For my spouse with celiac, lasagna was something they hadn’t had in years. Gluten free lasagna is hard to find, and often not very good, so I decided to figure out how to make lasagna myself.
I’d never made lasagna before, and trying to figure out boil versus no boil noodles, with a gluten free twist, took a lot of research. I highly recommend Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagna. When I served this at a party, everyone said they didn’t even realize it was gluten free. Success!
This recipe does take time to prepare, but it will give you so much food that it’s totally worth it. When I first started making this, it took me about an hour to prep, but now I’m down to 40 minutes.
I have a casserole crock pot that I use for this, but you can make it in a regular slow cooker as well.
The first thing you’ll want to do is take 1/2-1 cup of sauce and cover the bottom of the crock pot.
Next, cook your ground meat in a large pan. Be sure to break it up into crumbles. If you’re using ground beef, drain off any excess fat. We prefer ground chicken (which you can make at home for cheap!) for a lighter flavor. Once the meat is cooked through, add basil, oregano, and salt and cook for 30 seconds. Pour the remaining sauce into the pan and let it heat through on low.
Assembly
Once your meat sauce is cooked, you are ready to assemble your lasagna. Your layers will be noodles, then meat sauce, then cheese. The key is to make your layers as flat as possible.
Place lasagna noodles in the pattern shown. Use three whole noodles, and break up another noodle to fill in the empty space. Try to fill as much space as you can.
Next, spread one third of the meat sauce in an even layer across the noodles.
Finally, sprinkle one third of your shredded mozzarella and parmesan on top of the sauce. Plop small dollops of ricotta all over.
In order to keep the entire lasagna flat, place the whole noodles in the opposite corner from the first layer (bottom right instead of top left).
Continue until you’ve completed all 3 layers. The third noodle layer should be back on the top left.
Once you’ve got the entire lasagna assembled, gently pour in water around the edges until it reaches the top of the lasagna. This water will cook the pasta. You will need at least 1 cup, but you may need 2 or more to reach the top if you have a lot of empty space.
Cooking and Finishing Steps
Cook on high for 3 hours. Test the noodle on top to see if it’s cooked, and cook longer if needed. Once your lasagna is cooked, turn off the heat and let it rest for about 45 minutes. This will make it much easier to cut.
I cut my lasagna into a 4×3 grid for twelve pieces, which gives us dinner and some lunch for days when it’s just the two of us.
Slow Cooker Gluten Free Lasagna
Equipment
- Casserole Crock Pot (3.5 qt)
- Large saucepan/skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat beef, chicken, etc
- 1 box Tinkyada Gluten Free Brown Rice Lasagna 10 oz
- 2 jars marinara sauce 24 oz each
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6 oz shredded parmesan cheese
- 10 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2-4 cups water
Instructions
- Cover the bottom of the crock pot with sauce (about 1/2 – 1 cup).
- In a large saucepan, brown meat and break up into small crumbles. Drain excess fat.
- Add basil, oregano, and salt and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add remaining sauce to meat and stir. Allow it to heat through.
- Divide meat sauce into thirds.
- Create your lasagna layers in the crockpot: noodles; meat sauce; cheese: sprinkle shredded cheese and top with dollops of ricotta. Create 3 layers, as flat as possible. See photos above.
- Pour in water (at least 1-2 cups) around the edges until it comes up to the top layer.
- Cook on high for 3 hours.
- Turn off heat and let it rest for 45 minutes before slicing.
This recipe was inspired by Dinner then Dessert.
Can you cook this lasagna in the crockpot on low 4-6 hours instead of on high?
Hi Christy! I’ve never done it on low, so you’ll want to cook it until the water seems mostly absorbed and the pasta is tender. Cooking time can vary by which model of crockpot you have so you’ll have to experiment.