Lasagna Recipe with Cottage Cheese

This lasagna recipe with cottage cheese has been tested across four generations of women in my family: my grandma, my mom, me, and now my daughter. And somehow, after all these years, I still have not found a single person who didn’t absolutely love it.

This is not fancy gourmet lasagna. There’s no ricotta cheese, no spicy Italian sausage, no complicated ingredients, and no twenty-step process that destroys your kitchen and makes you question your life choices halfway through dinner prep.

This is the kind of lasagna normal people actually make and eat.

It’s simple, inexpensive, filling, and surprisingly picky-eater friendly. My mom can’t stand spicy food at all. Seriously, black pepper is pushing it for her. My picky child happily eats this too. And every time I’ve served this lasagna to guests, they’ve gone back for seconds.

Honestly, I think part of the magic is that it doesn’t try too hard.

The cottage cheese keeps it creamy without making it heavy, the hamburger and onion base gives it a mild comforting flavor, and the whole thing just works. Plus, it saves a little money compared to traditional lasagna recipes because cottage cheese is usually cheaper than ricotta cheese.

And the leftovers? Somehow even better.

Once this lasagna cools down and spends the night in the refrigerator, it reheats beautifully the next day. The layers settle together, the flavors deepen, and those leftovers become the kind of lunch you start thinking about before breakfast is even over.

If you’ve never tried lasagna with cottage cheese before, this is your sign to make it at least once. I have a feeling you’re going to understand very quickly why this recipe stuck around for four generations.

Why This Lasagna Recipe with Cottage Cheese Works So Well

✅ Budget-friendly ingredients
Uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese to save a little money without sacrificing flavor.

✅ Naturally egg-free
No eggs needed, which makes this a great option for people with egg allergies or sensitivities.

✅ Mild flavor for picky eaters
No spicy sausage, no strong seasonings, and no overwhelming flavors. Even my mom — who thinks black pepper is “too spicy” — happily eats this lasagna.

✅ Family-tested across 4 generations
This recipe has been made by my grandma, my mom, me, and now my daughter.

✅ Uses simple grocery store ingredients
No specialty ingredients or fancy cheeses required.

✅ Beginner-friendly recipe
If you can brown hamburger, boil noodles, and layer ingredients in a pan, you can make this lasagna.

✅ Great make-ahead freezer meal
This lasagna freezes and reheats beautifully.

✅ Tastes even better the next day
Once the layers settle overnight in the refrigerator, the leftovers somehow become even more delicious.

✅ Flexible and forgiving
Fresh garlic tastes amazing in this recipe, but you can leave it out. Pre-shredded mozzarella works too. This recipe is very hard to mess up.

✅ Built on a versatile hamburger and onion base
The simple hamburger and onion mixture used in this lasagna is also the base for several other easy family meals in my kitchen.

Ingredients and Supplies for This Lasagna Recipe with Cottage Cheese

One of the reasons this lasagna recipe with cottage cheese works so well is because the ingredients are simple, affordable, and easy to find in a regular grocery store. No specialty cheeses, no fancy sauces, and no complicated prep work.

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds hamburger
  (I would rather have slightly too much hamburger than not enough. Don’t skimp here.)
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 package Schilling spaghetti sauce mix
  (Or a similar spaghetti sauce seasoning mix.)
• 1 (18-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 12 large lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces cottage cheese
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2–3 large cloves garlic, minced (optional, but highly recommended)
• Cooking oil for the pan and onions
  (I usually use virgin coconut oil, but use whatever works for you.)

Kitchen Supplies You’ll Need

• Large stock pot for boiling noodles
• Large frying pan or skillet for the hamburger mixture
• 4.8-quart (4.5-liter) glass baking dish
  Mine is a Pyrex that measures approximately 10½ x 15 inches.
• Aluminum foil to cover the lasagna while baking

Quick Time Breakdown

• Prep Time: About 30 minutes
• Bake Time: 25–30 minutes
• Resting Time: About 20 minutes
• Total Time: About 1 hour 20 minutes

Shortcut Tip

Pre-shredded mozzarella cheese works perfectly fine in this recipe and saves a lot of prep time. Freshly grated mozzarella melts a little smoother, but honestly, both versions taste great.

