The Best Easy Lasagna
The Best Easy Lasagna recipe is made with no boil noodles, cottage cheese, and lots of mozzarella cheese!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion - medium sized, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 32 oz pasta sauce
- 16 oz cottage cheese, full-fat, small curd
- 16 oz mozzarella cheese, divded
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 2 large eggs
- 9-12 lasagna noodles, no-boil
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish by spraying it with non-stick spray.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add onion to the pan and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until onions are tender and translucent.
- Stir in minced garlic and allow it to cook for 30-60 seconds.
- Add in ground Italian sausage. Break it up into bite sized pieces. When fully cooked, drain excess grease.
- To the ground meat, onion and garlic mixture, stir in basil, parsley and oregano.
- Reserve 8 ounces of pasta sauce for assembling the lasagna, then add the remaining 24 ounces of pasta sauce to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer the meat sauce for 8-10 minutes.
- While the sauce simmers, prepare the cheese mixture. In a large bowl combine cottage cheese,10-12 ounces of mozzarella cheese (be sure to reserve 4-6 ounces of mozzarella cheese for the top of the lasagna- a heaping cup full), finely grated parmesan cheese, softened cream cheese and 2 eggs. Mix to combine.
- To assemble the lasagna: pour 1 cup of reserved pasta sauce in the bottom of the prepared 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and spread it evenly.
- Add a layer of no-boil lasagna noodles. It should take about 3-4 noodles. Leave room between the noodles so that there is space for them to expand as they cook.
- Top the noodles with ⅓ of the meat sauce and ½ of the cheese mixture..
- Add a second layer of noodles with ⅓ of the meat sauce and the remaining cheese mixture.
- Add a third layer of noodles and top with the remaining meat sauce. Top with the reserved mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the lasagna with tinfoil then bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the tinfoil after 45 minutes then continue baking uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and melted and the no-boil lasagna noodles are tender.
- Allow the lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before serving.