Instant Pot Lasagna

Instant Pot Lasagna is made with all the delicious classic flavors of traditional lasagna. Made with layers of hearty meat sauce, creamy ricotta filling, gooey cheese, and tender pasta, this Lasagna recipe comes together much faster and without the need of heating up the oven!

Serve Instant Pot Lasagna with a Greek salad and garlic bread for delicious, easy Italian comfort food. 

When I was growing up, Lasagna was always reserved for weekends or special occasions. I can remember many family gatherings with huge trays of Italian Lasagna, baskets of garlic bread, and huge bowls of salad.

While the Lasagna I grew up eating as a child took hours to make, I have updated my family's traditional lasagna recipe and adapted it for the pressure cooker. Making this Instant Pot Lasagna perfect to serve anytime--even on busy weeknights.

From the thick creamy ricotta cheese filling to the sauteed sausage and onions, to the rich marinara sauce to the layers of cheese, this Instant Pot Lasagna recipe is a keeper.

Key Ingredients

• Meat: Ground beef, pork, or Italian sausage are all great options for this Lasagna recipe. Of course, you can omit the meat for vegetarian lasagna. 
• Noodles: I have had the best luck with oven-ready noodles, however, I have had many readers tell me traditional noodles work without boiling the noodles first. 
• Sauce: I use my homemade tomato sauce, but any quality jarred marinara or pasta sauce will work for this Lasagna recipe.
• Cheese: Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Ricotta cheese are used to give this lasagna it's rich, creamy flavor. You can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta cheese if desired. It is best to let your cottage cheese strain over a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth for a few hours before using the filling. This will help the cottage cheese have less liquid, making your lasagna's layers stay intact better. 
• Lasagna Pan: While not an ingredient, you will need the right size pan to prepare lasagna in the Instant Pot. I suggest using a 7 inch by 3 inch Spring Form Pan or 7 by 3-inch oven-safe cake pan.

How To Make Instant Pot Lasagna

Step One: Saute Meat

If you are using ground beef or ground sausage for this recipe, start by sauteeing the meat right in the Instant Pot to save yourself some extra dishes. If you are not adding meat, skip this step. 

• Turn the Instant Pot to Saute and let heat until hot.
• Add in ground beef or ground sausage, seasonings, and diced onion.
• Once the meat is browned, remove from the pressure cooker using a slotted spoon, and then turn the Instant Pot OFF.
• Pour in 1 ½ cups of water into the Instant Pot Inner Pan and scrape up any browned bits of meat with a spoon or spatula and then add in the trivet to the Instant Pot right over the water. Don't skip the step of scraping off the bottom of the inner pot--you don't want to get a burn warning!

Step Two: Prepare Filling

• Mix together the ricotta cheese with an egg, seasonings, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Step Three: Assemble Lasagna

• Start with a thin layer of marinara sauce.
• Break up the lasagna noodles to fit to cover the bottom of the baking pan.
• Top with half the ricotta cheese mixture. 
• Sprinkle with half the meat and onion mixture.
• Cover the meat mixture with marinara sauce.
• Add another layer of lasagna noodles, breaking to fit in a single layer over the marinara sauce.
• Repeat the layers, adding a final layer of lasagna noodles, breaking to fit again.
• Top with a generous layer of tomato sauce and sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella Cheese.

Step Four: Pressure Cook

• Place the lasagna on the trivet and set to high pressure for 22 minutes.
• Let the pressure release for 10 minutes and then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.

Step Five: Broil (Optional) 

• If you would prefer a browned top to your lasagna, you can easily broil to achieve that golden crust that is not possible to achieve when baking in the Instant Pot by broiling the cooked lasagna for 3-6 minutes under the broiler, watching carefully, as to not burn.
• Just like traditional lasagna, it is best to let the lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Preparing in Advance

• Assemble and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before pressure cooking (I would recommend using a 7-inch cake pan versus a springform pan to prevent leaks.)
• Prepare the lasagna and pressure cook as directed. Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap, and then refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat in the Instant Pot, remove the plastic wrap and cover with foil. Pour in 2 cups of water into the inner pot of the instant pot and place the trivet in the inner pot. Place the lasagna on the trivet and then cook for 8 minutes on high pressure to warm through. 
• Or you can reheat the pre-cooked lasagna by placing it in a 400-degree oven for 15-20 minutes to warm through. 

