Lasagna With Cottage Cheese
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This lasagna with cottage cheese is a lighter twist on the classic without sacrificing any flavor! It’s hearty, creamy, protein-packed, and cheesy.
I love a good homemade lasagna, but sometimes I want it to be a touch lighter and higher in protein…provided it tastes like the real thing. That’s where this cottage cheese lasagna comes in.
I tested a few versions over the years, and cottage cheese turned out to be the perfect substitute for ricotta. It adds extra protein, keeps everything creamy, and no one in my family, not even my ultra-picky partner, even noticed the change until I told them. It’s also quite a fair bit lower in fat, which to me means extra gooey mozzarella on top. It’s now become our go-to lasagna!
Table of Contents
Recipe highlights
- No cottage cheese taste. The cottage cheese blends seamlessly into the noodles for creamy, cheesy goodness.
- Perfect make-ahead meal. I love to prep a double batch and keep one in the freezer for busy weeknights. It can be cooked frozen and tastes just as good!
What people are saying
★★★★★ – “Five-star recipe! Thank you for this lighter take on lasagna. I switched the ground beef out for a lean ground turkey, and it also tasted great.” – Sabrina
Key Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients for this lasagna recipe with cottage cheese, along with my kitchen notes. The complete list is in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef. I prefer lean ground beef because it’s lower in fat and higher in protein, but any ground beef works. If you choose a higher-fat one, simmer the mixture for an extra 3-4 minutes to reduce the excess liquid.
- Tomato sauce. No, not ketchup! This is 100% unsweetened tomatoes, often called Pasata (Australian and UK friends, especially).
- Crushed tomatoes. I recommend tomatoes in their natural juices rather than those with spices or seasonings. My seasoning mix already packs in the right balance of flavor.
- Tomato paste. A small amount of tomato paste added to the sauce enriches the sauce’s tomato flavor.
- Vegetables. I’m using bell pepper, onion, and garlic. They help provide the rich, flavor base for the sauce.
- Vinegar. Use red or white wine vinegar to balance the tomatoes’ acidity and tartness.
- Seasonings. Kosher salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Sugar. To reduce the acidity of the tomatoes, you may need to add a small amount of sugar to the sauce. I’ve always added a pinch of sugar to all my pasta sauces (thanks, Mom!).
To assemble the lasagna:
- Lasagna noodles. You will need nine lasagna noodles to assemble this in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Don’t worry if they break apart or you only have small ones; you can fit them all in.
- Cottage cheese. To replicate ricotta’s texture and flavor, always choose full-fat cottage cheese, either small curd or smooth. If your cottage cheese is large curd, blend it until smooth before adding it to the lasagna, or make my whipped cottage cheese. You can also use my dairy-free cottage cheese if you need to cut back on dairy.
- Mozzarella cheese. Grated mozzarella cheese melts perfectly layered between the sauce and the lasagna noodles.
- Parmesan cheese. To finish off the lasagna with a bold, cheesy flavor.
- Basil and parsley. To sprinkle on the lasagna before serving.
How to make lasagna with cottage cheese
Step 1- Cook the meat. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, bell peppers, and minced garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant. Add the ground beef. Use a wooden spoon to break apart the meat and cook it until it’s no longer pink.
Step 2- Build the sauce. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, simmer for 5 minutes, then remove.
Step 3- Assemble the lasagna by adding a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, then 1/3 of the cottage cheese and 1/3 of the grated mozzarella, then more meat sauce. Repeat.
Step 4- Bake. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
Ways I’ve changed up this lasagna
The beauty of this lasagna is how easy it is to customize with different ingredients or flavor profiles. Here are some of my favorite ways to tweak it:
- Use other ground meat. I’ve had success using ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, and even Italian sausage.
- Add veggies to the sauce. My favorite way to sneak in extra nutrition. Baby spinach, sliced zucchini, grated carrots, and diced celery are great additions.
- Roast the bell peppers. Adding roasted peppers to the beef sauce will give it a hint of smokiness.
- Make a bechamel. If you prefer your cheesy sauce even creamier, add two eggs to the mixture.
- Use fresh noodles. You’ll need to boil the noodles first.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Use a store-bought marinara sauce to save time. Or spaghetti sauce. I have tried both my pomodoro sauce and sugo recipes for this dish, and they have worked perfectly.
