This recipe for Ravioli Lasagna lets you come home to everyone’s favorite set-it-and-forget-it meal.
Slow-cooker lasagna has all the rich and meaty, cheesy goodness of regular lasagna but uses ravioli in place of pasta and ricotta cheese—no boiling required!
Ravioli Lasagna is a Must-Make Because…
- It’s so delicious that it’s featured in my cookbook (you can order a copy here)!
- This recipe can be quickly prepped before an outing and it’s ready to enjoy when you come home.
- It’s super convenient! There is no need to pre-cook lasagna noodles, and no layering is required.
- It uses fewer ingredients but the flavor you love from a traditional lasagna cheesy, meaty lasagna recipe.
What You Need For Ravioli Lasagna
Meat: I use ground beef to create a meaty sauce for this ravioli lasagna recipe. Ground turkey or ground sausage are also great.
Ravioli: I use cheese ravioli or spinach and cheese ravioli in this recipe to replace the ricotta cheese layer and traditional pasta. There’s no need to thaw or cook the pasta in advance.
Pasta Sauce: Use a jar of spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce (I love this brand). You can also make homemade marinara sauce.
Cheese: Loads of melty mozzarella add a creamy texture, and parmesan cheese adds flavor. Preshredded cheese works just fine in this recipe!
Variations
- Use half beef and half Italian sausage for even more flavor.
- Add vegetables like bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, or zucchini to the meat sauce. Ensure they cook in the skillet so the sauce isn’t watery.
- Tortellini can be substituted for the ravioli.
- Garnish herbs like fresh basil or parsley.
How to Make Slow Cooker Lasagna
- Brown beef, add the sauce and simmer a few minutes to thicken.
- Add the meat/sauce mixture, ravioli, and cheese to a crock pot (recipe below).
- Top with cheese. Rest uncovered before serving.
Serve with garlic toast and a fresh green salad.
Storing and Reheating
- This easy crockpot lasagna recipe can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Top portions with extra mozzarella and parmesan before reheating.
- Freeze leftovers in freezer-safe containers for up to one month. Reheat in the microwave or stovetop until heated through.
- Or reheat and serve crowd-pleasing ravioli lasagna straight from the crock pot. Serve with a basket of garlic bread for soaking up all that savory sauce.
More Quick Prep Crock Pot Recipes
Did your family love this Crock Pot Lasagna? Leave us a rating and a comment below.
Ravioli Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 24 ounces marinara sauce or pasta sauce
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes drained
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 25 ounces frozen cheese ravioli do not thaw
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown the beef, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain fat.
- Add marinara sauce, drained tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly thickened. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Spray the inside of a 6 qt crock pot with cooking spray.
- Add 1 cup of the meat sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with half of the frozen ravioli, 2 cups of sauce, and 1 ¼ cups of mozzarella cheese. Add the remaining ravioli, the remaining sauce, and the remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with parmesan cheese.
- To absorb excess moisture, Place a double layer of paper towel over the top of the slow cooker, ensuring it doesn't touch the cheese.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.
- Once cooked, turn the slow cooker off, remove the lid, and rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Main Course, Pasta, Slow Cooker
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This recipe is absolutely delicious and super easy! I used one bag of four cheese ravioli and one bag of spinach and cheese. As recommended, DO NOT skimp on the sauce. Yes, it will cost a bit more, but is well worth it! This is now my preferred method of making lasagna.
Can I make this the day before then put it in the oven to warm up the day of?
Hi Emily, that should work well.
This was delish. I used Classico pasta sauce (1jar of fire roasted tomato & garlic and 1 jar of traditional sweet basil) and Rana spinach/Ricotta and also Rana 4 cheese pasta. Cooked for 3 hours on low and 30 minutes on high. Turned out amazing. Thanks for the great recipe. I cooked it in my casserole crockpot (9X13). I was nervous but it turned out amazing.
You’re very welcome. Sounds delish alright!!
SOOO delicious! I used 2-24oz jars of Paul Newman Marinara sauce & it was perfect! My better half LOVED it! Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that Barb!
This looks so good! Has anyone tried it using part meat ravioli and part cheese ravioli?
This turned out great! Absolutely delicious!
