30-Minute Skillet Lasagna

Name: 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes; Water; 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 5 cloves garlic (minced); 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 pound ground beef; Garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper; 5 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian herbs (such as basil, oregano, thyme, &/or parsley (DIVIDED)); 8 ounces bow-tie pasta (farfalle); 1 cup shredded mozzarella; 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; 1 cup ricotta cheese

Aug 17, 2014 · 111 Comments

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This quick, easy, and yummy 30-minute Skillet Lasagna recipe comes together in just one pan with bowtie pasta, ground beef, tomatoes, and three kinds of cheese!

Well, the school year grind has officially begun. No more sleeping past the crack of dawn. No more leisurely, schedule-free days. Over and done is making lunches at, you know, lunchtime. And no more waiting until five minutes before 5:00 p.m. to start thinking about dinner. Because the cold hard truth is that if I don’t have an organized meal plan during the school year, odds are higher than average that I’ll be serving last-minute frozen pizza for supper.

For me, however, meal planning is not a set-in-stone process. Rather, when I’m composing my grocery list, I write down a selection of dinners that I’d like to make over the next couple of weeks and buy the ingredients accordingly. But I’m not all, “We’re going to have meatloaf on Monday, and tacos on Tuesday…” because at the last minute, Monday might end up being a day that we have lots of leftovers from the weekend to eat up, and our schedule on Tuesday might require a crock pot meal.

Instead, I make a loose plan to cook something like this 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna one upcoming evening when I have — you guessed it! — around 30 minutes to prep dinner. And boy is my family excited when that golden opportunity comes along!

So if you’ve never made it, Skillet Lasagna boasts all of the flavor and cheesy goodness of regular lasagna without all of the layering and the lengthy baking time. Instead, you combine the ingredients in a skillet and quickly cook them using a method that can only be described as Hamburger Helper-esque. The difference is that there are no artificial ingredients here! Just ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs and spices, pasta, and plenty of cheese (mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan). Now tell me…who could argue with that?!

Not only is this stovetop lasagna a perfect meal for busy weeknights, but it’s so tasty (and yummy-looking) that you could happily serve it to dinner guests. It also makes a great, quick and easy, yet universally appealing meal to deliver to a friend, neighbor, or family member.

Now before we get to the recipe, I have to be totally honest about something. It might take you slightly longer than 30 minutes to make this lasagna from start to finish. But 37 1/2-Minute Skillet Lasagna doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it? So if you like to hand grate your cheese and prefer your pasta on the tender side rather than al dente, it is totally acceptable to go a bit over the half-hour mark. Even if you do, I think you’ll find that this recipe is still quick, still easy, and still sooooo worth the minimal effort for maximum deliciousness!

So what type of meals do you rely on when life and schedules get crazy? If I’m not utilizing my slow cooker during the week, whatever I’m making for dinner pretty much needs to take 30 minutes or less. As a result, this yummy Skillet Lasagna is often-requested at our house…and I’m always happy to oblige, because not only is it effortless to make, but I’m quite adept at scarfing it down myself. 😉

Skillet Lasagna Video

Skillet Lasagna Recipe