Instant Pot Lasagna
Instant Pot Lasagna is so easy to make! Simple ingredients come together to make a comforting, from scratch lasagna. The lasagna cooks right in the Instant Pot inner pot so no springform pan or special pan is needed. This is the best way to make lasagna on a weeknight!
Lasagna is one of my favorite comfort foods, but I don’t always have time to make my favorite classic Lasagna Recipe. With this easy Instant Pot lasagna, you can make homemade lasagna faster than ever. And you’ll only have one pot to wash at the end!
Instant Pot recipes are often my go-to when I need to get dinner on the table on a busy night. My family loves Instant Pot Spaghetti, so I knew this Instant Pot lasagna would also be a hit at the dinner table. I was right! We enjoy this Instant Pot lasagna served with garlic bread and an Italian salad. It’s a meal you’ll look forward to!
Instant Pot Lasagna Ingredients
This recipe calls for simple ingredients that you can keep on hand in your kitchen. Cooking everything together in the pressure cooker makes the lasagna so flavorful!
- Olive Oil: For sautéing the onion.
- Onion & Garlic: A good lasagna starts with fresh onion and garlic for the best flavor.
- Ground Beef or Ground Turkey: I’ve made this with ground beef and with ground turkey and it’s delicious both ways. If using ground beef, I recommend using lean beef so that the lasagna isn’t too greasy.
- Italian Seasoning, Salt & Pepper: These are important for flavor.
- Water: You need to add water for the noodles to absorb as they cook. I tested this recipe many times until I found just the right amount of water required.
- Lasagna Noodles: Use regular lasagna noodles, not no boil noodles.
- Marinara Sauce: To save time, I usually use store-bought rather than homemade marinara sauce in this recipe. Use a good quality marinara sauce that you enjoy the flavor of. The flavor of the sauce greatly impacts the flavor of the finished dish.
- Mozzarella Cheese: I recommend buying a block of mozzarella cheese and grating it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated in an anti-caking agent that keeps it from melting smoothly. Do not use fresh mozzarella.
- Parmesan Cheese & Fresh Parsley: These are optional, for serving. They add another layer of flavor to this Instant Pot lasagna.
How to Make Instant Pot Lasagna
Here’s an overview of the steps to making this recipe. You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions below.
If you’re new to Instant Pot cooking, many readers have found my guide on How to Use an Instant Pot helpful.
- Sauté the onion in olive oil, using the Instant Pot’s sauté function.
- Brown the ground beef. Then drain off any excess grease.
- Cook the garlic for 30 seconds. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Remove 2/3 of the meat mixture to a clean bowl. You’ll use the reserved meat when layering the lasagna.
- Pour the water in the pot and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. This is important for preventing the Instant Pot burn message.
- Layer with layers of noodles, meat, sauce, and cheese. You will have to break the lasagna noodles in half to fit them in the pot. Arrange each layer of noodles in the opposite direction of the layer below to prevent the noodles from sticking together. If you’re concerned about adding cheese before pressure cooking, it has always worked for me in this recipe. Often it’s best to not put dairy in the Instant Pot before pressure cooking, but in this case we are using a small amount and it works.
- The top layer will be just noodles and sauce. You’ll reserve some of the mozzarella in the refrigerator to sprinkle on after cooking.
- Pressure cook Instant Pot lasagna for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- Do a controlled quick release of the pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position a little at a time until all of the steam escapes.
- When you first open the Instant Pot, the lasagna may look watery. Most of the liquid will be absorbed as the lasagna rests, but a little bit of extra liquid may remain. The recipe needs enough water to allow the pot to come to pressure and to prevent a burn warning. The lasagna is delicious even if there is a little extra liquid in the pot.
- Sprinkle on the reserved mozzarella and let the lasagna rest, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use gluten free noodles? I have not tested this recipe with gluten free noodles, but readers have had success making my Instant Pot Pasta recipe with gluten free noodles. If you try gluten free noodles in this lasagna, leave a comment below to let us know how it worked.
Can I add ricotta cheese? It is tricky to add ricotta cheese to Instant Pot lasagna when you are cooking the lasagna right in the inner pot with water (and not assembling the lasagna in a special smaller pan that will then sit in the Instant Pot). With this recipe, the best way to add ricotta cheese is to add a spoonful on top or on the side when serving the lasagna.
Can I add sausage? Yes! You can add 1/2 pound of sausage as well as the ground beef. If you want to use sausage instead of ground beef use a full pound. Remove the sausage from the casings and cook it with the ground beef, crumbling it as it cooks.
