Try this Easy Cheesy One Pot Lasagna recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 medium onion chopped finely
- 3-4 cups water
- 1-2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced finely
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger minced finely (optional)
- 500 grams minced beef (i used low fat)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
- 1 large jar of pasta sauce (640 grams)
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- 12 lasagna sheets (broken into 2 inch pieces)
- 1/2 or 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Carbohydrate 0.26344833316152 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.0476316666393333 g
- Fiber 0.159383333092043 g
- Protein 0.053113333304 g
- Saturated Fat 0.00960333332624 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -8 serving (1g)
- Sodium 387.689666666627 mg
- Sugar 0.104065000069477 g
- Trans Fat 0.00845716666215999 g
- Calories 1 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large pot, heat oil and saute the onions until light golden.
- Add minced ginger & garlic, and the minced beef. Also add the red chili flakes, salt, red chili powder, dried oregano, and dried basil. Cook on medium high heat until the minced beef is nicely browned - about 15-20 mins (I like to brown minced beef really well), basically until you can see the oil separating from the minced beef.
- After the meat has browned, add the pasta sauce, the water, chicken stock cube and lasagna sheets and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Stir occasionally, ever 15 minutes or so, until the pasta is tender and cooked through.
- Add more water if you think the consistency is getting too thick.
- Add cheese and stir until melted. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Limited cookware requires shifting from layered baking dishes to a single broad pot. This method abandons oven preheating entirely, relying on direct thermal transfer to cook broken pasta pieces directly inside a bubbling meat and tomato sauce. Managing liquid volumes carefully prevents scorching at the base of the vessel while starches release into the simmering liquid.
Fresh Versus Preserved Components
Dried herbs like oregano and basil require hot fat exposure to bloom fat-soluble aromatic compounds before liquids enter the pot. Substituting fresh minced garlic and ginger introduces high water content that alters the initial browning phase of the beef. Preserved pasta sauce already contains processed tomatoes with broken-down pectin, meaning it thickens much faster than raw purees. Adjust liquid additions by half a cup if utilizing a thinner commercial marinara base to maintain proper hydration levels for the broken pasta sheets.
Managing Texture and Starch Release
Stirring every 15 minutes prevents the pasta fragments from matting together at the bottom of the pot. Cook the minced beef until distinct oil separation occurs around the 15-minute mark, ensuring deep Maillard reactions develop before any moisture is introduced. Adding mozzarella cheese off direct heat prevents protein coagulation from turning the dairy rubbery. Shredding block cheese yields superior melting performance compared to pre-bagged varieties coated in anti-caking cellulose powders.
