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    Home » Healthy

    Healthy Caprese Skillet Lasagna

    Published: Jan 8, 2018 / Updated: May 30, 2022 / 26 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my affiliate disclosure for more details.

    Jump to Recipe

    This vegetarian caprese skillet lasagna recipe is a delicious lighter take on lasagna. It's really easy and all cooked right in the skillet!

    You may also enjoy my Creamy Chicken Lasagna or Classic Homemade Lasagna.

    healthy vegetarian caprese skillet lasagna with serving spatula

    I had one goal with this recipe: make a lasagna in one pan with minimal effort, good flavor, and a reasonable amount of calories. This is not a super rich and cheesy lasagna, but it is a lasagna that you can throw together mid-week without worrying too much about it being unhealthy. There is cheese in here (mozzarella fresca), but there isn't a ton of it. I really liked this healthier take on lasagna.

    I used the classic caprese flavors in here: mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. Garlic and thyme amp up the flavor even more, but this is definitely a lighter recipe.

    If you're willing to turn your oven on in the summer, this would actually be a wonderful summer lasagna recipe to try.

    If you love this flavor combo, you may also like my Caprese Tortellini Pasta Salad, this Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe, The Best Caprese Crostini, or my Balsamic Caprese Pasta Salad. 

    close-up of Caprese skillet lasagna

    This easy skillet lasagna is about as simple as lasagna gets.

    How to make skillet lasagna

    Sauté the onion, add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the pan, heat it through, add the lasagna noodles, then pop it in the oven. You then add the cheese and it's done when it's melted.

    This one pan lasagna uses the no-bake lasagna noodles, so there's no need to boil them before adding them to the skillet.

    healthy lasagna in a cast iron skillet

    Hope you love this cast iron lasagna recipe!

    Let me know if you've tried it in the comments below. You may also like my vegetarian pasta e fagioli if you liked this recipe.

    a serving spatula with a piece of healthy skillet lasagna

    Would you try a lighter take on lasagna, or do you prefer saving it for a special treat?

    cast iron skillet with healthy lasagna

    Healthy Caprese Skillet Lasagna

    This vegetarian caprese skillet lasagna recipe is a delicious lighter take on lasagna. It's really easy and all cooked right in the skillet! 
    3.75 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 50 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 4
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1/2 medium onion chopped
    • 4 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
    • 2 cups skim or 1% milk
    • 5 dashes Italian seasoning
    • Handful basil torn
    • 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme stems removed
    • Salt & pepper to taste
    • No boil lasagna noodles to taste (will vary depending on your skillet)
    • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 375F and move the rack to the middle position.
    • Sauté the onion in a cast iron skillet for 5-7 minutes. 
    • Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
    • Add the diced tomatoes, milk, Italian seasoning, thyme leaves, basil, and salt & pepper. Give it a good stir and let it heat through a bit. 
    • Break the lasagna noodles into pieces so you can layer them in the skillet. There's no exact science to this and it's fine if they overlap a bit (all noodles should be mostly submerged in the sauce). Leave about an inch or so from the top so it doesn't bubble over as it cooks.
    • Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. 
    • Take the lasagna out of the oven and top with the sliced cheese. Return the skillet to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty. You can broil it for a few minutes at the end to make the cheese brown a bit if you wish (just watch it carefully).
    • Let the lasagna sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving. 

    Notes

    • I suggest adding more salt to this recipe than you'd perhaps normally add. No-boil lasagna noodles tend to be a bit less flavorful, which is a tradeoff for a recipe that requires fewer steps. 
    • I used my trusty 10-1/4" Lodge cast iron skillet to make this recipe.
    • Serves 4-6.
    Keyword caprese lasagna, healthy lasagna, skillet lasagna
    Author Natasha Bull
    « Shredded Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad Recipe
    Chili Garlic Noodles »

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    1. Lindsey says

      July 19, 2022 at 4:06 PM

      I have been using this recipe for years but with some tweaks:

      I use a whole pint of heavy cream instead of the 2 cups milk.

      I do double the tomatoes, sometimes even more.

      Kroger brand no boil lasagna noodles are the best if aldi doesn’t have theirs available.

      Way more Italian seasoning than she says above. As well as the other spices.

      This is a huge hit in my house- just need to adjust a little!

      Reply
      • Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says

        July 19, 2022 at 7:34 PM

        So glad this recipe inspired you, Lindsey!! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Teresa Thompson says

      January 8, 2021 at 6:22 PM

      1 star
      What a huge disappointment. I will never try this recipe again. If you try it, I'd double the tomatoes. I did double the onions. Most of it is going in the trash. Dry and hard.

      Reply
    3. Mona says

      November 20, 2020 at 9:57 AM

      Hi i tried ur recipe. When i poured the milk , it curdled up. Any other alternative than milk

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        November 20, 2020 at 1:16 PM

        That's unfortunate! So sorry that happened. This is why I now use cream or at least half-and-half in most of my recipes.

