lower fat option, you can use turkey sausage and 90/10 ground beef or even chicken or turkey.
- Seasonings – To flavor the lasagna, we use onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Kosher salt.
- Marinara – You can use your favorite jar or make your own at home.
- Whole milk ricotta – We find this tastes best, but if you like lower fat options, you can use those instead.
- Egg – An egg helps to prevent the ricotta cheese from oozing and generally holds it together. It can also help add moisture to drier cheese.
- No boil lasagna noodles – There really is not a great option for this. You could try to parboil noodles for a few minutes. These are much easier to work with.
- Mozzarella – You can shred your own or use the previously shredded version.
- Water – Water is used in the Instant Pot to allow it to come up to pressure.
New to using an Instant Pot? Make sure you read our beginner’s guide on “How to Use an Instant Pot” to get started!
Instructions
The following are the steps you need to follow to make this recipe.
Step 1 – Prep the seasonings.
In a small bowl, mix the onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Stir until well combined.
Step 2 – Brown the meat.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and then add the Italian sausage and ground beef along with 3 ½ teaspoons of the seasoning mix when hot. Cook the meat mixture for about 7 minutes or until cooked through.
Step 3 – Heat up the marinara sauce.
Once the meat has finished cooking, drain the grease and place the meat back into the same skillet. Next, add the marinara sauce and continue to cook over medium heat until warmed through
Step 4 – Mix the ricotta, egg, and remaining seasoning until well combined.
Step 5 – Prep the pan and your noodles.
Use aluminum foil or parchment paper to line your Instant Pot 7.5 inch springform pan. The lining will help prevent the lasagna from sticking.
Once your pan is lined and ready, break your lasagna noodles so that they will fit inside the pot. You’ll need about two and half noodles per layer.
Step 6 – Layer the lasagna.
Make your layers as follows:
Layer 1: Place 1/4 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan. Arrange the broken pasta in the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1 cup of meat sauce over the pasta making sure it is completed covered. Next, spread ½ cup of the ricotta mixture over the meat sauce. Finally add 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese on top of the ricotta.
Layer 2: Place another layer of noodles on top of the mozzarella and then top with another cup of meat sauce followed by ½ cup of ricotta mixture.
Layer 3: The final layer should start with a layer of pasta over the ricotta followed by ¼ cup of marinara sauce. Make sure all of the pasta is covered with the sauce, add more if needed. Top with the remaining 2 ounces of mozzarella.
Step 7 – Place the pan in the pot and cook the lasagna.
After the final layer, use foil to cover the lasagna. Make sure there is a pocket between the foil and the cheese to avoid getting stuck.
Next, place a trivet in the bottom of your Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Place the springform pan on top of the trivet.
Finally, lock the lid in place and set the valve to SEALING before cooking on HIGH pressure for 25 minutes.
Step 8 – Remove the lasagna from the Instant Pot.
Once the timer goes off, allow it to release pressure naturally for 15 minutes before carefully returning the valve to VENTING to release the remaining pressure. You can unlock the lid and remove it once the pin drops.
Carefully remove the lasagna from the pot and remove the foil from the top. You can either allow the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before serving or move on to step 9 to brown the top.
Step 9 (Optional) – Brown the top.
Sit the lasagna on a baking sheet and then set your oven broiler to high. Next, place the lasagna in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until the cheese has browned and starts to bubble.
Want to take this meal to the next level? While your lasagna cooks make some cheese twists or Texas toast garlic bread to serve with it!
Equipment You’ll Need
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
6 Quart Instant Pot – The 6 quart Instant Pot is a pressure cooker loaded with extra features and safety features. It is the perfect tool for making soups, sauces, gravies, roasts, potatoes, noodles, and many other tasty treats. We use ours just about every day, which makes it one of the best investments we’ve ever made.
Trivet – the Instant Pot comes with a trivet that you can use, or you can add additional trivets to either keep delicate foods from the bottom or separate different food from each other. In this case, we use the trivet to keep the lasagna pan away from the water.
OR
Trivet sling – A trivet sling comes with silicon wings that stick up from the trivet. The sling allows you to easily remove a pan from the Instant Pot without burning your hands or spilling it. You can use the sling to easily lift the lasagna out of the pot.
