Classic Lasagna with Cottage Cheese
on Apr 21, 2020, Updated Feb 09, 2024
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This easy lasagna with cottage cheese recipe is quick, simple, and you can make it oven-ready lasagna noodles to save even more time. My family loves this classic Italian meal.
A typical traditional lasagna recipe calls for ricotta cheese as the main filling, but growing up, my mom often used cottage cheese instead when she needed a substitute for ricotta and it’s delicious!
I like it both ways, but typically reach for the cottage cheese when I make this. It’s truly one of my favorite lasagna recipes. It reminds me of home every time I make it.
The addition of no boil lasagna noodles makes this family meal so easy.
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On the days when you want something a little lighter, try this tomato tortellini soup. You will love it!
What I Love About this No Boil Lasagna Recipe
- Quick prep time
- Make ahead
- Can be frozen
- Great taste
Homemade Lasagna is Easy to Make
After I had kids, I found myself reaching for frozen oven ready lasagna because it seemed so much easier to make than starting fresh. But the truth is, it takes very little time to make it from scratch and there is no comparison when it comes to taste!
I remember when my mom would boil regular lasagna noodles and hang them all around the pot to cool before assembling. Not only did it add the step of boiling the water and noodles to the preparation time, but it added a guessing game of will I have overcooked lasagna noodles when all is said and done.
Now that there are so many options for noodles, I found the easiest way is to use oven-ready noodles that don’t need to be boiled. And you can find them in most grocery stores right next to all the other pasta products.
The only prep is browning the meat and the amount of time that takes is usually less than 10 minutes for me. So easy.
Lasagna Ingredients List
Throw this traditional layered-up lasagna together in a 9×13 pan about an hour before dinner, or make it ahead to cook later on a busy weeknight! This is a great recipe to bring to a new mom or double up so you can reheat it later.
With just a few quality ingredients, you are on your way to a truly comforting and delicious meal.
You will need:
- Oven-ready lasagna sheets
- Ground beef (or Italian sausage if you like it a little spicy)
- Spaghetti sauce (from a jar or make your favorite recipe)
- Cottage cheese
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Egg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garlic Powder (optional)
- Italian spices (optional)
Optional toppings:
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Basil
Easy Lasagna with Uncooked Noodles and Cottage Cheese
You’ll need about an hour for cooking time but the prep is very simple. Since you don’t need to boil noodles, it really goes quickly.
First, preheat oven and brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder or Italian seasoning if you like.
Drain off the excess grease, then mix in the sauce right in the pan. I love how adding the meat creates a hearty, thick sauce.
For the cottage cheese mixture, mix together cottage cheese with the egg in a medium bowl or simply add the egg to the container to save on cleanup.
Start by coating the bottom of a 9×13 pan with a layer of sauce topped with a layer of oven-ready lasagna noodles.
Cover the noodles with more meat sauce and about one-third of the cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese mixture).
Sprinkle on a little less than a cup of the mozzarella cheese and spoon on more meat sauce.
Repeat this process until you fill the pan. Top it with the remaining sauce making sure all of the pasta pieces are covered, and add a final layer of cheese before baking.
Bake to desired consistency and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
I personally love that golden brown crispy cheese layer so I leave mine in a few extra minutes! If you want to avoid crisping around the edges, add a layer of aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes or so of baking time.
This is such an easy recipe the whole family will love again and again.
How to Store
Refrigerate any leftover lasagna in an airtight container and enjoy for up to 3 days.
To freeze this lasagna before cooking, layer it up like you normally would and cover the entire pan with plastic wrap. Then ad a layer of tin foil to the top of the lasagna and freeze.
You can also freeze an already cooked lasagna. Be sure to let it cool completely and cover in the same way. When properly stored, it will t for up to 3 months.
Reheat or cook in the oven and enjoy.
Print the Recipe Card
This easy weeknight lasagna was seriously my favorite dish growing up and it’s just as good as I remember. I can’t believe I ever tried to pretend frozen was as good. There is no comparison!
Top it off your meal with a delicious slice of tiramisu and you’ll be in heaven.
And for a trendy twist on classic pasta, check out our TikTok Baked Feta Pasta!
Lasagna with Cottage Cheese and Oven Ready Noodles
Ingredients
- 9 oz oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 1 lb ground beef
- 32 oz spaghetti sauce, or make your own
- 1 egg
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Brown ground beef and drain
- Stir beef and pasta sauce together
- Mix one egg into cottage cheese
- in 9×13 pan, spread a layer of sauce first and add a single layer of oven-ready noodles. Then, layer ingredients starting with sauce, then cottage cheese, mozzarella and noodles.
- Repeat layers topping with sauce and cheese. Make sure all pasta is covered with sauce.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until desired doneness.
- Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How long to bake, and do you cover it?
Hi Linda, the instructions are in the recipe card. I don’t cover mine because I like the edges to be a little overdone, but you could.
Okayyy YUM! I am shamelessly a huge fan of Stouffer lasagna, and have tried different lasagna recipes to try and replicate since homemade is healthier. I had no idea about the cottage cheese hack until recently, and the Stouffer one totally made sense after that haha. But this one tasted super similar and was delicious!! I cooked in a glass pan for about 35-40 min but could’ve prob used another 5 or so. But it was still so good. I also used a little extra sauce cause I like them saucy. But I’m so glad I found this recipe and it’s soo simple!
I love this! SO glad it’s a winner for you.