- Freshly shredded mozzarella cheese melts better and tastes better, too, so skip the pre-shredded kind.
- Take your time dividing the beef sauce and grated cheese into even portions. Spread the sauce and cheese evenly over the lasagna noodles so each bite is full of flavor.
- Scale up the recipe. While this recipe calls for only three layers of noodles, you can make six layers to make the lasagna more filling and feed more people. Double this recipe and you are good to go.
- Make it gluten-free. I recently made this for my celiac niece, and it turned out almost the same. All I did was switch out the lasagna noodles for gluten-free ones (I love Barilla). Check the label on the cottage cheese, too. Some brands add wheat starch to cottage cheese to improve its consistency.
Leftovers and make-ahead
To store: Place leftover portions of lasagna in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to five days.
To freeze: Leftover cottage cheese lasagna can be stored in individual portions in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Make ahead: Assemble the lasagna, cover it with aluminum foil, and freeze it for up to 3 months. When it’s time to bake, remove the frozen lasagna from the freezer and bake it, covered, until it defrosts and cooks. Remove the foil cover and bake the lasagna until the top is bubbly and golden brown.
Frequently asked questions
No, you don’t need to drain the cottage cheese. Lasagna actually benefits from a little extra moisture because the noodles absorb it as they bake, helping everything stay creamy instead of dry. As long as your cottage cheese isn’t extremely watery, it won’t make the lasagna runny.
You shouldn’t have this issue with my recipe because I’ve balanced the sauce-to-cheese ratio specifically to prevent a soggy or collapsing lasagna. Traditional lasagnas often have excess sauce or too much cheese filling, which creates extra moisture and stops the layers from setting. In my version, the meat sauce is slightly thicker and the cottage cheese layer is lighter, so everything bakes up firm and easy to slice.
✅ Nutrition reviewed
Nutrition information has been reviewed by registered dietitian Felicia Newell, MScAHN, RD, CPT.
Lasagna With Cottage Cheese
Video
Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1/2 large bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef I used extra lean beef
- 28 ounces tomato sauce
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 14 ounces canned tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lasagna
- 1/2 pound lasagna noodles 9 large sheets
- 24 ounces cottage cheese
- 16 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 4 ounces parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- In a non-stick pan, add the olive oil and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic, and cook until fragrant. Once cooked, add the ground beef and use a wooden spoon to break it apart. Cook until no longer pink.
- Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes, along with the remaining meat sauce ingredients, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to low and let everything simmer for 5 minutes, or until it has thickened.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or pan.
- To assemble the lasagna, add a thin layer of the meat sauce to the bottom. Next, add a layer of lasagna noodles, followed by 1/3 of the cottage cheese, and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese, followed by more meat sauce. Repeat this process until all the lasagna noodles are used up. Top with the remaining cheeses, along with the Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake the lasagna for 25 minutes, before removing the foil for another 15 minutes. Let the lasagna cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Leftovers: Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for 2 months.
- Reheating: I find microwaving portions for 30-40 seconds to be easiest, but you can also do it in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
Nutrition
More creative lasagna recipes
Originally published December 2022
Best lasagna ever, even when cold!
Haha, I love this cold!
This was so delicious, i’d never tried with cottage cheese. I made a bit extra sauce because i like mine really saucy. thanks so much.
Can you use Fire Roasted tomatoes?
Yes! I also have a simple homemade recipe for it that I’ve used many times in this 🙂 https://thebigmansworld.com/fire-roasted-tomatoes/
Obsessed with your lasagna with cottage cheese! It’s SO good!
This recipe was amazing!! This satisfied my lasagna craving all while not breaking my calorie budget AND helped me hit my protein goals. Win.
For those confused about the noodles, I just used regular, dry lasagna noodles and didn’t pre boil them. They came out perfect.
Yummy! We love this recipe. We use ground pork sometimes, too, & can’t tell any difference from beef.
Made a 2x batch in a large dish. I grew up on Cottage Cheese Lasagna using soy morning star sausage. I have always enjoyed Cottage over Ricotta Cheese. I prefer large curd. My dish allows me to make a 5 layer Lasagna. Great dish.