Lasagna is a beloved dish in our household! This is a recipe that I came up with that is simple and easy, but full of delicious flavor. Without fail, every person I've made this lasagna for has fallen in love with it. To get the most out of this dish, I highly recommend using fresh garlic and grating your own cheese. I've experimented with both boiling noodles and using oven-ready noodles. I prefer the oven-ready because they seem to retain their texture better. I typically don't like cottage cheese, but when melted in the lasagna you can't even tell it's there! The cottage cheese adds just enough moisture and flavor, helping you avoid that dreadful dry texture that sometimes comes with using ricotta. I hope this recipe brings you the same joy around the dinner table that it has brought to our family and friends!
Ingredients
- 1.25 lb. ground beef
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated on a micro plain
- 40 oz. traditional pasta sauce
- 16 oz. mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
- 8 oz. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 24 oz. small curd cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
- 18 sheets oven ready lasagna noodles
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a large lasagna pan with 1 tablespoon of butter. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of the greased pan to prevent the noodles from sticking.
- In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef and garlic over medium heat. Drain excess grease and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Add the remaining pasta sauce and 1 tablespoon of butter to the meat mixture. Heat on medium-low until the butter is melted, then add a drizzle of olive oil.
- Layer 6 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan, slightly overlapping them if necessary to fit. Add a layer of meat mixture, followed by spoonfuls of cottage cheese, and top with shredded cheese.
- Repeat for 2nd layer. For the third and final layer, add the remaining meat/sauce mixture and top with shredded cheese (no cottage cheese on this layer). Sprinkle the top with a little Italian seasoning.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let the lasagna set/cool for 15 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
- I prefer using Hunt's traditional pasta sauce, which comes in a 24-ounce can. Occasionally, I mix traditional and 4-cheese flavors. I've found that 2 full cans can be too much, so I typically use one full can of traditional sauce and half to three-quarters of a second can, either traditional or 4-cheese, to achieve the perfect balance.
- f you prefer, you can substitute venison for the ground beef. Because venison is leaner, there's no need to drain the grease.
