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Oh my. This creamy, cheesy, utterly delicious Spinach & Ricotta Slow Cooker Lasagne is a perfect comforting vegetarian family meal, with all the convenience, flavour and speed you need for a satisfying family dinner.
If you’re loving exploring exactly what you can do with a trusty slow cooker like me, you MUST give this recipe a go.
It’s hearty, simple and so tasty.
I’ve tested (and eaten) this enough times to know it really is possible to make a Slow Cooker Lasagne successfully, and BONUS… it gives us another go-to recipe that we can prepare in minutes and leave for a few hours unattended while it bubbles away happily!
Why you’ll love this Slow Cooker Lasagne recipe
⭐️ Creamy, comforting and delicious
⭐️ Ideal for meat-free days or vegetarians
⭐️ Minimal fuss and low cost
How we came up with this recipe
Unlike a meaty lasagne, we don’t have to pre-cook anything at all for this vegetarian lasagne. A little prep, stirring, mixing and layering, and that’s it!
The flavours of the spinach and ricotta are a perfect pairing in my opinion, and we’re adding a tomato sauce for the filling too.
As always, all ingredients are easy to get hold of and inexpensive, many of which you might already have in your store cupboards, and this one can be ready in as little as 2 hours if you cook it on high.
If you fancy a few other ‘different’ takes on the classic lasagne, try my Courgette Lasagne, my tortilla-bake Mexican Lasagne, or my 10-minute Tortellini Lasagne.
Slow Cooker Lasagne Ingredients NOtes
- Spinach – I used fresh here, but frozen would work too, just follow the notes below for blanching it
- Cheese – Ricotta works really well in this dish and is SO delicious. We’re using grated mozzarella too for the layering
- Walnuts – Roughly chop these to add a wonderful nutty, crunchy texture
- Tomato sauce – Make this up with pasta, garlic granules, pesto, tomato puree and a little salt and pepper
- Lasagne sheets – The dried kind is fine
How to make this Slow Cooker Lasagne
1. Soak the spinach in a bowl with boiling water as per the recipe below, then drain and squeeze out the excess water.
2. While the spinach is soaking, mix the tomato sauce ingredients together.
3. Finely chop the spinach and mix it with the other filling ingredients in a bowl.
4. Layer a third of the filling mixture into the slow cooker.
5. Top that layer with lasagne sheets.
6. Now add a layer of the tomato mixture (a third) and a third of your mozzarella. Repeat this twice and cook as per the recipe below.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe cooked in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or oven before serving.
In the freezer You can freeze this recipe but it might be a little soggy after being defrosted. While it might not be at its fresh best, I certainly wouldn’t waste it though.
Defrost it thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or in the oven.
Top tip
How to stop it being too watery
A lot of water can come out of spinach as it’s being cooked, so to make sure your lasagne doesn’t get soggy:
- Sit your spinach in a bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes
- Drain it and squeeze as much water out as you can (which is easier once it’s cooled down a little as you can use your hands)
- Now you can chop it up and add it to the other ingredients. (I use scissors for easy chopping)
- If you’re using frozen spinach you may need to microwave it or boil it, just follow the pack instructions to defrost and soften it
FAQs
For this recipe, about 3 layers is ideal, and it’s a nice filling:pasta ratio. But you can do as many as you have sauce for, so if you want to keep going, that’s fine. Any fewer and it may be a little flat.
The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light.
I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.
And if it’s vegetarian slow cooker recipes you’re after, you could try my:
Red Lentil Dahl
Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Vegan Stew
Veggie Enchiladas
Feta & Tomato Pasta
Vegetable Soup
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Vegetarian Slow Cooker Lasagne {Spinach & Ricotta}
Ingredients
For the spinach layer:
- 450 g Fresh spinach
- 500 g Ricotta cheese
- 100 g Walnuts, Roughly chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tomato layer:
- 500 g Passata
- 1 tsp Garlic granules
- 3 tbsp Pesto
- 3 tbsp Tomato purée
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To layer:
- 250 g Dry lasagne sheets
- 200 g Grated mozzarella
Instructions
- Put the spinach into a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 10 minutes.
- While this is soaking, mix the tomato layer ingredients together in a jug and set aside.
- Drain the spinach using a sieve or colander, squeeze out as much water as you can (once it's a little cooler, I use clean hands to squish it and do this).
- Now chop the drained spinach finely and mix it with the other ingredients of the spinach layer.
- In your slow cooker, layer a third of the spinach mixture, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, a third of the tomato mixture and a third of the mozzarella.
- Repeat twice more until everything is used up.
- Lay a clean tea towel over the top of the slow cooker and sit the lid on top (this helps to absorb water so that the lasagne doesn't get too wet).
- Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours until the pasta is just cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A fantastic recipe, turned out beautifully with a crispy top, with soft layers underneath. Is it possible to make a meat lasagne in the slow cooker in a similar way?
I made this exactly to instruction the first time and enjoyed it. Second time I pan fried a bag of frozen prepared Mediterranean veg and and added it to the passata. I also left out the nuts instead. It was delicious – even husband agreed and 3yo ate it all. Always a win.
A good one to play around with and make how you like.
It works!! So tasty. I substituted walnuts for chicken. The specific advice on the spinach really helped; SO much water. I also squeezed it in kitchen towel to remove more water.
Great recipe- worked really well with gluten free lasagne sheets. Definitely did not serve 6 in our household. 4 good portions for us.
Thank you Sarah for another winner! This recipe was so easy and tasted delish!
My daughter in law is vegetarian so it’s great to find something new and easy for me to cook.
Looks so good! Am going to make this but on the video, why do you put a tea towel over the slow cooker before you put the lid on, and is this necessary?
Wow , the flavours are incredible. Absolutely loved this meal