No Time To Make A Regular Lasagna? Break Out The Skillet
Lasagna is one of those classic dishes that's loved by all for many different reasons. It makes for the ultimate comfort meal, it provides a large quantity of food in one go, and that medley of warm, cheesy, meaty pasta is quite frankly irresistible. But let's be honest: Lasagna requires some time and effort to make it happen.
To make a good lasagna, there are typically several steps involved. Sure, you can cut corners here and there, but ultimately you'll need to par-boil the noodles, prepare whichever meats or veggies you're using, make a sauce, assemble everything, and bake it for a lengthy amount of time. It's always worth the effort, but it's no fast feat.
If you're craving this delicious dish, entertaining guests, or want that cheesy, savory goodness that you love about lasagna — but you simply don't have the time to make one — there's a quicker, easier way that can be just as tasty. Enter: skillet lasagna. Let's find out exactly what it entails and how to make it, so you can whip up your favorite meal in no time.
How to save the day (and time) with skillet lasagna
Skillet lasagna is essentially a deconstructed version of the classic dish – it uses many of the same ingredients and flavors, but takes considerably less time and only requires a stovetop for quick cooking. One skillet, no oven, no layering or assembling. And you don't even need to boil the noodles first. The whole dish can be completed in under 30 minutes for a quick, flavorful, crowd-pleasing dinner.
There are lots of recipes for skillet lasagna out there, so you can find the right one for you based on which ingredients you prefer. But the method to make the dish will essentially be the same. You'd start by making your sauce in the skillet with basic ingredients like onion, garlic, seasonings, and your meat of choice. When you add tomato sauce, the key is to make sure there's enough liquid to cook the noodles and bring everything together.
From there, you'd just break apart your lasagna noodles and add them right into the skillet. Put the lid on to let them cook and soften as they simmer in the sauce, giving them a mix occasionally to make sure they don't stick to one another. Once the noodles are cooked, you can mix in whatever cheese you like — parmesan, pecorino romano, mozzarella, ricotta, or all of the above. Top it off with some fresh herbs and your skillet lasagna is good to go.
Ways to mix up your lasagna
The beauty of lasagna is that it doesn't just have to be composed of meat, tomato sauce, and cheese. If you're already deconstructing the dish and crafting a new version of the classic in a skillet, why not keep the creativity coming and mix it up with different ingredients?
For starters, you could try subbing in cottage cheese for all or some of the ricotta cheese you'd typically use in a lasagna recipe — this will lighten up the dish and make it a bit healthier in the process. And if you want to include more servings of veggies in your meal, you can easily add in things like spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, or butternut squash.
Want more protein? Throw in some lentils or chickpeas. Don't like tomato sauce? Try it with a pesto or cream sauce instead. You can do so much to switch up your lasagna and add new flavors to the dish, all in one skillet.