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    Oh My Veggies » Vegetarian Recipes » Vegetarian & Vegan Pasta Recipes

    Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna with Zucchini and Eggplant

    Published: Aug 29, 2016 · by Nicole · Updated: Jan 10, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Have you ever made lasagna in your slow cooker? Up until the last few months, I was completely skeptical about the idea. I get a lot of use out of my slow cooker, especially on busy weekdays, but for pasta? I wasn’t so sure.

    Now, I’m a convert. The slow cooker makes the process really simple: no boiling noodles, and no need to worry about making neat layers. It’s especially nice during the summer, since there’s no need to turn on the oven.

    Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna with Zucchini and Eggplant
    Before assembling this slow cooker lasagna, you will need to first cook some veggies (summery favorites like zucchini, eggplant, corn and tomatoes) in a skillet to cook off some of the liquid and keep your lasagna from being watery. Then you'll spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with several uncooked lasagna noodles, breaking them as needed to fit. I like to overlap the edges just a bit, but there’s no need to be perfect and fill every little crevice with a noodle.

    Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna with Zucchini and Eggplant
    The rest is easy: layers of veggies, sauce, noodles and cheese, just like a normal lasagna. The final layer includes a bit of panko breadcrumbs, which will help make the top slightly crunchy.

    I recommend checking the lasagna at the 3 ½ hour mark, to see if the pasta is tender. Don’t overcook the noodles—no one likes mushy lasagna!

    This post was originally published on August 4, 2014.

    Slow Cooker Summer Lasagna

    Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna with Zucchini and Eggplant

    No oven required here. You're just a few hours away from a satisfying slow cooker lasagna packed with summer's best veggies.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
    Total Time: 4 hours
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Keyword: easy pasta dish, Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna, Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna with Zucchini and Eggplant, vegetarian pasta
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 446kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 onion chopped
    • 1 large zucchini chopped
    • 1 small eggplant cut into ½-inch chunks
    • 2 large ears corn kernels removed
    • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
    • 1 clove garlic minced
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
    • 2 ½ cups canned tomato sauce
    • 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
    • 1 ⅓ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
    • ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
    • ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
    • Fresh chopped basil for serving
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the olive oil. When hot, cook the onion in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add in the zucchini, eggplant, corn, tomatoes, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Remove from the heat, taste and season with additional salt and red pepper flakes if needed.
    • Spread ½ cup of the sauce in the bottom of your slow cooker. Top with a layer of three lasagna noodles, breaking them as needed to fit. Using a slotted spoon, top with ⅓ of the vegetable mixture, then ½ cup of the sauce and ⅓ cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat this process two more times -- noodles, vegetables, sauce, cheese. End with a final layer of noodles and the remaining ½ cup of the sauce. Sprinkle the top with the remaining ⅓ cup mozzarella, the parmesan and panko.
    • Cover and cook on low for about 3 ½ to 4 hours, until the noodles are cooked through. Turn off the slow cooker and let sit uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. This will let the lasagna set so you can cut it easily and it will hold its shape. Sprinkle the top with fresh basil before serving.

    Notes

    Make sure you use regular uncooked lasagna noodles. Do not use the no-boil kind.
    For the canned tomato sauce, I used around 1 (15 ounce) can and 1 (8 ounce) can to get this amount.
    It is possible to find vegetarian parmesan cheese in the US (such as the Whole Foods 365 brand or Organic Valley). Outside the US, look for vegetarian hard cheese to use instead.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 446kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 20gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 1021mgPotassium: 1037mgFiber: 8gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 1203IUVitamin C: 36mgCalcium: 250mgIron: 3mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
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    Vegetarian & Vegan Pasta Recipes, Vegetarian Main Dishes, Vegetarian Recipes corn, eggplant, lasagna, main dishes, summer, zucchini

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. tina Muir says

      August 04, 2014 at 8:05 am

      Oooooh you should definitely add this to meatless monday! This looks amazing, what a brilliant idea! So yummy!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 05, 2014 at 6:43 am

        Thanks Tina!

        Reply
    2. marcie says

      August 04, 2014 at 11:21 am

      Just the photo of the veggies in that slow cooker make my mouth water -- I'm definitely trying this! I love the no-boil lasagna thing, and no oven in the summer is a must! 🙂

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 05, 2014 at 6:43 am

        I'm so lazy about boiling lasagna noodles - I'll do anything to avoid it!!

