Instant Pot Cheater Lasagna–if you love the flavors of lasagna but don’t like the effort it takes this recipe is for you! You can make this Instant Pot lasagna pasta recipe with 6 ingredients and in just a few minutes.
Instant Pot Cheater Lasagna
I love this recipe! We all scarfed it down it like 2 seconds flat. Mostly I love how easy it is to put together and how few ingredients you need to make it.
I love lasagna but sometimes all the layers get tedious to put together. This is a great solution to a lasagna-type dinner without all the work. These are my favorite dinners…fast, easy and delicious!
A few notes about ingredients…
Sausage: I used ground Italian sausage. I always buy the mild kind. I like Italian sausage for this recipe because it has all the flavors for lasagna in it. If you wanted to use an unseasoned ground beef or ground turkey you could. However you will need to add salt and pepper and perhaps some Italian seasoning to the meat as you brown it.
Pasta: Lately I’ve been buying my pastas from the bulk section of Winco. I decided to try a cute skinny curly pasta that was labelled as Fusilli. You can use many types of pasta with this recipe with great results. To find out how many minutes to pressure cook the pasta just take the suggested boiling time that is on the box, divide by two and subtract 1 minute.
More recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
Instant Pot Italian Sausage Tortellini
Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Cheater Lasagna I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Cheater Lasagna
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
If you love the flavors of lasagna but don’t like the effort it takes this recipe is for you! You can make this Instant Pot lasagna pasta recipe with 6 ingredients and in just a few minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage (mild or hot)
- 12 ounces pasta (I used a small fusilli pasta but you can also use bowties, rigatoni, penne, macaroni, cavatappi etc.)
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 (28 ounce) can or jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the Italian sausage. Break it up (this is the tool I use*) and brown the sausage. Drain off any excess grease.
- Dump the pasta into an even layer in the Instant Pot. Cover the pasta as best as possible with the broth. Dump the spaghetti sauce evenly over the top of the pasta. Don’t stir.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button for 4 minutes (4 minutes will work for most pastas–mine was super skinny and small so I set it for 3 minutes. Usually I take the suggested boiling time that is on the box, divide by two and subtract 1 to determine how long to cook for in the Instant Pot).
- When the time is up move the valve to venting. If foam starts escaping then move the valve back to sealing and wait 20 seconds and then try again. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the cottage cheese and the mozzarella. Scoop onto plates and serve. If desired, sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
To make gluten free: Double check your broth to be sure it does not contain gluten. Substitute noodles for GF noodles and decrease cook time by 1 minute.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
If you’re vegetarian, could you omit sausage and put pasta on bottom? Or do you need a layer of maybe sauteed onions underneath to prevent Burn notice?
The sauteed onions are a good idea. I haven’t gotten the burn notice myself but I know others struggle with that.
This was wonderful, it was my first dish in my instapot and I didn’t have any problems! My family loved it, thank you!
★★★★★
Good for you!!!! Here’s to many more IP meals.
Can I use chicken broth instead of beef broth?
yes
Could I use oven ready lasagna noodles? Would I need to not add the broth?
I bet you could use those. You’ll still need broth. Maybe not as much. You also might want to cut the cooking time down by a minute. Will you be breaking the lasagna noodles in pieces?
Just took IP out of box. This is the first google hit for easy IP recipes so here goes. Just to be clear: The sausage I have to cook prior in a skillet and then put in the IP cooked? But the noodles go in the IP uncooked?
Hi Sarah, I am glad you found this site. You actually brown the sausage in the Instant Pot using the saute setting. The noodles do go in the pot uncooked.
If I use a full pound of pasta what would I change?
I would use 3 1/4 cups of beef broth instead of 2 cups.
Excellent! To reduce the sodium somewhat, used less sausage and a lower sodium beef broth. Also added fresh mushrooms and fresh spinach (placed on top of the pasta and beef broth). Used campanelle pasta which more closely resembles lasagna noodles. Also used homemade marinara sauce. Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
GREAT ideas! Can’t wait to try it your way Sharon.
I made this tonight for the first time. It is so easy and quick. You are right, it tastes like lasagna. I’m going to make this a lot now.
