Dutch Oven Lasagna

Dutch Oven Lasagna has all the flavor of your favorite lasagna but is made in your cast iron Dutch oven or camp oven over coals.

This is one of my all time favorite recipes and is a very good “starter recipe” to begin cooking with a Dutch oven and can be done in a liner or no liner.

What is Lasagna

Lasagna is one of the oldest types of pasta dishes from Italy. Lasagna is actually the singular form of the pasta, meaning one individual flat sheet of pasta. The actual dish in Italy is called lasagne. However, the English name for the dish, lasagna, has now infiltrated internationally and in many parts of Italy, you’ll see it called lasagna on the menu.

Campfire Lasagna

Maybe the Boy Scouts made it famous, but this camping lasagna recipe is very popular. It’s hearty and filling after a long day of outdoor activities and is ready to eat in an hour.

What’s the difference between a Dutch Oven and a camp oven?

Both cooking vessels are made out of cast iron. Some Dutch ovens are enameled both on the inside and outside and are also referred to as French ovens. Camp ovens are cast iron but have feet for sitting on the ground or nestled into a bed of coals or in a fire.

Both the non-enameled Dutch ovens and camp ovens are perfect for any outdoor cooking. However, you won’t want to use a camp oven indoors on the stove or in the oven.

How to Make Dutch Oven Lasagna

Before you begin, read through the recipe card in its entirety. I have provided directions for making this in the traditional Dutch oven or using the cast iron camp oven with coals.

The process is similar but there are some prep to make the construction a bit easier if cooking out doors.

Brown the meat, onions, and seasonings in your cast iron, draining off all the renderings.

Remove the ground beef and onions from your cast iron and put into a large oven. We’re going to construct the lasagna in the same dutch oven used to brown the meat. You can use a skillet to brown the meat, but why dirty another item.

Add the pasta sauce to your seasoned ground beef. I recommend between 22 and 24 ounces of sauce, which is your standard jarred size, but if using homemade, you’ll want to measure it out. You don’t want too much or your lasagna will be too saucy and not hold up well. Unless you’re a saucy person, then add your desired amount. Set this aside and let’s get cheesy.

Add the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Italian seasoning to a bowl. Remember we’ve divided our seasoning and our cheeses for various layers, so take note when adding.

Smooth the cheeses and herbs together to make the cheesy filling.

How to Construct a Lasagna

Now we’re going to begin the construction of our camp oven lasagna. Layer the bottom of the vessel with lasagna noodles, placing the whole long pieces in first then breaking other noodles to fill in the spaces.

This is the one time you don’t have to handle that box of dried noodles like it’s precious cargo because you’re going to need broken pieces.

Spread about a third of meat mixture evenly over the noodles. It’s not a work of art, but you really don’t want any holes.

Spread half of the cheese mixture over the meat sauce. Adding it by the spoonful or in dollops is easier for smoothing it out without mixing it into the meat layer.

The cheese layer has been smoothed out over the meat sauce, again, it’s not the prettiest, but we’re only after the tastiest in this Dutch oven lasagna. And if you’re making this a campfire lasagna, no one is ever after pretty, only hearty and delicious.

Layer another five or so uncooked noodles over the cheese layer, breaking some to make them fit.

From here you’ll “lather, rinse, repeat” with another third of the meat, the remaining cheese mixture, more noodles, and finally the last third of the meat.

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the now fully layered lasagna.

Pour the water. It will not fully cover the lasagna but it will be visible at the surface of the cheese.

Place the lid on the Dutch oven and cover with hot coals. Cook for an hour.

Carefully remove the coals and lid; allow the lasagna to rest for at least 10 minutes off heat before serving. Garnish, serve, and enjoy.

Cast Iron Italian Recipes

Looking for other delicious Italian inspired recipes to make in your cast iron, you’ll love these:

• Mediterranean Chicken from The Complete Savorist
• Dutch Oven Pizza Pasta
• Sausage Stuffed Peppers
• Manicotti Pasta Bake
• Dutch Oven Baked Ziti
• Skillet Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Skillet Chicken Cacciatore from The Complete Savorist

This post has been updated from its original May 16, 2017 publishing with new photography, content, and clarified recipe directions.