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Close up of slow cooker pot with cooked dish ready for serving.
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4.85 from 26 votes

Slow Cooker Pastitsio

A Greek-inspired dish with lamb mince in a lightly spiced sauce with red pepper, pasta, béchamel sauce and topped with grated cheese, cooked in your slow cooker
Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Resting time (optional) 30 minutes
Total Time 7 hours 20 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 535kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 500 g lamb mince / ground lamb I used 10 % fat
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 red pepper chopped
  • 400 g chopped tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1.5 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic puree
  • salt and pepper to season
  • 250 g pasta tubes I used rigatoni

For the béchamel sauce:

Instructions

  • Fry the lamb mince in the olive oil in a pan or wok.
    1 tsp olive oil, 500 g lamb mince / ground lamb
  • Once browned, remove from the heat and add the onion, red pepper, tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, cinnamon, oregano and garlic puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
    1 onion, 1 red pepper, 400 g chopped tomatoes, 3 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1.5 tsp oregano, 1 tsp garlic puree, salt and pepper
  • Place half the meat sauce in the base of the slow cooker pot.
  • Add half the rigatoni in a layer on top of the meat sauce.
    250 g pasta tubes
  • Put the rest of the meat sauce on top.
  • Add the rest of the rigatoni on top of the second layer of lamb sauce.
  • Make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour, cook the roux for 1-2 minutes. Add the milk little by little, whisking well after each addition. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until thick.
    30 g butter, 30 g plain flour (all-purpose flour), 350 ml semi-skimmed milk
  • Season the béchamel sauce with salt and pepper and add the nutmeg.
    salt and pepper, 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Pour the white sauce over the pasta and meat sauce layers in the slow cooker pot, ensuring all the pasta is covered.
  • Top with the grated cheese.
    70 g mature cheddar
  • Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.
  • If you have time, leave the dish to stand in the slow cooker for 30 minutes before serving so that it stays together better.
  • Serve by slicing through all the layers with a serrated knife then using a large spatula to serve out portions.

Video

Notes

I made this recipe in a 5.7 litre slow cooker.

Nutrition

Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 415mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1040IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 204mg | Iron: 3.1mg