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 3 days in advance, so you can prep it whenever you have time and enjoy a hearty, home-cooked meal when it’s convenient for you!

The kind of dinner everyone gets excited about.

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!

Layering lasagna like a pro.

• Lightly grease a 9×13 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! The 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 sticking to the tin foil!
• The hardest part of making lasagna is letting it 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 its heat and still be piping hot even if you serve it 20 minutes after it’s come out of the oven!

Here’s how it all comes together.

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

Combine with spaghetti sauce and simmer.

Add fresh spinach, 1/2 the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 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 9×13 baking dish. Layer three noodles on the bottom of the dish, overlapping them slightly.

Divide the spinach filling into 1/3’s. Spread 1/3 of the filling on top of the noodles. Drizzle a heaping 1/2 cup of meat sauce over the spinach filling.

Layer another 3 noodles.

Spread another 1/3 of the creamy spinach filling on top of the noodles and drizzle a heaping 1/2 cup of the meat sauce over the spinach filling.

Layer another 3 noodles.

Spread remaining spinach filling over the noodles. Drizzle with a heaping 1/2 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!

Things I learned while testing this lasagna recipe.

• 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!

Prep now, thank yourself later.

You can assemble this cheesy lasagna up to 3 days in advance, cover it tightly, and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. It’s one of my favorite make-ahead dinners because all the work is done ahead of time. When dinner rolls around, you just pop it in the oven and let it get hot, bubbly, and perfectly golden.

Just in case you have leftovers.

• 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 9×13-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.

What I’d serve with this easy lasagna recipe.

• simple crispy garlic bread
• cheesy sliced garlic bread (Texas Toast)
• the perfect house salad
• air fryer green beans
• air fryer asparagus

More easy family dinners for your eating pleasure.