Can I double this recipe? I do not recommend doubling this recipe. If you want to make a larger lasagna, try my oven baked lasagna, which serves 12.
Can I make this in a 3 quart Instant Pot? If you want to try making this in a 3 quart pot, half all of the ingredients in the recipe, including the water. Keep the cook time the same.
Can I make this in an 8 quart Instant Pot? Yes! I have tested this recipe in both my 8 quart and 6 quart pots and it works well in both. No modifications needed.
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot Taco Pasta
- Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Chicken and Mushrooms
Instant Pot Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 pound lean ground beef, or ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups water
- 8 lasagna noodles, not no boil
- 25 ounce jar marinara sauce*
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese*
- grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, if desired, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot using the saute function. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes until softened.
- Add the ground beef (or ground turkey) to the Instant Pot and cook, crumbling, until browned. Drain off any excess grease.
- Add the garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Add the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pot and stir to combine.
- Remove 2/3 of the meat mixture to a clean bowl, leaving the rest in the pot.
- Pour the water into the pot and stir, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Layer the lasagna: Break 2 of the lasagna noodles in half and lay the 4 halves on top of the water and meat in the bottom of the pot. Put 1/3 of the reserved meat on top of the noodles, followed by 2/3 cup of the marinara sauce and 1/3 cup of the shredded mozzarella.
- For the second layer, break 2 more lasagna noodles in half and lay the 4 noodle halves in the opposite direction as the layer below. Top with half of the remaining meat, 2/3 cup sauce and 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
- Make another layer with 4 noodle halves (arranged in the opposite direction as the previous layer), the remaining meat, 2/3 cup sauce and 1/3 cup cheese.
- For the top layer, arrange the remaining 4 noodle halves and cover with the remaining marinara sauce.
- Reserve the remaining shredded mozzarella in the refrigerator while the lasagna cooks.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to the sealing position. Set the cook time to 10 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take about 15 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down. When the cook time ends, do a controlled quick release of the pressure by slowly turning the steam release valve to the venting position, a little bit at a time, using the handle of a long spoon.
- Once all of the steam has been released and the pin drops down, carefully open the Instant Pot lid. The lasagna may look somewhat watery and this is ok. Most of the liquid will be absorbed as the lasagna rests. Sprinkle the reserved mozzarella cheese over the top of the lasagna. Let lasagna rest in the Instant Pot, with the lid off, for 5-10 minutes before serving. (A 10 minute rest is best, if you can wait.)
- Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Use a good-quality marinara sauce that you enjoy the flavor of. The flavor of the sauce will greatly impact the flavor of the finished dish.
- I highly recommend that you shred your own cheese instead of using pre-shredded cheese. Store-bought pre-shredded cheese is often coating with an anti-caking agent and does not melt as smoothly.
- This recipe can be made in either a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot.
- I do not recommend doubling this recipe. If you want to make a larger lasagna, try my oven baked lasagna, which serves 12.
I loved it .. thanks for sharing!
I made this subbing red lentil pasta, turkey burger & manchego cheese. I only had tomato sauce on hand. It’s AWESOME !!! Cooked up perfectly. I took a sample bite than ended up eating a bowl for breakfast LOL. It’s that good !!!
My noodles didn’t cook all the way….otherwise, it was delicious. Any suggestions?
You could add a few minutes to the cook time next time, or if you let the cooked lasagna sit in the pot with the lid on for 5-10 minutes after cooking that can help soften the noodles further too.
This is an awesome way to make lasagna! It is so good! It’s a must try for your family and very easy with great directions! Thanks Kristine!
I have made this recipe many times and I love it. Easy to make and clean up and super tasty!
Nice recipe, thank you! I opted to add in the ricotta as the last layer before the top. Had trouble with the BURN notice so next time I will sauté in a pan and then transfer to dish. Because of the burn notice, I switched to the slow cooker function on high for 2 hrs and that worked well.
Good flavor but my lasagna pasta came out too chewy. What to do next time to avoid this?
It may need a little more cook time. I’d try adding 2 minutes to the cook time next time OR let the pot naturally release for about 5 minutes before quick releasing the rest of the pressure.
Thank you for sharing! This looks great for the instapot. And I cooking it this minute. So far I have done as instructed and the pot is set for the 10 minute if pressuring. I am getting a burn notice. Should I do something different or let it cook as directed?
Hi Toni,
I’m sorry to hear that, I know it is frustrating. My post about the Instant Pot burn message may help. Good luck!
Kristine