Instant Pot Lasagna is the easiest lasagna recipe! It tastes delicious, and you can customize it to your taste, adding any of your favorite ingredients!. Did you know it is very easy to make lasagna in the Instant Pot? You don't have to boil the noodles first, so that's a win in my book! If you are in the mood for some tasty Italian pasta, make this pressure cooker lasagna recipe.
Originally published Jan 19, 2018
Instant Pot Lasagna
This pressure cooker lasagna recipe is one of my most popular recipes! Often copied by others, but this is the original version of this recipe. The favorite Instant Pot lasagna recipe of thousands who have made it! Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and comments!
My husband, Paul makes a fantastic lasagna! He adds spinach, mushrooms, and other good stuff to it. His recipe makes a huge pan of it, and it lasts us for days! I wanted to make some in my Instant Pot electric Pressure Cooker, and see if it would turn out as good as his. And would it be any faster?
Well, he doesn't cook his noodles, so I didn't want to cook mine, either. I found some no-boil noodles that work perfectly (regular lasagna noodles worked as well, but the results were best when I soaked them first in very hot water for 15 minutes.).
He does a lot of chopping, and I wanted an Instant Pot Lasagna recipe where I could get good flavor without so much chopping. I turned to my pantry for some seasonings. Garlic powder, onion powder, and a few others did the trick! Saved some time there.
I decided to use my favorite jarred marinara sauce in this pressure cooker lasagna. When I have it, I use my homemade Instant Pot Marinara Sauce. Perfect! The Instant Pot Lasagna was coming together nicely! Here's a summary of how I made it:
How To Make Lasagna in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
- Spray a 7"x3" springform pan with cooking spray.
- Layer uncooked noodles in the bottom.
- Layer sauce, meat, and cheese mixture.
- Repeat layers two more times.
- Cover with a piece of sprayed foil, set on a trivet with handles (or use a sling) and put it in the pot.
- Pressure cook and let it naturally release for 10-15 minutes.
- Broil the top of your Instant Pot Lasagna to brown the cheese.
• Gather all of the ingredients and kitchen tools you will need.
• Cook the Meat with some seasonings so it isn't bland.
• Prepare the cheese mixture.
• In a 7"x3" springform or push pan, start the layering with the no-boil noodles, which you will need to break apart to fit the shape of the pan.
• Next, layer ⅓ of the sauce, ½ of the meat, then ½ of the cheese mixture, and the spinach (optional).
• Start again with another layer of noodles, ⅓ sauce, ½ of the meat, ½ cheese mixture.
• Then noodles, sauce, and top cheese layer.
• Cover with a piece of sprayed foil, set on a trivet with handles (or use a sling) and put it in the pot. Set the cook time and let it naturally release for 10-15 minutes after pressure cooking.
• Broil the top of your Instant Pot Lasagna to brown the cheese*.
*Broiling is an optional step, and you can brown the cheese as much as you like.
This is what a foil sling looks like, if you need to use one. Take a 24 inch length of foil and fold it over 3 times the long way. You will have a sling that is 3"x24".
Instant Pot Easy Lasagna Soup
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce
Instant Pot Cheesy Meaty Shells
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
If you make this delicious Lasagna in the Instant Pot, please let me know. Just leave a comment with a star rating below. I'd like to know how it worked for you.
Instant Pot Lasagna is delicious and hearty. No need to pre-cook the pasta if you use no-boil noodles. Pressure cooker lasagna is easy to make.
- ½ lb Lean Ground Beef (85% to 90% lean) You can use all ground beef
- ½ lb Ground Italian Sausage (you can use all sausage)
- ½ teaspoon Coarse Salt (¼ tsp table salt)
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 cup Ricotta Cheese (or Cottage Cheese)
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Salt (if your pasta sauce is salty, decrease to ¼ tsp)
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- ¼ cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
- 1 (24 oz) jar Pasta Sauce (about 3 cups) (I prefer marinara, or use your favorite brand)
- ½ cup Chopped Spinach Leaves, optional (fresh, or frozen, thawed)
- 5-6 No Boil Lasagna Noodles (or regular uncooked lasagna noodles that have been soaked in very hot water for 15 minutes)
- ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
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Set pot to Sauté and add the beef, sausage, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring, until the meat is cooked.
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Remove meat, drain, and set aside. Clean out pot and add 1 ½ cups water to it.
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In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta, egg, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use a fork to mix thoroughly. Set aside.
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In a 7"x3" or 6"x3" springform or push pan, make a layer of the no-boil noodles by breaking them and fitting them like a mosaic to cover the bottom of the pan.
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Spread ⅓ of the pasta sauce over the noodles, covering them all.
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Spread ½ of the meat mixture over the sauce evenly.
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Spread ½ of the cheese mixture evenly over the meat.
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Sprinkle the spinach (if using) over the cheese mixture evenly.
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Add another layer of noodles, press down on them a little.
