Cheesy Instant Pot meat lasagna made in under 30 minutes. All the delicious lasagna flavors come together in this easy one-pot meal.
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Hello, my friends.
Today I’m sharing another delicious Instant Pot recipe with you.
I love my Instant Pot for its ability to cook quick and easy one pot meals that require little effort and taste like million bucks.
This dish comes together in under thirty minutes. It’s got all of the delicious flavors of lasagna with none of the extra work.
Totally my kind of recipe.
How to make this Instant Pot meat lasagna
First blend the tomatoes with their juice in a blender or food processor until they reach a desired consistency. I like to blend them until smooth, but you can also pulse them a few times until no large chunks remain.
Select “saute” on a 6-quart Instant Pot (aff. link) and select HIGH. Sauté diced onion with the salt until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant.
Add ground meat and cook until browned, breaking it apart.
Turn off the heat and add pasta, pour in the blended tomatoes and tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle dried basil and oregano over sauce.
SUPER IMPORTANT: Don’t stir at this point!
If there are noodles popping up press them down, make sure they are completely covered by the liquid.
Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select “manual” or “pressure cook” and cook on HIGH pressure. The exact time will depend on the brand of pasta and the texture you prefer.
Let the pressure release naturally then quick release the remaining pressure. If the pot starts to splatter when doing the quick release, cover with a dishtowel.
Add in the cheeses and let them melt before serving.
Can I switch up the tomatoes?
The recipe calls for 3 cans of undrained whole peeled tomatoes, but I often make it with fresh tomatoes (especially during the harvest season). I normally just core them (leaving the peels on).
I’ve also made it with frozen tomatoes with success. I’m guessing you could use the same amount of whatever tomatoes you had on hand: diced, stewed, crushed, etc.
Can I use other types of meat?
I prefer sweet Italian sausage in this recipe. I have also made the recipe with ground beef, but I usually add about ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning to give it a bit more Italian flavor.
Feel free to experiment with other ground meats if you like.
What kind of pasta to use + a rule of thumb to cook it
I normally use the Barilla boxes of farfalle (bow ties) in this recipe and they cook to al dente in just 1 minute.
A good rule of thumb when trying to decide how many minutes to cook pasta in an electric pressure cooker is this: take the al dente cooking time listed on the package, cut it in half and subtract another 1 to 2 minutes.
Garnishing, if you like
I like to add freshly chopped basil or parsley on top to give it a bit more color.
But feel free to leave it off if you have toddlers (or 6-year-olds in my case) that are opposed to visible green things poking out of their food.
*Sigh*. If you know, you know.
Wrapping things up
This Instant Pot meat lasagna is a great, easy and quick weeknight meal. I love how fast it comes together and that it’s all made in a single pot. Plus the flavors are delicious. It’s a win, win, win for sure.
Instant Pot Meat Lasagna
Cheesy Instant Pot meat lasagna made in under 30 minutes. All the delicious lasagna flavors come together in this easy one-pot meal.
Ingredients
- 3 (14.5-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes undrained, see note
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups diced white or yellow onion about 1 medium onion
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ¼ pound sweet Italian sausage see note
- 1 pound uncooked pasta farfalle, gigli, or broken lasagna pieces
- 3 6-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese divided
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese divided
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- chopped fresh basil or parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
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Blend the tomatoes with their juice in a blender or food processor until they reach a desired consistency. I like to blend them until smooth, but you can also pulse them a few times until no large chunks remain.
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Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, heat the oil until rippling. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat (removing sausage from casing, if using links) and cook, breaking apart the meat, until it is lightly browned and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes.
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Turn off the heat. Then scatter the pasta over the meat and pour in the blended tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle the dried basil and oregano on top. Don't stir, but if there are noodles popping up press them down, make sure they are completely covered by the liquid.
-
Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select “manual” or “pressure cook” and cook on HIGH pressure 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the brand of pasta and the texture you prefer (see note).
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Let the pressure release naturally for 6 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure. If the pot starts to splatter when doing the quick release, cover with a dishtowel.
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Open the lid and stir in ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with the lid and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Taste and add additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
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Serve the lasagna immediately with fresh chopped basil, and additional Parmesan, if desired.
Recipe Notes
1. When the garden is producing, I like to use fresh tomatoes in this recipe. In place of the 3 cans of whole peeled tomatoes I use 43.5 ounces of fresh tomatoes.
2. I have also substituted ground beef in this recipe. I normally add ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning with the ground beef to give it a bit more Italian flavor.
3. A good rule of thumb when trying to decide how many minutes to cook pasta in an electric pressure cooker is this: take the al dente cooking time listed on the package, cut it in half and subtract another 1 to 2 minutes.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
I love the look of this recipe but it’s an enormous amount for just the 2 of us. Do you have any idea how long I should cook this if i cut the recipe in half?
Hi Shannon, you should be fine to keep the cooking time the same even if you half the recipe.