Easy One-Pan Skillet Lasagna with Ground Beef

This one-pan skillet lasagna delivers all the comfort of a baked lasagna with a fraction of the effort.

Ground beef, whole tomatoes, and lasagna sheets simmer together in a single skillet, then get blanketed with melted kaşar cheese and parsley. It's a golden, gooey, and deeply satisfying dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes.

Forget layering and baking — this skillet lasagna is the weeknight shortcut you've been looking for. The method is brilliantly simple: braise whole tomatoes with ground beef and aromatics, mash them into a sauce, then tuck dry lasagna sheets right into the simmering liquid.

A lid does the work, steaming the pasta until tender while the sauce thickens. Finish with a shower of shredded kaşar cheese, let it melt under the lid, and you have a bubbling skillet of lasagna that's ready to serve straight from the pan.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

Cooking the lasagna sheets directly in the sauce means no separate pot of boiling water and no draining.

The sheets absorb the flavorful liquid as they cook, becoming tender while the sauce reduces around them. This one-pan approach keeps every bit of flavor in the skillet and cuts down on cleanup.

The whole tomatoes braise with the beef and garlic, then get mashed right in the pan. This creates a chunky, rustic sauce with bright tomato flavor and a silky texture from the rendered beef fat.

The kaşar cheese melts into a golden blanket that stretches with every bite, giving you that iconic lasagna pull without the oven.

Notes and substitutions

Kaşar cheese is a Turkish semi-hard cheese with excellent melting qualities. If you can't find it, low-moisture mozzarella or provolone are perfect stand-ins. Use freshly shredded cheese for the best melt — pre-shredded bags often contain anti-caking agents that can make the topping grainy.

You'll need a large non-stick skillet with a lid, about 12 inches in diameter. The lid is essential for steaming the pasta and melting the cheese. A fork is all you need to mash the tomatoes, and culinary tweezers help remove the skins cleanly, but regular tongs work too.

• kaşar cheese: low-moisture mozzarella or provolone, shredded
• small red tomatoes: 1 (14.5 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• ground beef: ground turkey or Italian sausage (casings removed)
• dry lasagna sheets: no-boil lasagna noodles, broken to fit

Equipment

• Large non-stick skillet with lid
• Culinary tweezers
• Fork
• Spatula
• Cutting board and knife