The Easiest Cottage Cheese Lasagna

This quick and easy cottage cheese lasagna is the definition of classic comfort food! It can be made up to 5 days in advance so you can prep it whenever you have time and enjoy a hearty, homecooked meal when it's convenient for you!

You Will Love This

• This homemade easy lasagna recipe is filled with cheesy goodness and the entire family will love it! It has four layers of pasta, a simple meaty tomato sauce, and three cheeses. It's the perfect make ahead meal and the leftovers are delicious!
• If you loved this cheesy lasagna, be sure to check out my One-Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta, my Bacon Pasta With Corn and Basil, or my 20-Minute Baked Ravioli Casserole! 

Ingredients and Substitutions 

• Lasagna Noodles - Stick with regular lasagna noodles for this recipe. No boil noodles tend to get soggy and don't hold up as well. You could also use whole wheat lasagna noodles if you prefer.
• Ground Beef - Try to find 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef. Fat equals flavor so super lean ground beef is not going to taste as good. For a little extra flavor, use ground Italian sausage in place of half the beef. Or feel free to skip the meat altogether or use mushrooms in its place if you want to keep it vegetarian, but I love to add a little protein where I can. You could also use ground turkey in place of the ground beef.
• Garlic - Freshly minced garlic will create a deeper aroma and give you a bit more flavor. If all you have is garlic powder feel free to use that in its place. I suggest adding ½-¾ of a teaspoon to the meat and then adding more to taste. Feel free to add diced onion as well if you like!
• Spaghetti Sauce - Use your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce or make homemade if you prefer.
• Baby Spinach - Fresh baby spinach will wilt beautifully as it bakes. If you don’t like spinach you can omit it.
• Parmesan - For the boldest and freshest taste, shred your Parmesan at home. The best Parmesan cheese substitute in lasagna is either shredded Asiago or Romano. 
• Mozzarella - I like to use whole milk mozzarella in this homemade lasagna because of it's rich flavor and perfect meltiness. If you don't have any on hand you could try Monterey jack or provolone.
• Cottage Cheese - Use 4% milkfat or whole milk cottage cheese for the best flavor and texture. Using a lower fat cottage cheese could cause your filling to be watery. The closest 1:1 substitute is whole milk ricotta cheese which you can totally use in place of the cottage cheese in this lasagna! If you like the flavor of cottage cheese but prefer the texture of ricotta, try running your cottage cheese through a food processor until it's smooth and creamy.
• Eggs - The eggs in this lasagna are going to help bind the filling together and give you more distinct layers. If you don't have any eggs, you can skip it and the flavors will still be delicious!

How to Layer Lasagna

• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan with either cooking spray or a thin layer of olive oil. This ensures that the filling, cheese, and noodles don't stick to the edge of the pan while baking. If you forget this step, it's not the end of the world, but it helps!
• The best way to layer lasagna is to start with sauce, then add noodles, then add filling. Continue with remaining ingredients, layering them in that order, until they're gone! They key is to make sure that you're evenly dividing your ingredients throughout the lasagna so you get the flavor of each ingredient in every single bite!
• You'll need at least 3 layers of noodles for a basic lasagna but you can go up to even 5-6 layers of noodles as long as your pan can handle it!
• For this cottage cheese lasagna, the sweet spot is 4 layers of noodles. This gives you enough layers for the traditional lasagna feel while still maintaining a nice stack when portioned out from the pan.
• Don't forget once you add that last layer of noodles, you want to add a moderate layer of spaghetti sauce and a hearty layer of cheese so you can get that melty, cheesy flavor and texture on the top.
• Also, to prevent the cheese from sticking to the tin foil while it bakes, spray the foil with cooking spray or brush it with a thin layer of olive oil before baking. This will ensure that all that melty, ooey gooey cheese stays on the lasagna instead of stuck to the tin foil!
• The hardest part of making lasagna is letting is rest after it's been baked. It will smell amazing and look even tastier than it smells, but that 10-20 minutes of rest will allow the lasagna to absorb all the juices from the sauce, meat, and filling and stick together MUCH better. Because the lasagna is so warm it will retain it's heat and still be piping hot even if you serve it 20 minutes after it's come out of the oven!

Instructions

Saute ground beef in a large skillet with garlic and herbs.

Combine with spaghetti sauce and simmer.

Add fresh spinach, ½ the mozzarella cheese, ½ the Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper to a large bowl.

Mix until well combined.

Spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Layer three noodles on the bottom of the dish, overlapping them slightly.

Divide the spinach filling into ⅓'s. Spread ⅓ of the filling on top of the noodles. Drizzle a heaping ½ cup of meat sauce over the spinach filling.

Layer another 3 noodles.

Spread another ⅓ of the creamy spinach filling on top of the noodles and drizzle a heaping ½ cup of the meat sauce over the spinach filling.

Layer another 3 noodles.

Spread remaining spinach filling over the noodles. Drizzle with a heaping ½ cup of the meat sauce.

Top with the remaining 3 noodles. Spread remaining meat sauce over the noodles in an even layer.

Sprinkle lasagna with remaining shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes.

Let sit at least 10 minutes, then slice. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley, and enjoy!

Tips 

• For the best texture, don't follow the instructions on the box of lasagna. Cook the noodles for about 3 minutes less than the box suggests. This ensures that the noodles are flexible enough to work with, but don't fall apart. They will come out perfectly al dente after they're baked!
• Don't forget to salt your pasta water! Pasta water should be as salty as the sea. I like to add at least 1-2 tablespoons and sometimes more. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. And don't worry about the pasta being salty, much of that salt actually washes away when you drain the noodles.
• Make your sauce a little spicy with a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. It’s an easy way to give this homemade lasagna recipe a delightful kick!

FAQ

Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating 

• Make-Ahead: This lasagna with cheese can be made up to 5 days in advance which makes it a favorite for an easy weeknight dinner!
• Storage: You can store cooked or uncooked lasagna in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Freezing: Lasagna is the absolute best thing to make as a freezer meal for your family. It will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months if you keep it sealed tightly in a freezer-safe airtight oven-safe container. I like to make it in an oven safe 9x13 inch pan, covered in aluminum foil, and sealed inside a large Ziploc bag.
• Reheating: The easiest way to thaw frozen lasagna with cottage cheese is to place it in the refrigerator overnight. Then all you have to do is reheat it in the oven at 375°F for about 30-45 minutes or until warmed through and bubbling.

Serve Lasagna With 

• Simple Garlic Bread
• Caprese Flatbread
• Arugula Salad With Dried Cherries and Goat Cheese
• White Bean Kale Salad

Easy Family Dinner Recipes

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