7-inch Springform pan – This little springform pan fits nicely into the Instant Pot and the springform makes it easy to remove the pan from the cooked lasagna at the end.
OR
7-inch Pan – If you don’t have a springform pan, you can use any 7-inch pan in your kitchen. Just make sure to line it with foil to make it easier to pull the lasagna out of the pan once it has cooled a bit.
What is a Pot-in-Pot (PIP) Recipe?
A pot-in-pot (PIP) recipe using the Instant Pot refers to any recipe where you place a metal pot on a trivet to cook the food. This is a helpful method for any recipe where the food should not be submerged in water to make.
A popular food to use the PIP method with is rice. You can place the rice in a PIP and then steam it inside of the Instant Pot.
You can use the same method for several different foods, including this lasagna recipe and our Instant Pot meatloaf and mashed potatoes recipe.
How to Make it Ahead of Time
To make this ahead, follow all instructions and then let it cool completely.
If refrigerating, place the lasagna in an airtight, sealed container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can then reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until warmed through. If you prefer, you can slice and microwave for 2 minutes per slice or until warmed through.
To freeze, let it cool completely before wrapping tightly with plastic wrap. Once wrapped tight, place in a gallon freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat, allow it to thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Once thawed, place in the oven set to 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until warmed through. You could also slice and microwave for 2 minutes per slice or until warmed through.
Looking for More Instant Pot Recipes?
- Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
- Instant Pot Pork Roast and Gravy
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Chicken and Wild Rice
- Instant Pot Ribs
- Instant Pot Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
- Instant Pot Jambalaya
- More Instant Pot Recipes…
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Instant Pot Lasagna
Ingredients
- ½ pound Ground Italian sausage
- ½ pound Ground beef
- 1.5 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1.5 cups Marinara, divided
- 1 cup Whole milk ricotta
- 1 large Egg
- 8 No boil lasagna noodles
- 4 ounces Mozzarella
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot add the Italian sausage and ground beef to it and sprinkle with 3 ½ teaspoons of the seasoning mix. Cook for approximately 7 minutes or until cooked through.
- When meat has finished cooking, drain the excess grease and place meat back in the pan. Add 1 cup of marinara sauce and continue cooking over medium heat until warmed through.
- In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, egg, and remaining seasoning mix. Stir together until well combined.
- Line your Instant Pot 7.5 inch springform pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. This will keep your lasagna from sticking once it is cooked.
- Break your lasagna noodles so that they fit in the bottom of the springform pan. It takes approximately 2.5 lasagna noodles for each layer.
- Layer 1: Spoon ¼ cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of your lined springform pan. Place 1 layer of broken pasta over the bottom of your pan. Spoon 1 cup of meat sauce over the pasta making sure it covers all of the pasta. Spread ½ cup of the ricotta mixture over the meat sauce. Top the ricotta with 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese.
- Layer 2: Begin your second layer by again breaking up lasagna noodles and placing them on top of the mozzarella cheese. Top with another cup of meat sauce followed by ½ cup of ricotta mixture.
- Layer 3: Do a final layer of broken lasagna noodles on top of the ricotta. Top with remaining ¼ cup of marinara sauce and 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the lasagna with foil. Make sure there is a gap between the foil and the cheese so the cheese doesn’t stick to it as it bakes.
- Place a trivet in the bottom of your Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Place the springform pan on top of the trivet.
- Lock the lid in place and set the valve to SEALING. Set to HIGH pressure for 25 minutes.
- When the timer goes off let it do a 15 minute natural release then carefully turn the valve to VENTING and release any remaining steam. When the pin drops you can unlock the lid and open it.
- Remove the lasagna from the pot (be careful it will be hot) and remove the foil from on top.
- Optional: If you want to brown the cheese, sit the lasagna in it’s pan on a baking sheet. Set your oven broiler to high and place the baking sheet in the oven for 3-5 minutes letting the cheese get browned and bubbly. Remove from the oven. If you don’t want to brown the cheese you can skip to the next step.
- Let the lasagna cool in the springform pan for 10 minutes. Then release the springform pan and remove it. Gently peel away the aluminum foil. Use a spatula to lift the lasagna off of the bottom of the pan and place on a large serving plate.
- Cut into 6 equal pieces and serve.
Nutrition
