Go Back
Cottage cheese lasagna slice on a white plate showing layers of noodles, ground beef sauce and a creamy cheese layer under browned mozzarella
Alex

Cottage Cheese Lasagna

Classic beef lasagna made with blended cottage cheese instead of ricotta and no-boil noodles, baked at 375°F. About 279 calories and 21g protein per slice.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Resting 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 279
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Meat sauce
  • 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 24 oz marinara sauce 1 jar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
Cheese layer
  • 2 cups full-fat (4%) cottage cheese 16 oz
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
Assembly
  • 12 no-boil lasagna noodles oven-ready, uncooked
  • 2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella 8 oz, divided
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan for the top

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9x13 baking dish and one side of a sheet of foil.
  2. Brown the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until no pink remains (160°F). Drain any excess fat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
  3. Stir in the marinara and salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Blend the cottage cheese, egg, ¼ cup Parmesan, Italian seasoning and pepper for about 30 seconds, until completely smooth with no visible curds.
  5. Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce in the dish. Layer 3 noodles, one third of the cheese mixture, ¾ cup of sauce and ½ cup of mozzarella. Repeat these layers two more times.
  6. Top with the last 3 noodles and the remaining sauce, making sure every noodle edge is covered. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Parmesan.
  7. Cover with the greased foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until bubbling and golden.
  8. Let the lasagna rest at least 15 minutes, then cut into 12 slices.

Notes

  • Clean slices: blend the cottage cheese until smooth, use full-fat cottage cheese and low-moisture mozzarella, and rest at least 15 minutes before cutting.
  • No-boil noodles: use them straight from the box and cover every edge with sauce. Regular noodles work too: boil them 2 minutes less than the package says.
  • Swaps: 93% lean ground turkey (cook to 165°F), half Italian sausage, or 10 oz thawed, squeezed-dry spinach stirred into the cheese mixture.
  • Storage: refrigerate up to 3 to 4 days or freeze slices up to 3 to 4 months. Reheat to 165°F.
  • Nutrition is per slice (1 of 12), calculated from USDA FoodData Central (FDC 174030, 172179, 171192, 169736, 170900, 171247, 171287, 170000, 169230, 173468).