Recipes Tips and Modifications

• If you are worried about condensation forming on the top of your lasagna, loosely cover with foil. This will prevent any condensation from forming on the cheese layer. If you skip that step, just lightly dab off any moisture that occurs and then broil to perfection!
• Readers have let me know that regular noodles work as well--I have not experimented with them yet.
• If you want an extra cheesy lasagna, add up to 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese to the ricotta/cottage cheese filling.
• If you would like to add vegetables to this lasagna, be sure to saute them well to remove excess moisture before layering the lasagna.  
• I have used pepperoni instead of the Italian sausage and it adds a great kick of flavor and omits the step of needing to saute the sausage first. 
• Store leftover lasagna, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Alternatively, wrap individual slices of the lasagna in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then unwrap the foil and plastic wrap. Heat in the microwave or oven to warm through. 

More Instant Pot Family Favorites

• Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
• Instant Pot Mexican Lasagna
• Instant Pot Orange Chicken
• Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
• Instant Pot Spaghetti

If you tried this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and a review below. I love to hear from you!

Instant Pot Lasagna

Made with layers of hearty meat sauce, creamy ricotta filling, gooey cheese, and tender pasta, this Instant Pot Lasagna recipe comes together much faster and without the need of heating up the oven!

4.69 from 38 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Pressure: 15 minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 442kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

• ▢ 6-8 oven-ready lasagna noodles
• ▢ ½ pound ground beef
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning divided
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ onion chopped
• ▢ 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese freshly grated
• ▢ 3 cups Marinara Sauce
• ▢ 2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese divided

Instructions

• Turn the Instant Pot to Saute and let heat for a couple of minutes.
• Add a tiny bit of olive oil and either ground beef or ground sausage. Begin to brown and break up meat into smaller bites. 
• Add in kosher salt, 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, minced garlic, and diced onion. Saute for 3-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. 
• Once meat is browned, remove from pressure cooker using a slotted spoon. Turn Instant Pot off.
• Pour in 1 ½ cups of water into the Instant Pot Inner Pan and Scrape up any browned bits of meat with a spoon or spatula.
• Add in trivet to the Instant Pot right over the water.
• Mix together the ricotta cheese with an egg, 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and grated Parmesan cheese.
• In a 7 by 3-inch springform pan or 7 by 3-inch oven-safe cake pan, layer the ingredients for the lasagna. Start with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Break up oven-ready lasagna noodles to fit to cover the bottom of the baking pan. Top with half the ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle with half the meat and onion mixture. Cover the meat mixture with marinara sauce and then sprinkle with light layer of mozzarella cheese. Add another layer of lasagna noodles, breaking to fit in a single layer over the marinara sauce. Top with remaining ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle with remaining meat mixture. Top with another layer of marinara sauce and then sprinkle with a light layer of mozzarella cheese. Add the final layer of lasagna noodles, breaking to fit again. Top with a generous layer or tomato sauce. Sprinkle generously with shredded Mozzarella Cheese.
• Place the lasagna pan on a tin foil “sling” to help lower and lift lasagna out of Instant Pot and then place the lasagna on the trivet inside the pressure cooker.
• Place lid on pressure cooker and turn vent knob to “seal.”
• Set to high pressure for 22 minutes.
• Let the pressure release for 10 minutes and then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.
• If you would prefer a browned top to your lasagna, remove lasagna from the Instant Pot and place on a cookie sheet. Place lasagna under broiler for 3-6 minutes, watching carefully, as to not burn.
• Let lasagna sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

Equipment Needed

• Electric Pressure Cooker (6 or 8 quart)
• 7 inch springform pan

Notes

• I use my homemade tomato sauce, but any quality jarred marinara or pasta sauce will work for this Lasagna recipe.
• Ground beef, pork, or Italian sausage are all great options for this Lasagna recipe.
• If you would prefer a Meatless Instant Pot Lasagna, just omit the meat.
• If you are worried about condensation forming on the top of your lasagna, loosely cover with foil and add 5 minutes to cook time. This will prevent any condensation from forming on the cheese layer. If you skip that step, just lightly dab off any moisture that occurs and then broil to perfection!

To Prepare in Advance: 

• Assemble and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before pressure cooking (I would recommend using a 7-inch cake pan versus a springform pan to prevent leaks.)
• Prepare and pressure cook as directed. Allow to cool and then refrigerate for up to 2 days before reheating in the pressure cooker over 2 cups of water with a trivet for 8 minutes to warm through.
• Or you can reheat the pre-cooked lasagna by placing it in a 400-degree oven for 15-20 minutes to warm through. 

Nutrition

Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 1279mg | Potassium: 630mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 880IU | Vitamin C: 9.4mg | Calcium: 423mg | Iron: 2.9mg

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