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Add another layer of ⅓ of the sauce.
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Add the second half of the meat.
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Add the second half of the cheese mixture.
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Add another layer of noodles, the last ⅓ of sauce, ½ cup of mozzarella, and ½ cup of parmesan.
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Spray a piece of foil with nonstick spray and lightly cover the pan with the foil, enough that water can't get in.
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Set the pan on a trivet with handles and lift them into the inner pot that has 1 ½ cups of water in it. You can also use a sling to set the pan on the trivet in the pot.
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Close the lid and lock in place. Turn the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook or Manual button (or dial) and choose 24 minutes. High Pressure. It will take about 5 minutes or so for the pot to come to pressure.
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When the cook cycle has ended, let the pot sit undisturbed for 10-15 minutes (10-15 minute Natural Release). Then, turn the knob to the Venting position to release any remaining steam.
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When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid. Use silicone mitts, sling, or good pot holders that can get wet to lift the rack with the hot pan out of the pot to a cooling rack. Be VERY careful as it could slip off the rack.
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Carefully remove the foil. Turn on your broiler to 450° with the oven rack in the middle to top ⅓ position in the oven.
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Set the pan on the oven rack and let the cheese on top brown to your desired amount. Watch it closely as it doesn't take very long. Every oven is different!
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Let the lasagna rest for a few minutes before releasing from the pan. This will help it maintain its shape and cool down just a bit.
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Carefully (pan and lasagna very hot) release the lasagna from the springform pan while it is on a plate.
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If you used a push pan, set a large can of soup or veggies on a plate and set the push pan on top of the can. gently, and carefully push the sides of the pan straight down. Wear oven mitts or some kind of hand protection. The pan and the lasagna will be very hot.
Then slide another plate under the lasagna. You might need to use a spatula to help slide it over.
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Serve with salad and some crusty bread!
This recipe works best in a 7"x3" springform or push pan. It will not fit in a 2" deep pan.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Lasagna Recipe and More
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Elissa Ilario
This recipe was delicious! I used all turkey sausage and left out the spinach. My top noodles were a little under done. Not sure what to adjust for that. I can’t seem to use the stars to rate it. I would give it 5 stars.
Sandy
Hi, make sure you have enough sauce on the top layer, and that your sauce is not too thick.
Tracy
I made the marinara sauce recipe and browned the meat the day before for ease of prep. The sauce is amazing and I will definitely use this recipe again. I didn't use all of the ingredients because my short pan was getting very full. However, it had really good flavors and was easy to put together. I needed more sauce to make broiling it not so dry. But, great reviews for the family!
LINDA S MILLS
This was my first pot-in-pot cooking experience and this lasagna was delicious! I made the recipe exactly as written but (as per a suggestion from my Facebook IP group) I parboiled regular lasagna noodles for 2 minutes, drained them and tore them into pieces to fit my 7x3 push pan. They came out perfectly al dente in the end. Even though I have a trivet with handles, I found that using a foil sling was essential, I also highly suggest covering the lasagna with foil before cooking. There was quite a little pool of water in the end and I think this protection is important. The only other thing I would do next time is let the lasagna sit a little while longer after broil and release onto the plate. When I went to cut into it, the first slice fell apart.
Alissa
It would help if you actually told us what pressure to cook the lasagna at rather than just the time. Pressure will greatly impact how long to cook it. It’s like giving us an oven recipe and not the temperature... thanks
Sandy
Okay, no problem. Back when I first made this recipe it was understood that the recipes were all High pressure unless otherwise stated. That still stands, but there are many more people in the game now. Also, please feel free to ask if you are uncertain about one of my recipes. I will happily answer your question. Your comment comes off as you being mad and not sincerely asking a question.
Connie
GREAT recipe! We all love it! Five stars!
Donnie
I have made this recipe a couple of times. The first time I would have probably given it 4 stars. It was good, but not great. The first time I made it to the recipe exact although I think I missed the press down on the noodle steps for the intermediate layers. It just didn't stick together like you want a lasagna to do, so I assume that step is crucially important for that. This time, all I had was cream cheese instead of ricotta or cottage cheese and some google searches made me believe it would work. Not only did it work, but I think it made it taste considerably better. I also just used beef this time which I thought would make it less interesting but I think the extra fat from the cream cheese (even though I used the 1/3 less fat kind) made up for it and it was outstanding. While I liked it the first time, I just thought it would be an occasional dish we might make. After this time, it will be more of a part of the rotation.
Teresa
My husband is still saying how delicious the lasagna was last night! I doubled made a 2nd one after 1st was done in case not enough with my boys who never stop eating. Yet 1 ended up being plenty so having for dinner tonight. Any advise on how long to reheat on steam? I won't be making lasagna and baking it again. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Sandy
If it was just in the fridge, I'd steam it for 12 minutes. I am giving you an educated guess as we never have leftovers, either!