Frying Pan Lasagna

Everyone’s favorite pasta supper gets a whole lot easier with this recipe for frying pan lasagna! For lazy lasagna-lovers (like me!) everywhere….

This recipe for frying pan lasagna is just further proof of 1) my undying love for my cast iron frying pan and 2) my undying search for any way to get out of the complicated production that is involved in making traditional lasagna. This version is chock full of pasta and cheese and beef and yes, a little spinach for good luck. It’s easy and scrumptious and requires only one frying pan and exactly zero struggling with floppy wet lasagna noodles. So if you, like me, are a lover of lazy lasagna recipes, let’s make it!But first, a report from the Coldmageddon fight, which I am overwhelmingly grateful to report I am finally winning. I’m down to just a few intermittent but dramatic coughing spells and a few sneezes here and there. Which is great news for me, and not such great news for this one, who is no longer getting to nap with me on the bed 24/7.

Nope, she’s been relegated back to her own bed, which she is silently protesting by laying mournfully half on the bed and half on the cold hard (not) floor and giving me the Reproving Dog Eyes Look. Note the daintily crossed paws.

Anyway, I’ve perked back up enough to want to make and eat things like this luscious lasagna. You start with your trusty cast iron pan (and if you don’t have one, any deep skillet will do, but I beg you to get a cast iron pan. It will change your life in wonderful ways).

Stir up some ground beef until it is nice and browned (and if you want to make this vegetarian, it’s totally fine to skip this step). Toss in some canned chopped tomatoes and oregano and let that deliciousness simmer for a little bit. While the simmering is going on, stir together some mozzarella, an egg and some ricotta. I love to make my own ricotta (so easy! so good!) but of course the store-bought kind is a-ok. I also use a hunk of fresh mozzarella for this recipe, slicing about 8 pieces off for the top and then chopping the rest of it into small pieces for this ricotta mixture.

Now pour your tomato sauce into a big measuring cup or bowl and start assembling your lasagna. A layer of sauce, a few no-boil lasagna noodles (they work! I promise!), some of the ricotta mixture and a handful of baby spinach leaves. Yes, you can leave the spinach leaves out if that is going to cause lasagna tragedy in your house. You’re welcome.

Repeat all those layers a couple of times, cover the skillet and let it all simmer for about 20 minutes. Now comes the magical part: lay those slices of mozzarella on top of your beautiful lasagna and put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes until everything is melty and perfect.

Take it out, sprinkle it with oregano and fresh ground pepper and let it sit for about five minutes, and then dish it out. I tend to cut it into pie shaped wedges and scoop it out that way, because since I am breaking all known lasagna rules anyway, who cares.

And there you have it. Frying pan lasagna. For lazy lasagna lovers everywhere!