Thanks Karen for ask the terrific recipes. I’m telling everyone to go to your website.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Susan!
This was incredible. However, my husband doesn’t like ricotta, so I substituted cream cheese. It turned out sooo good! This will be a keeper for us! Thank you!
Good idea! I love cream cheese.
Our family has fallen in love with this recipe! My daughter says this is the best lasagna she has ever eaten( don’t tell her papa or grandma 😉). She is a part of the “clean plate” club every time I’ve made it! It’s so easy to make, especially after a long day at work! I’ve probably made it at least 5 times now and each time it gets better and better!
★★★★★
This is so nice to hear! Thanks for sharing!
I just finished eating this delicious recipe for dinner. I used a pound of pasta so I added a little extra broth to compensate. Cooked it for 4 minutes and came out great!!
This one will be prepared often at our home!!!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!
Can I half this recipe in my 3quart IP? I’m using brown rice pasta, how much broth do you recommend?
You can halve it. However I would be worried about the brown rice pasta. you may need to decrease the cooking time or it may get mushy.
The brown rice pasta I use typically takes 14 minutes to cook on the stove top. According to your recommendation that would suggest i cook it for 6 minutes? Do you suggest less? Thank you!!
I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not sure but that is what I would try!
This was really tasty, but a few of my noodles were still crunchy. I made sure the noodles were completely covered by the spaghetti sauce when I put everything in. Do I need more liquid? More cooking time? I did 4 minutes with fusilli pasta. Thanks!
you could try a little more liquid, that may help
This was terrific! In case my changes could benefit someone else, I used 16 oz. gluten free pasta (brown rice penne from Trader Joe’s), 3 cups broth, 3 oz. fresh spinach (could easily double) and 8 oz. mushrooms (sliced) (on top of the pasta and before the sauce) and it turned out great. I set the IP to 6 minutes, which was tooooo long; I will try 4 minutes next time. I think your formula to calculate time is spot on and I have no idea why I didn’t use your instructions. Thank you so much for such a yummy recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for this veggie option!
I have an 8QT. iP think I can safely double this? And would you double all the ingredients?
Yes double everything and keep the time the same.
I haven’t made any of your recipes. I’m just learning my Power Pressure Cooker, after 2 years of having it. I like your site because it is teaching me so much. I’ve learned a lot here. Please continue!!
Will do!
Entire family LOVED this!! Added a layer of frozen peas on top of noodles, also added some garlic, basil, and ground fennel. I was using an 8 quart IP—cooked for 6 minutes to compensate for peas. ABSOLUTELY a keeper!
★★★★★
NICE!!! sounds great 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!! Super easy, fast and delicious!!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Robin!!
Do you happen to have the slow cooker version of this recipe or something similar?
Sorry that I do not. I wish the slow cooker was better with pasta but it turns out weird and mushy.
Would I need to change any amounts if I’m using the 8 quart?
keep everything the same, except put 2 cups of water in the bottom of the pot so that it can come to pressure.
Put the two cups of water after I sauté the meat? Sorry, this will be my first time!
Sorry one more question! Two cups of water in addition to the two cups of beef broth?
oh sorry Jami! I was thinking of a different recipe when I commented back. Sometimes that happens to me late at night. You can keep everything the same for this recipe in the 8 quart pot. It should work great.
Do you think this would work with broke up lasagna noodles, or would a tubular noodle be better?
both would work. I would prefer a tubular noodle.
I am new to this. Do I leave the sausage in the pot and add the pasta on top of it? Thanks.
yep!
This was the question I was looking for. It doesn’t state it in the recipe. Thanks! Trying tonight!
This recipe arrived at the perfect time! Yesterday was a super busy day and I had no dinner plan. I used ziti pasta and we really liked the size and texture. I also added some oregano, basil, onion powder and garlic powder during the pressure cooking cycle. This meal was SO good! My husband loves lasagna but I hate making it, and this was a perfect substitution. It will definitely go into the regular rotation 🙂
Thanks for all of your great recipes!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Susan!!! We loved it too 🙂
Can I use this same recipe (amounts etc) in a 3qt Instapot?
yes I believe that will work. I think you’ll need to increase cooking time by one minute.