Instant Pot Lasagna Recipe – No Special Equipment Required

I absolutely love this Instant Pot Lasagna Recipe because there is no extra equipment required. Of course, you have to have an Instant Pot or some type of pressure cooker.

However, many recipes require that you have a springform or push pan to make this recipe. As much as I love my springform pan to make Pumpkin or Caramel Apple Cheesecake, it just isn’t necessary to make lasagna.

Instead, all the ingredients get cooked and layered directly inside the pressure cooker. And that means there are no extra dishes to do after dinner.

It is an easy recipe that is absolutely delicious and comes together extremely well. In fact, it has become one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes of all time.

Instant Pot Lasagna Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Lean Ground Beef
• Garlic
• Dried Italian seasoning
• Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Water
• Lasagna noodles, regular, not no-boil noodles
• Pasta sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Optional Ingredients For Garnish

• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh Parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

The first step in making this lasagna recipe is to turn the Instant Pot on the Saute mode. Wait until you see the front display say ‘HOT’ and then add the onion and cook for 2 minutes.

Then add the lean ground beef and cook until the meat is brown and no longer pink.

*As an alternative method, you can also omit the oil and place the ground beef in the pot first. Then, once half of the meat turns brown, add the onion.

The grease from the meat will be more than enough to prevent the onion from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Once the meat is cooked and the onions are translucent, add the minced garlic and stir to mix it in the beef mixture. Immediately press Cancel. The garlic will continue to cook as the pot is still hot.

Next drain off the excess grease that is in the bottom of the pot. You can do this by using a strainer lid or by placing the entire beef mixture in a colander.

Return the meat to the Instant Pot and add the dried Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pot and stir.

Then remove 2/3 of the beef mixture to a medium size bowl, leaving the rest in the pot. Now add the water to the pot and stir, scraping up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.

This step is extremely important to prevent the Instant Pot from giving you the BURN notice during cooking.

Now it is time to start assembling your Instant Pot Lasagna. First, break 2 of the lasagna noodles in half so that you have 4 pieces.

Lay the 4 halves on top beef and water mixture. Depending on whether you have a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot, the noodles may overlap a little.

When cooking this recipe in a 6 quart Instant Pot I find it easiest to cut 1 noodle in half, and cut the other one in a 2/3rd and 1/3rd ratio.

This way the longest noodle will be placed in the center of the pot, with the two halves on either side. Then the smaller noodle will be placed above the others, in the opposite direction.

Now that you have the first layer of noodles in place, spread 1/3 of the reserved meat on top of the noodles. Then spread 2/3 cup of the pasta sauce over top of the meat.

And then place 1/3 cup of the shredded mozzarella on top of that. Now it is time to add the second layer by breaking 2 more noodles the same way that you did the first time.

Then layer the noodles in the opposite direction that you did for the first layer. Now top the noodles with half of the remaining meat, 2/3 cup pasta sauce and 1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Assemble the third layer by breaking 2 lasagna noodles and arranging the 4 pieces in the opposite direction as you did for the second layer.

Then add the remaining meat, 2/3 cup pasta sauce and 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese.

The Final Layer

Now it is time to make the final layer for your Instant Pot Lasagna. This layer is a little different because you have used all of the ground meat.

However, you still have noodles and pasta sauce left. Therefore, top the mixture with the remaining 2 lasagna noodles, broken and placed in the opposite direction as the third layer.

Then cover the noodles with the remaining pasta sauce. Now you are ready for your lasagna to cook.

Start by closing and locking the lid to the Instant Pot. Then move the valve to the Sealing position (if required).

Press Pressure Cook/Manual and make sure it is set to HIGH pressure. Adjust the cook time to 10 minutes.

Just like all pressure cooker recipes, additional time is required for the pot to come to pressure before the actual cook time begins.

When the cook time ends, slowly and carefully quick release the pressure. Be sure to do a controlled release so that the liquid from inside the pot doesn’t spew out of the valve stem.

Once the pin drops down, carefully open the Instant Pot lid away from your face. You now may be shocked at what you see.

The lasagna will not be completely set and there will be liquid still visible around the top layer. Don’t panic! The liquid will continue absorb as it rests.

Sprinkle the remaining Mozzarella cheese over the top of the lasagna. With the lid off, let lasagna rest for 10-15 minutes while the cheese melts and the liquid is absorbed.

You will notice that the liquid inside the Instant Pot is virtually gone by the time you go to serve the lasagna. But be sure not to rush it but cutting into it too early.

Slice and serve warm. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Enjoy! Mary

Possible Ingredient Substitutions

1. Substitute ground chicken, ground turkey, or plant based crumbles in place of the ground beef. However, you may need to add a little additional olive oil when browning the mixture so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

2. Use jarred minced garlic in place of the fresh garlic cloves. 1 medium garlic clove = 1 teaspoon of jarred minced garlic.

However, feel free to adjust the amount of garlic based on personal preference. Remember that jarred minced garlic is milder than the garlic minced from fresh cloves.

I typically use 3 large garlic cloves because our family loves fresh garlic. Although if I was going to use minced garlic out of a jar, I would use 4-5 teaspoons.

Don’t Substitute The Noodles

3. It is important that in this recipe that you use standard lasagna noodles. Although you can find no-boil lasagna noodles, it is not the preferred noodle to use in the Instant Pot.

The same is true with homemade, fresh lasagna noodles. This is because the noodles will be in the Instant Pot for about 25 minutes. If you use no-boil or fresh noodles, they would become too soft and not hold up to the cooking process.

4. Although this recipe is a meat based lasagna recipe, you could add a layer of cottage or ricotta cheese if you prefer. My family prefers to eat lasagna without the additional ingredients so we omit it in this recipe.

Simply prepare the ricotta in the same way you would for a traditional lasagna recipe and layer it after the ground meat is placed on top of the noodles.

5. Add in diced or chopped vegetables. If you are struggling to get veggies in the diets of those that you feed, it is a good time to sneak in a little vegetables to this delicious recipe.

Some suggested vegetables included diced mushrooms, diced onions, sautéed spinach or even eggplant. Just be sure to dice them up finely and saute them with the meat mixture.

I can almost bet, if cut up in small pieces, no one will ever know!

To view other delicious Instant Pot recipes visit my Instant Pot Recipe Pages.

To receive our 3 Recipe Articles in your inbox each week, sign up for our free email list located in the middle of each recipe or email me at contact@makeyourmeals.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Pinterest. This article may contain affiliate links where a small commission is paid if you purchase a product at no additional cost to you.