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The BEST easy, classic lasagna recipe made with a ground beef meat sauce, no- cook noodles, and cottage cheese for extra protein!

Lasagna Recipe

If you happen to’re Italian and also you’re considering, cottage cheese in lasagna? I totally get you! I all the time turned my nose as much as that concept. But with great cottage cheese brands available lately, I recently made these Lasagna Roll Ups with Cottage Cheese and my family went nuts over it! So, I got down to create a cottage-cheese version of my go-to Italian lasagna with meat sauce, and I’ll never make it every other way. It doesn’t change the flavour or texture of the ultimate dish, it just adds more protein – my family devoured it! So in case you’re reading this and considering, “Cottage cheese in lasagna?” I swear it really works. You possibly can’t tell in any respect! More lasagna recipes chances are you’ll love are this Lasagna Soup Recipe, Spaghetti Squash Sausage Lasagna Boats, and Chicken Parmesan Lasagna.

Why You’ll Love This Lasagna Recipe

• Delicious: Lasagna is a classic for a reason. Layered with meat sauce, noodles, and three sorts of cheese, what’s not to love? It’s so good!
• Family-Friendly: This cheesy lasagna recipe is certain to be successful along with your whole family.
• Freezer-Friendly: This pasta dish is ideal for freezing – baked or unbaked.
• Easy: No-boil noodles mean the noodles cook within the oven, which saves you a step.
• High Protein: This healthy lasagna with cottage cheese has more protein than you’ll find in most other recipes.

Lasagna Ingredients

• Ground Beef: I used 93% lean ground beef.
• Onion: Dice half of a medium onion.
• Garlic: Mince three cloves.
• Tomatoes: You’ll need a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes. My favorite brand is Tuttorosso.
• Salt to season the tomatoes
• Noodles: Buy oven-ready lasagna noodles, similar to Barilla’s, to make this easy lasagna with less steps.
• Eggs: Eggs help bind the cheese mixture in lasagna so it doesn’t run out when baked.
• Cottage Cheese: Use a superb quality part-skim cottage cheese, like Good Culture, for extra protein.
• Mozzarella: Mix some part-skim shredded mozzarella within the lasagna filling and sprinkle the rest on top.
• Grated Cheese: You’ll need 1 / 4 cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese.
• Parsley: Add chopped fresh parsley into the cheese mixture and garnish with more.

Methods to Make The Best Lasagna Recipe

1. Make the Tomato Sauce: Add the bottom beef, onion, and garlic to a big skillet and cook on medium-high until the meat isn’t any longer pink. Pour within the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stir a couple of times.
2. Make the Cheese Mixture: Beat the eggs in a big mixing bowl and add the cottage cheese, a half cup of mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, and parsley.
3. Methods to Layer Lasagna: Spread a cup of meat sauce on the underside of a 13-x-9- inch casserole dish, followed by 4 lasagna noodles, a 3rd of the cheese mixture, and a cup of sauce, and repeat. Next, pour the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the remaining of the mozzarella.
4. How Long to Bake Lasagna: Cooking time is about 1 hour. Cover the baking dish tight with aluminum foil to create steam to cook the noodles, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes until the pasta is cooked through. Uncover and cook for an additional five minutes until all of the cheese browns barely.
5. Serve: Garnish the lasagna with parsley and let sit for five minutes before cutting into eight pieces.

Variations

• Is lasagna higher with ricotta or cottage cheese? Each are good in lasagna, but cottage cheese gives it a protein boost. You possibly can substitute equal amounts of ricotta cheese in case you prefer to make a ricotta cheese mixture.
• Pecorino: Substitute Pecorino with parmesan.
• Sausage: Use Italian sausage instead of ground beef.
• Add Meatballs: Use turkey meatballs or beef.
• Protein: Sub lean ground turkey for beef.
• Vegetarian Lasagna: Omit the meat and add thawed frozen spinach or sautéed diced zucchini.
• Gluten-Free Lasagna: Use gluten-free noodles.
• Egg Allergy? Skip the egg. The cheese filling could also be just a little runnier, but it surely’ll still taste good!
• Herbs: Swap parsley with fresh basil.

What to Serve with Lasagna

This homemade lasagna recipe pairs well with some French bread, garlic bread or garlic knots and an Italian salad or veggies, like Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower or Cacio e Pepe Brussels Sprouts.

Methods to Meal Prep Lasagna

• Meal Prep: Assemble the casserole, cover it with foil, and refrigerate it overnight. When able to serve, bake the lasagna as instructed.
• Freeze Unbaked: Tightly cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and foil, and freeze it for up to a few months. Thaw the unbaked lasagna within the fridge and bake in accordance with the directions, or bake it from frozen for about 90 minutes until heated through. (Don’t forget to remove the plastic first!)
• Leftovers: Leftover cooked lasagna will keep within the fridge for as much as 4 days, or you’ll be able to freeze it for as much as 3 months. To thaw, refrigerate it overnight and microwave or bake until warm.

More Ground Beef Recipes You Will Love

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: 1 /eighth

• ▢ 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
• ▢ 1/2 medium onion, diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, I swear by Tuttorosso Green Label
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ Black pepper, to taste
• ▢ 12 no-boil lasagna noodles, similar to Barilla or gluten-free
• ▢ 24 ounces part-skim cottage cheese, from 1 1/2 16-ounce containers, Good Culture (or use ricotta cheese)
• ▢ 2 large eggs, beaten
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• ▢ 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• ▢ 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for for garnish

• Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

• Heat a big skillet, when hot add the bottom beef, onion, and garlic and cook over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up with a picket spoon until no pink stays.

• Add the crushed tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper, to taste, cover and let it simmer over low heat 20 minutes, stirring 3 times.

• In large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and mix with 1 1/2 containers cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, Pecorino Romano and parsley. Put aside.

• In a 13 x 9 baking pan, spread 1 cup of sauce on bottom of pan. Layer within the order, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles (it’s okay in the event that they overlap), then 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1 cup of the sauce.

• Repeat the following layer using 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/3 a part of the cheese mixture, and 1 cup sauce. For the highest layer add the remaining sauce and finish with 1 cup mozzarella.

• Cover tight with foil and bake 55 to 60 minutes, until the pasta is cooked through.

• Uncover and proceed cooking until all of the cheese browns barely, about 5 minutes.

• Garnish with fresh parsley, and let sit 5 minutes before cutting. Slice into 8 pieces.

Last Step:

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Serving: 1 /eighth, Calories: 372 kcal, Carbohydrates: 36 g, Protein: 33.5 g, Fat: 11 g, Saturated Fat: 5.5 g, Cholesterol: 103.5 mg, Sodium: 648 mg, Fiber: 3.5 g, Sugar: 6.5 g