
Soooo, apparently Henry learned a new trick last week.
I had been out all afternoon running a handful of errands, and came home to regroup and cook some tacos for dinner. But when I walked in the door, lo and behold, the pile of groceries that I had left on the dining room table were no longer in a pile. Instead, my table runner and candles were all shoved to the side of the table, five brand-new packages of dry beans were torn open and scattered like a zillionย pieces of confettiย allย over the table (and surrounding floor), a bite had been taken out (and then apparently promptly spit out) of a fresh jalapeรฑo, fourย half-eaten tortillas remained (out of a bag of sixteen), and aย very fullย little pup was sitting under the table looking up at me with those guilty eyes I know so well.
Oh, Henry. ?
In the eight years that he and I have lived together, he’s never onceย tried to climb up on the table! But apparently, an old dogย canย learn a few new tricks, especially if he’sย got a craving for some black bean tacos. (Just kidding, I’m pretty sure he passed overย those dry beans!)
I’ve now re-arranged the chairs (and nixed the bench) around my dining table to prevent any future four-legged foraging. And Henry is back to his not-as-exciting regular meal plan. But heย did succeed in forcing a rain check on taco night last week until I could buy more tortillas at the store. So instead, I decided to pivot toย a meal that would have made Odie’s best friendย very proud.
Lasagna!
Specifically, this easy Skillet Veggie Lasagna.
Because let’s be real — as much as I loveย eating lasagna, I’ve never been a big fan ofย making it. Specifically, making all of those layers upon layers of ingredients. Every now and then I’ll go to the effort. Butย 9 times out of 10, I take my favorite shortcut and just “skill-et!” (You know, cook it in a skillet!) ?
With skillet lasagna, you can still have all of those delicious lasagna ingredients/flavors you love. (Even down to that golden, melted cheese on top!) But instead of layering everything up in a pan and baking it, you just cook the lasagna noodles right in your sauce and cheese mixture until they’re ready to go, and then top it off with a quick broil in the oven to get that final layer of cheese nice and golden. So easy! Andย so good.
I decided to go with a veggie lasagna last week, in lieu of meat (for this vegetarian fiancรฉ of mine). So I just sautรฉed up a bunch of vegetables…
…added in some tomato sauce and broken-up lasagna noodles, and let them simmer for about 15 or so minutes (gently stirring the noodles occasionally) until the noodles were al dente. Then I tore up a ball of mozzarella cheese (or you could use shredded) and scattered the pieces on top…popped the pan under the broiler until it was melted and slightly golden on top (or you could just pop a lid on the skillet and let the steam melt the cheese on the stove)…then sprinkled on some fresh basil and Parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes…
…andย voila! Lasagna in a skillet!!!
And oh my goodness, was itย delicious.
I mean, you can’t really go wrong with lasagna, right?! But I loved all of those extra veggies stirred in there, which I liked to think balanced out the pasta and cheese at least a little bit. And hey — feel free to sub in whatever veggies or greens you happy to have on hand at the moment too! I had a bunch of fresh spinach in the fridge that I meant to add in and totally spaced offย (happening next time!). But eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, kale, butternut squash — or really, most veggies — would be delicious in this too.
Skillet cooking for the win! Hope you all enjoy this one!
Skillet Veggie Lasagna
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
Description
This skillet vegetable lasagna recipe is easy to make on the stovetop, itโs chock-full of delicious veggies, and itโs so delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoonย olive oil
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 whole uncooked lasagna noodles, each broken into 3-4 pieces
- 1 (24-ounce) jar good-quality pasta sauce
- 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoonย crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2ย cup ricotta cheese
- 4 ounces mozzarella ball, torn into piecesย (or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella)
- toppings: shredded fresh basil leaves, grated Parmesan, extra crushed red peppers
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. ย Add onion and sautรฉ for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. ย Add in the carrot, red bell pepper, and zucchini, and sautรฉย for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until theย veggies are tender and the onion is soft and translucent. ย Add in the garlic and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and stir to combine. ย Sautรฉ for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
- Add in theย lasagna noodles on top of the veggies in an even layer. ย Then pour the pasta sauce, crushedย tomatoes, and red pepper flakes evenly on top of them. ย Gently toss the noodles so that they are completely coated in the sauce.
- Continue cooking until the sauce reaches a simmer. ย Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, giving the entire mixtureย a gentle but thorough stirring every few minutes, until the noodles areย al dente.
- Setย your oven to โbroilโ.
- Gently stir in the ricotta cheese until it is mostly combined. ย Then sprinkle the torn (or shredded) mozzarella evenly on top of the lasagna mixture. ย Broil for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and slightly golden on top. ย (Or, if you want to make this 100% on the stovetop, you can also cover your pan with a lid for 4-5 minutes and let the steam melt the cheese.)
- Remove and serve immediately, topped with shredded basil, Parmesan and extra crushed red pepper if desired.











Delicious but the lasagna noodles took an eternity to cook!
Excited to make this tonight! Thanks Ali! ?
I love lasagna this recipe looks delicious I’ve never fixed it in a cast iron skillet before always in the oven I’m going to try this looks amazing thanks for sharing :-)
We hope you enjoy it, Judy!
This was very good – and really filling! I was worried about the pasta not cooking, but it did get soft. I put the lid on the pn for a while and that helped. Thanks for a good recipe!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Vivian!
If I use wheat noodles, how much longer does it need to cook? It’s taking a long time for the wheat noodles to cook. Thanks for your input!
Hi Susan! Hmm, we haven’t tried this with whole wheat noodles but we wouldn’t they’d take that much longer to cook. Please let us know how this turned out for you!
I made this for dinner last night and it was fantastic!! My husband was not super excited when I told him what I was making for dinner, but he went back for thirds so safe to say he loved it too!
We’re so glad to hear that, Serena โย thanks for sharing with us!
I try so hard to make 2 ย meatless meals a week and this looks amazing! Mom/work is tough and I appreciate fast delicious food!!ย
That’s awesome, Bri โ we hope you can give this a try soon and that you and your family enjoy it!
This looks AMAZING! We will definitely give it a try. Thanks for the YUMMY inspiration! :)
Thanks, Alix โ we hope you enjoy it! :)
Haven’t had Lasagna in a while. I will have to try this recipe.
Oh my goodness, HENRY! That story is hilarious! Well… I mean… probably because I didn’t have to clean it up. We only got our girl about 7 months ago so at this point I’m still googling everything that goes into her mouth. But boy, oh boy, all those tortillas? That’s gonna cause a tummy ache for sure. Silly pup. :)