        Reply
    4. Diana says

      September 26, 2019 at 1:00 PM

      Question, do you drain the can of diced tomatoes or no? Mine came out really watery, but I’m pretty sure it’s because I didn’t add enough noodles to soak it all up! Should I have kept putting the noodles in a few layers deep? The flavor was still delicious so I will definitely try to make this again.

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        September 26, 2019 at 1:55 PM

        Hi Diana! I didn’t drain the tomatoes. Yes, I kept adding noodles to make layers. I’m glad the flavors were good at least! Let me know how the second attempt goes. 😊

        Reply
    5. Susie Wall says

      September 20, 2019 at 7:40 AM

      4 stars
      This was good. We first cooked 1/2 pound of Italian sausage in the pan so no olive oil was needed. If we hadn't added the sausage, I think it would have been a little bland. My husband still wanted more flavor. We added 1 1/2 onions which is a lot more onion because we like onion. We added a little more garlic too. We had a huge cast iron pan. We used regular lasagna noodles that we first boiled for about 8 minutes and then just chopped them up randomly. Some were big, some were small. We have 4 boys and they drink whole milk so that's what we used. I'm not afraid of fat anymore so it was fine. We then just mixed it all together and we thought it was too watery but as it cooked a bit more on the stove top, it lost the extra liquid. It seemed like everything was cooked but we still baked it for 25 minutes, then took it out and put enough cheese to cover the entire surface area which was a lot more than 8 oz. (I used cheddar cheese too), Is the reason for baking it, so all the ingredients meld together more and it firms up? I usually hate waiting for it to sit for 10 minutes but we did it this time. I will for sure make it again.

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        September 20, 2019 at 10:16 AM

        So glad you liked it! Your tweaks sound delicious. I'm a bit confused about your question re: baking it. I use uncooked lasagna noodles so if I didn't bake it, it would be raw.

        Reply
    6. RH says

      June 22, 2019 at 7:53 PM

      5 stars
      I love 1skillet recipes, and trying lasagna had me intrigued. I couldn't help but to add to this wonderful blueprint you've put together.... I added some mild Italian sausage right after the onions softened, then some left over mushrooms. I used 1 pack of noodles, 8oz of cheese and doubled the recipe for everything else.
      I cooked it in a 13.25" skillet and it came out perfect. Everyone wanted seconds. Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        June 22, 2019 at 8:10 PM

        I am so happy that the recipe inspired you! Your version sounds delicious!! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Anne Vander Molen says

      December 18, 2018 at 6:52 PM

      Covered or uncovered in the oven? Burnt in 30 minutes and no sauce left

      Reply
    8. Anne Vander Molen says

      December 18, 2018 at 6:43 PM

      Horrible burnt dried up noodles! Not enough sauce to submerge even 4 noodles! And I used exact size of tomatoes...14 ounces! My supper is ruined! I have higher standards than most??

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        December 18, 2018 at 10:14 PM

        Hi Anne! I didn’t cover it. Did you put it on the middle rack? I’m not sure what went wrong. 🙁

        Reply
        • Laura says

          March 3, 2019 at 7:54 AM

          Maybe her skillet was a different size? A bigger skillet would require more sauce.

          Reply
          • Natasha says

            March 3, 2019 at 12:35 PM

            That's true!

            Reply
    9. Stephanie says

      September 28, 2018 at 11:27 AM

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious! I'm making it again tonight (2nd night in a row), since we had an unexpected guest last night. I didn't get to have much of it so I'm eating more tonight! Going to add capers this time.

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        September 28, 2018 at 12:28 PM

        Yay!! That's what I like to hear. 🙂 Thanks for letting me know! Love capers too!

        Reply
    10. Christina Seward says

      January 31, 2018 at 5:09 PM

      This looks absolutely amazing! I can't wait to try it!

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        January 31, 2018 at 5:54 PM

        Thanks so much, Christina! 🙂

        Reply
    11. Hilary says

      January 22, 2018 at 4:42 AM

      Hi, just love looking at your recipes,you make them look so simple to make,can't wait to try them.
      Regards,hilary

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        January 22, 2018 at 6:46 AM

        Thank you! Hope you like them. 😄

        Reply
    12. Karly says

      January 9, 2018 at 8:55 PM

      Lasagna in a cast iron skillet. All the yes in the ENTIRE world! Gotta try this!

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        January 10, 2018 at 8:58 AM

        Thanks, Karly!! 🙂

        Reply
    13. Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says

      January 8, 2018 at 10:40 AM

      Whoa Natasha! This looks awesome! Love that it's a one skillet meal, and that it's a bit lighter than the traditional lasagna. I don't often make lasagna because it's too much work and so rich. Can't wait to try your recipe!

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        January 8, 2018 at 10:51 AM

        Thanks so much!! Yeah, I wanted to try something lighter, less work, and healthier. Let me know if you try it! 🙂

        Reply

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