Beyond the Curds: Discovering the Magic of Cottage Cheese Cooking
A comforting and flavorful lasagna made with a creamy cottage cheese filling. A fantastic way to discover the versatility of cottage cheese!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lb lean ground beef (96/4)
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 32 oz jar of marinara sauce (I use Rao’s)
Filling:
- 16 oz low-fat small curd cottage cheese (Good Culture for best flavor)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (56g)
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 10 oz rozen spinach, defrosted and strained
Lasagna:
- 8 oven-ready lasagna noodles (Barilla)
- 2 cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded (224g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions to the pan and cook until nicely browned, approximately 3-5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and break into bite-size pieces. Cook until fully cooked through, mixing often, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add the oregano, Italian seasoning, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper to the beef mixture and combine to evenly coat.
- Add sauce, combine and simmer while you prepare the cottage cheese filling.
- For the filling: combine the cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and mix well to combine.
- Add the defrosted and strained spinach to the cottage cheese mixture and mix to combine.
- Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add a dollop of the meat mixture to the bottom of the dish to lightly coat the bottom.
- Top with 4 noodles, the noodles are the width of the baking dish (short side) not the length.
- Top the noodles evenly with ½ cup mozzarella cheese (56g), followed by half the meat mixture. Use a spoon or spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the noodles.
- Top the meat mixture with half the cottage cheese filling and spread to coat the top.
- Repeat with 4 noodles, ½ cup cheese, remaining meat mixture, remaining cottage cheese filling, and 1 cup cheese on top.
- Place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. Cover the dish with foil, try to avoid touching the cheese on top so that it doesn’t stick to the foil.
- Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned and the sauce is nice and bubbly at the edges.
- Top with freshly chopped parsley and cut into 12 equal servings and enjoy this easy lasagna recipe.
Notes
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
- Defrost the spinach in the microwave and strain. I personally find it best to just squeeze the spinach with my hands to squeeze out as much water as possible.
- You do not need to blend the cottage cheese; it will blend together once baked.