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Dutch Oven Lasagna

Dutch oven lasagna built for outdoor cooking: layered lasagna with melted mozzarella on top that turns golden and bubbly in a Dutch oven. Break-to-fit noodles create tidy layers, with a rested slice that serves cleanly after 10 minutes.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
rest 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 640
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Ground beef
  • 1 lb ground beef
Spaghetti sauce
  • 1 jar (24 oz) spaghetti sauce
Ricotta mixture
  • 1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
  • 2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese use 1 cup for the ricotta mixture, and reserve the rest for topping
  • 0.5 cup Parmesan cheese reserve about 1/2 cup for the ricotta mixture
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Lasagna noodles
  • 9 lasagna noodles, uncooked break to fit the Dutch oven layers
Cooking spray
  • 1 Cooking spray

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the meat sauce
  1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, then stir it into the spaghetti sauce.
  2. Simmer the combined sauce for 2-3 minutes to thicken slightly while you prep the filling.
Mix the ricotta filling
  1. In a bowl, mix ricotta cheese with 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, and Italian seasoning until smooth.
Assemble in the Dutch oven
  1. Spray the Dutch oven with cooking spray, then spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom.
  2. Layer 3 lasagna noodles (broken to fit), then spread half the ricotta mixture over the noodles and spoon over half the remaining meat sauce.
  3. Repeat with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, and the rest of the meat sauce.
  4. Top with the final 3 noodles (broken to fit) and spread the remaining sauce over the top layer.
  5. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella to fully cover the top.
Campfire cook and rest
  1. Cover and place the Dutch oven on campfire coals with coals on the lid, and cook for 45-50 minutes until hot in the center and bubbling at the edges.
  2. Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before serving so the layers set for clean scoops.

Notes

Pro tip: keep the heat steady by aiming for an even ring of coals under the Dutch oven and on the lid—if the top browns too fast, reduce lid coals. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 4 days; reheat until steaming. Freezing is yes (up to 3 months), thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat covered. For a lighter swap, use part-skim ricotta and shredded part-skim mozzarella while keeping the same layering method.