        Reply
    3. Alexis @ Hummusapien says

      August 04, 2014 at 11:27 am

      Serious drool happening. I love love love the idea of making lasagna in the slow cooker, espesh one loaded with summer's bounty! Pinning!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 05, 2014 at 6:44 am

        Thanks Alexis! I've been cramming tons of summer veggies into just about everything these days! 🙂

        Reply
    4. JulieD says

      August 04, 2014 at 9:39 pm

      This looks so good! I have to try it!!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 05, 2014 at 6:45 am

        Thanks Julie!

        Reply
    5. Kelly says

      August 05, 2014 at 4:24 am

      Such a great idea to make this in the slow cooker! Love all the summer veggies in here too - it looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 05, 2014 at 6:46 am

        No oven in the summer can be sooo nice! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Megan says

      August 06, 2014 at 10:00 am

      This looks delicious! The colors of all the different veggies are gorgeous. So glad I found your blog (Pinterest). It has been tough for me to get the support to eat more veggies and less/no meat so any recipe that is fulfilling to the tummy, but also the eye, is a win for me! Thanks for sharing an easy veggie lasagna!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 07, 2014 at 6:07 am

        Thanks so much Megan! It's a great way to get a bunch of veggies in one dish! And I'm with you - I love pretty looking food! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Maureen says

      August 06, 2014 at 10:17 pm

      Just made this and wow is it good! Thank you so much for a great recipe!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 07, 2014 at 6:08 am

        So happy to hear it Maureen! 🙂

        Reply
    8. Jena says

      August 07, 2014 at 4:45 pm

      Turned out very dry on top. I think it needs more sauce on the top noodles.

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 08, 2014 at 8:34 am

        It's a great recipe to play around with to your own preferences - you can definitely add more sauce to get it to your own taste!

        Reply
    9. Diane Kiriaji says

      August 08, 2014 at 1:07 pm

      Well, leave it to me to not read til the end. I did use no boil noodles because that's what I had in the house. Hope I didn't spoil it!!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 08, 2014 at 2:26 pm

        Hi Diane! It should be okay - I would just start checking it a little earlier - I'm thinking around the 3 hour mark to see if the noodles are done!

        Reply
        • Diane says

          August 08, 2014 at 2:40 pm

          Oh thx! I'll let you know!

          Reply
        • Lindsey says

          August 11, 2014 at 11:34 am

          I also accidentlly used the no boil noodles. Mine turned out grew it was just done faster, took about 2 1/2 hours. Thanks for a great recipe !

          Reply
          • Ashley Jennings says

            August 12, 2014 at 6:53 am

            So glad you enjoyed it Lindsey! And thanks for sharing the cook time with the no-boil noodles!

            Reply
            • Susanna Mikkelson says

              August 14, 2016 at 3:00 pm

              How many calories are in the veggie lasagna?

            • Ashley Jennings says

              August 22, 2016 at 11:58 am

              Hey Susanna - we don’t calculate calorie counts as they can vary by different brands of ingredients, substitutions, etc. But you can plug it in here to get a general idea: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

    10. Joanne says

      August 08, 2014 at 1:30 pm

      This is a TOTAL gamechanger! I will never look at lasagna-making the same way again, that's for sure!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 08, 2014 at 2:27 pm

        Thanks Joanne! It's so nice not to have to turn on the oven! Especially right now with all the humidity!

        Reply
    11. Russell from Chasing Delicious says

      August 12, 2014 at 9:12 pm

      Such a delicious lasagna! Yum!

      Reply
    12. elly says

      September 04, 2014 at 8:45 am

      What about all the water from the eggplant and Zucchini? Doesn't it come out all watery? How can I prevent that - i would love to make this. Thx.

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        September 04, 2014 at 1:32 pm

        Nope! Since you are cooking the veggies in a skillet first to get rid of the excess moisture, you don't need to worry about that. That step prevents it from getting all watery!

        Reply
    13. Carly says

      September 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

      I cannot wait to make this tonight! Since corn is no longer in season, I think I'm going to swap it out for delicata squash. Just wondering if anyone has tried to incorporate fresh ricotta in this recipe? It's hard for me to imagine an awesome lasagna without it, but I also can't see how it would hold up in a slow cooker for 3 hours. Any ideas?

