Slow Cooker Veggie Loaded Lasagna

This Slow Cooker Veggie Loaded Lasagna is so simple- no boiling or baking required! Loaded with fresh vegetables for a nutritious dinner!
When choosing what to make for our Christmas party for 40+ people, I wanted to make something that everyone loved but was not that difficult. We got to talking about themes for the food on Christmas day and lots of people asked me to make lasagna. My parents have been making excellent lasagna my entire life so this was no big deal.
We make our lasagna loaded with vegetables. Kale, spinach, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, eggplant, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers and more can all be included depending on what we have on hand. I love this twist on the classic recipe. When we make lasagna, since it is so much work, we always make them in quantity. I love freezing an entire lasagna and then pulling it out of the fridge a couple months later for a delicious dinner with no work having to go into it.

Until now, I had never made slow cooker lasagna but have always wanted to. It just sounded awesome! Layer everything in your slow cooker and let it cook. I do cook my vegetables ahead of time so that they are not too juicy in the slow cooker.

My parents taught me to make the sauce with lots of vegetables for added nutrients and flavor. I cannot imagine lasagna without these ingredients! Extra vitamins, minerals and fiber from the veggies make this a complete dinner.

When my husband and I made this slow cooker lasagna, we also made all of the lasagna for Christmas day and froze it. I hope our family enjoys it! We sure loved this slow cooker version.

Slow Cooker Veggie Loaded Lasagna

Ingredients:
For the sauce
1 pound extra lean ground meat of choice
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup kale, chopped
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 sweet potato, finely diced
1 1/2 jars Prego traditional Italian sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper

10 lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

For cheese mixture
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
1. In a large pot, over medium-high heat, begin cooking meat until cooked through. Add about 1/4 cup of water to pot and all vegetables and cook until vegetables are soft.
2. Add in pasta sauce, garlic and black pepper.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese and garlic powder
4. Spray the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Spread about 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom.
5. Break noodles so that they fit in the crockpot and cover the bottom. *They do not have to be in straight lines. Cover with cheese mixture, then sauce, shredded cheese and then more noodles. Repeat layers two more times. The last later should be noodles with sauce on top. Top with shredded cheese.
6. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours or on low for 5 hours. Turn the slow cooker off and let sit for 1 hour which helps for the moisture to get absorbed.

I cooked mine for 3 hours and the noodles got softer than I would have liked so I recommend turning off the heat at about 2 1/2 hours. Letting it sit made it so that I could cut it like regular lasagna. I served this to my in-laws and they loved it. My husband raved about it for 2 days so I know I need to make it again.
For the sauce in my lasagna, I used Prego® sauce which has a sweet and savory Italian flavor which I picked up at Walmart. We always had this sauce growing up. Campbell's brand has all kinds of delicious holiday recipe ideas so if you are looking for ideas of what to make, check them out.