I have a 2 qt crockpot – would i just divide everything by 3?
This recipe is pretty forgiving so as long as it fits and doesn’t fill the slow cooker more than 3/4 it should work out just fine.
Could this recipe be made meatless? I wanted to make it for a work pot luck, but i have a coworker who is a vegetarian. Thanks.
Hi Kat, to make this meatless I would replace the beef with a bunch of fresh vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, and peppers in the meat sauce.
We loved this recipe and I’m always looking for more ways to squeeze veggies into our meals! If I were to make this with eggplant, as you suggested, can you say a little about how to cook the eggplant before putting it in the crockpot, or would I just slice it and let it cook while in the crockpot? Thanks so much!
I would suggest dicing the eggplant and cooking it in a little bit of olive oil before adding to the slow cooker. Let us know how it goes!
Wow! The eggplant was a huge hit! I pushed my luck when pressed for time, and just tossed the cooked eggplant in without cutting back on any of the other ingredients (meat included). It did just barely avoid overflowing, so next time I’ll plan ahead with ingredient amounts, but it came out so delicious! My husband says it’s his new favorite meal of all the meals we make at home! He loves the meat and eggplant together, and I agree it’s really tasty and hearty. Thank you so much for your advice! This website has been my personal cooking school and a highlight of a tough year.
I’m so glad it worked out for you and that your family loved it!! Thank you so much for your kind words, so happy you found my site!
Making this now
This recipe for the Lazy Crockpot Lasagna was AMAZING. So easy and so good.. My husband is Sicilian and he loved it. Thanks so much!
Can you make it with fresh ravioli not frozen?
Hi Penny, This recipe has been updated to use frozen ravioli. If using fresh, you might like to reduce the cooking time.
What high quality sauce do you suggest?
There are so many out there.
Thank you
Julie
Hi Julie, Rao’s is my favorite brand of sauce to purchase.
Can I give it 10 stars? Unbelievably delicious
Thanks Sue! So happy you loved it.
My family absolutely loved this. I like that it can be made in a short time. It’d be great if you want something great for short notice guests. I added ricotta cheese.
Great addition Karen, that would be delicious.
This is SO good. Like, I wasn’t expecting it to be THAT great but wow!!! I used frozen ravioli that was partially thawed and it worked well! I also added some spinach & mushrooms to the sauce and it was so yummy. I will definitely be making this again and sharing the idea with others.
We’re blushing over here Emily, you’re too sweet! Those sounds like some tasty additions too!
DO you use frozen ravoli ?
This recipe has been updated to use frozen ravioli. If thawed, I would suggest reducing the cooking time.
Yes
Just finished eating this … really good!
I halved the recipe for my 4 qt pot and it was perfect in 3 hrs.
Happy to hear it was perfect! Thank you for sharing.
Oh my goodness, this was amazing. Ifid everything as recipe said. Would not change a thing. Thank you for a new favorite!!
I’m so glad you loved it Caroline!
I wonder if you could cook this on Warm for longer instead. I was thinking of this recipe for a night when i’d have to leave the crockpot on for like 6 hrs at least if it was on Low. Which would likely overcook this recipe.
I wonder if 6 hours on Warm would work as well (instead of 3-4 on Low), anyone try it or have any ideas?
(The meat ingredients are already cooked and hot when put in the pot.)
Crock Pot says “Warm is ONLY for keeping already cooked food at the perfect serving temperature. DO NOT cook on the Warm setting.” I don’t suggest cooking the food on warm. You may want to cook for 3 hours and then have your crockpot switch to Warm.
Do u think it’d be possible to bake this dish instead?
To bake ravioli lasagna: Add 1 cup of sauce to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Top with half of the ravioli, half of the sauce, and half of the cheese. Repeat the layers and cover with aluminum foil. Preheat the oven and bake at 375°F covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
I have a 4.5 qt cooker. Should I adjust the cook time for this meal? And if so, what would you suggest as far as time and/or temp? Super excited to give this a try!!
It should work fine in your 4.5qt cooker, just keep in mind not to fill it more than ⅔ full. :)
To cook in 4.5 qt cooker I halved the recipe. There are just two of us and was perfect
Thank you for sharing that Julie!