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        September 29, 2014 at 3:24 pm

        Hi Carly! I haven't used the ricotta in this particular recipe but I have added it to other lasagnas that I've made in my crockpot. I've never had any problems with it in the slow cooker - always tastes great 🙂

        Reply
    14. Janet says

      May 08, 2015 at 8:10 pm

      I just made this, but substituted canned pumpkin mixed with almond milk for the tomato sauce. For the vegetables I used zucchini, onions and spinach. Daiya mozzarella cheese and no boil whole wheat noodles. It was excellent! Thank you for the recipe inspiration!

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        May 11, 2015 at 9:12 am

        So glad you enjoyed it Janet! Love the sound of your version!

        Reply
    15. Barb says

      June 09, 2015 at 7:13 pm

      Hi Looks great, but how long if you cook it on low? Working 8 hrs , most crockpot recipes are for short periods of time 🙁 Thanks

      Reply
      • Barb says

        June 09, 2015 at 7:15 pm

        sorry just read instructions so I guess this would have to wait until weekends

        Reply
        • Ashley Jennings says

          June 11, 2015 at 3:45 pm

          Hey Barb! Unfortunately, yes, I would wait. Even on low this cooks pretty "fast" in the crockpot!

          Reply
    16. Theresa @DearCreatives says

      June 18, 2015 at 6:11 pm

      I can't wait to try making this in the summer, keeping the heat down in the house. Pinned for later. Thanks for the recipe

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        June 25, 2015 at 10:54 am

        Thanks Theresa! Hope you enjoy!

        Reply
    17. Richard says

      July 23, 2015 at 3:23 pm

      What size slow cooker was used to make this recipe?

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        July 27, 2015 at 12:47 pm

        Hi Richard, I use a 6 1/2 quart slow cooker!

        Reply
    18. Bunny Devenere says

      September 14, 2015 at 9:48 pm

      This was amazing. Didn't miss the meat at all.

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        September 16, 2015 at 12:25 pm

        So glad to hear you enjoyed it Bunny! Thanks for letting us know!

        Reply
    19. Dan says

      December 19, 2015 at 2:01 am

      Used this recipe as inspiration today. Wound up out of the house longer than expected so yes the noodles were soft. I added slices of large portobello mushrooms as well and it turned out great. The mushrooms slices help to satisfy the meat eaters and keep the veggie fans happy too.

      Next time I'll set the timer to achieve firmer noodles but thanks for the inspirational recipe.

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        December 30, 2015 at 7:31 am

        Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    20. Janine says

      August 29, 2016 at 9:38 am

      Hi Ashley, have you ever tried out Cocktail canned tomatoes? They are so good. Such a pretty and nice recipe. xoxo Janine

      Reply
      • Ashley Jennings says

        August 30, 2016 at 9:43 am

        I haven't! And thank you!

        Reply
    21. Nate Tolbert says

      October 23, 2016 at 8:56 pm

      This recipe is amazing, and I much prefer the veggie lasagna to boring meat lasagna! I added Brussel Sprouts and Spinach in place of the eggplant. It is going to be my go to recipe.

      Reply
    22. Lorraine Carpenter says

      May 25, 2017 at 5:49 pm

      For those who added spinach....how much and did you sauté it with the other vegies, or put it in raw?

      Reply
    23. Heather says

      September 18, 2017 at 10:39 pm

      Even my kids devoured this! Delicious! Thanks for the recipe, and the crock pot tips. I used no-boil noodles and cooked on high for just over 2 hours before letting it sit for a short while to set up. Perfect!

      Reply
    24. Carrie Sparks says

      September 18, 2017 at 11:50 pm

      I got an enormous zucchini from a friend and found this along with a few other recipes to use it up (still have some zucchini left! ?) I did add mild Italian sausage since I'm not a vegetarian and it is AWESOME!!! The prep does take some time but worth it. I'd like to try with portobellos next time too! Thank you!

      Reply
    25. Hannah says

      April 11, 2019 at 11:16 am

      5 stars
      I've made this so many times and have loved it! I was hoping you could also provide instructions if I wanted to use an oven for a last minute meal?

      Reply

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    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
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