This vegetarian caprese skillet lasagna recipe is a delicious lighter take on lasagna. It's really easy and all cooked right in the skillet!
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.
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.
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.
Would you try a lighter take on lasagna, or do you prefer saving it for a special treat?
Healthy Caprese Skillet Lasagna
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.
Teresa Thompson says
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.
Mona says
Hi i tried ur recipe. When i poured the milk , it curdled up. Any other alternative than milk
Natasha says
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.
Diana says
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.
Natasha says
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. 😊
Susie Wall says
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.
Natasha says
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.
RH says
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!!
Natasha says
I am so happy that the recipe inspired you! Your version sounds delicious!! 🙂
Anne Vander Molen says
Covered or uncovered in the oven? Burnt in 30 minutes and no sauce left
Anne Vander Molen says
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??
Natasha says
Hi Anne! I didn’t cover it. Did you put it on the middle rack? I’m not sure what went wrong. 🙁
Laura says
Maybe her skillet was a different size? A bigger skillet would require more sauce.
Natasha says
That's true!
Stephanie says
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.
Natasha says
Yay!! That's what I like to hear. 🙂 Thanks for letting me know! Love capers too!
Christina Seward says
This looks absolutely amazing! I can't wait to try it!
Natasha says
Thanks so much, Christina! 🙂
Hilary says
Hi, just love looking at your recipes,you make them look so simple to make,can't wait to try them.
Regards,hilary
Natasha says
Thank you! Hope you like them. 😄
Karly says
Lasagna in a cast iron skillet. All the yes in the ENTIRE world! Gotta try this!
Natasha says
Thanks, Karly!! 🙂
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
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!
Natasha says
Thanks so much!! Yeah, I wanted to try something lighter, less work, and healthier. Let me know if you try it! 🙂