Lasagna Skillet Pie

Lasagna Skillet Pie has the same rich Italian sauce, loaded with Parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, baked in a cast iron skillet. There is no layering of ingredients required and absolutely no fear of broken lasagna noodles.

Lasagna is one of my all-time favorite Italian dishes. And I am a diva about the type of sauce, meat, cheeses, etc. I was once served “lasagna” made with ground beef and cheddar cheese and I bit my tongue from blurting out “This isn’t Lasagna!” “It’s a casserole!” I do love casseroles, but don’t call it lasagna, if it’s not.

This recipe is from a friend of a friend of a family member that hailed from Italy. There’s one Italian restaurant I have been to whose lasagna tasted nearly identical. This is serious folks. After that, I trusted my source; and I have been making this lasagna for over 30 years!

I don’t have a picture of the sauce simmering, but it’s one of the easiest sauces to pull together. It’s a couple large cans of whole tomatoes, pureed with tomato paste, black pepper, and a healthy amount of dried basil. I let it simmer while I cook the pasta to al dente. Cut the cooked pasta lengthwise and save all of the torn and broken pieces; they all get used in the Lasagna Skillet Pie. I used gluten free pasta, brown rice based is my favorite kind as it is harder to overcook to a mushy state.

For fun I used a ravioli cutter, but using kitchen scissors or pizza cutter work beautifully too. So, you now have the sauce and pasta cooked. I also used Tillamook Shredded Mozzarella, another time saver! (No, I didn’t need to travel to their creamery for the mozzarella, but if you’re ever on Oregon coast, it’s a must see.)

The last ingredient is the ricotta cheese mixture, which has eggs and parmesan and then you’re ready to assemble!

Combine all of the sauce with the pasta and half of the shredded mozzarella.

Place the pasta, sauce and mozzarella mixture in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Place spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture on top and swirl a little. Some of the broken pasta was accidentally left on the cutting board; that’s my (clean) hand getting them sauced.

Add the remainder of the mozzarella and bake 30 minutes @ 350 F. Other Italian pies you can try include Spaghetti Pie Supreme & Meaty Italian Polenta Pie, both are big favorites here. We rarely have leftovers!

It will be sizzling hot out from the oven, so let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. Nothing worse than a scorched tongue! Enjoy, dinner is served!

This blog contains affiliate links.

Products you may find useful, which I love:

KitchenAid Pizza cutter: I use this little guy soooo much inexpensive, but cuts great!

Ravioli Cutter: This is great too, if you want a little “flair” to your pasta.

Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet: This is a great heavy duty skillet that will last forever.

Lasagna Skillet Pie

Recipe by Portlandia Pie LadyCourse: MaindishCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Lasagna Skillet Pie has the same rich Italian sauce, loaded with Parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, baked in a cast iron skillet. Easy one-dish meal without stress of layering ingredients.

Ingredients

• Two 28-ounce cans whole or diced tomatoes*

• One 12-ounce can tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 12 ounces Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled

• One 10-ounce package lasagna pasta (Mafalda or Pappardelle), regular or gluten-free**

• 2 cups ricotta cheese

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 2 eggs

• 4 cups grated mozzarella (about 1 pound)

• 12 inch cast iron skillet

Directions

• In a large pot add the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato paste.  Stir in the seasonings and add the cooked crumbled Italian sausage.  Use an immersion blender to grind up sausage into the sauce before you simmer. (If you want pieces of sausage, use immersion blender before adding.)
• Simmer sauce at medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool while prepping the rest of the pie.
• Cook the lasagna pasta as directed on package to al dente, drain, and immediately put into a bowl with cold water to stop the cooking.  On a cutting board using a pizza cutter, ravioli cutter, or scissors, and cut each pasta noodle lengthwise into two strips.  Keep all the broken/torn pieces too, they will all go into the pie.  
• In a separate bowl mix the ricotta cheese, eggs, and parmesan cheese.  Set aside.
• Assembly
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• In a large bowl stir in the cooled sauce and half of the mozzarella (about 2 cups).  Carefully fold in the cut lasagna pasta. 
• Place the pasta mixture into the skillet. Drop large spoonfuls of the ricotta cheese mixture on top, leaving spaces in between. Use a spatula to swirl around the dollops of ricotta into some of the pasta and sauce. 
• Top with remaining mozzarella and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Recipe Video

Notes

• *I have found 28-ounce cans of San Marzano (Italian Roma tomatoes). If you use two varieties of tomatoes, it will enhance the flavor of the sauce.
• **Brown rice gluten-free pasta cooks so much better than corn based. It is harder to overcook and less likely to get mushy.