Before You Start: A Quick Timing Tip

When I make this lasagna, I always make the hamburger, onion, and tomato mixture first before I boil the noodles, and make sure the mozzarella is already shredded.

It’s perfectly fine to have your pot of water heating up while you work on the sauce mixture, but I don’t actually cook the noodles until everything else is ready to go.

Otherwise, the noodles can end up overcooked by the time you assemble the lasagna, especially since they’ll continue cooking in the oven too.

This little timing trick helps the lasagna layers hold together better and keeps the noodles from getting mushy.

Step 1: Cook the Hamburger and Onion Mixture

Dice your onion and sauté it in about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat for 2–3 minutes.

Once the onions start softening, add the hamburger and season everything with salt and pepper. Cook until the hamburger is fully browned.

If there’s a large amount of grease in the pan, go ahead and drain off the excess fat. If you’re using extra lean hamburger, you may not need to drain anything.

If you’re adding garlic, I usually scoot the hamburger mixture over to one side of the pan and cook the garlic directly in the middle for about 1–2 minutes before mixing everything together. Just keep an eye on it because burnt garlic does not taste very good.

If you already have pre-cooked hamburger and onions in the freezer or refrigerator, you can absolutely use that here too. Just heat it up in the pan and add garlic if you want the extra flavor.

Step 2: Add the Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes, and Spaghetti Sauce Mix

Once the hamburger and onions are cooked, add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce mix to the pan.

Stir everything together really well so the seasoning mix gets evenly distributed throughout the hamburger mixture.

Bring the mixture to a low simmer and let it cook for about 1 minute, just long enough for the flavors to combine.

You don’t need to simmer this for a long time. Since the lasagna is going into the oven afterward, this step is really just about getting everything mixed together and heated through.

Step 3: Boil the Lasagna Noodles

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. You’ll need enough water to fully cook 12 large lasagna noodles. I’m using an 8-quart stock pot filled about three-quarters of the way full, just to give you an idea of the size.

As the noodles soften, they’ll slowly sink down into the water. Just make sure they become fully submerged within the first minute or so.

I recommend boiling the noodles for about 1 minute less than the package directions say. The noodles will continue absorbing moisture while you assemble the lasagna, and then they’ll cook even more in the oven.

Slightly undercooking them here helps keep the finished lasagna from turning mushy later.

While the noodles are boiling, lightly grease your baking dish so it’s ready to go once the noodles are done.

After the noodles finish cooking, I like to drain most of the hot water out and then add some cold water back into the pot to cool the noodles down a little. You want the noodles cool enough to comfortably handle while you line the pan.

You can absolutely use tongs or gloves if you want to, but honestly, I’ve found it’s easiest to grab the noodles right out of the water once the water level is lower and the noodles have cooled down a bit. Just make sure the water is warm and not hot enough to burn you.

Now is the time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 4: Line the Pan with the First Layer of Lasagna Noodles

Pull the lasagna noodles out of the pot one at a time, gently shaking a little of the water off each noodle before placing it into the greased baking dish.

Use 6 noodles total for the first layer, slightly overlapping them as needed so the bottom of the pan is covered.

And honestly, don’t stress about making them perfectly straight.

This lasagna still turns out beautifully even if the noodles are a little crooked, folded funny, or not perfectly lined up. Once everything bakes together, nobody is going to notice.

Pro Tip:
If the noodles are hanging over the sides of the pan too much, I like to use kitchen scissors to trim them down a little. That helps keep stray noodle edges from sticking out of the top of the lasagna and drying out while it bakes.

Step 5: Add the First Layer of Hamburger Mixture

One of the biggest mistakes people make when layering a lasagna is overfilling the layers. It sounds good at first, is more satisfying and looks more complete, but it will throw off the balance of your lasagna and make it fall apart like crazy.

You need a good noodle to hamburger mix to cheese balance.

Now, take about half of the hamburger mixture and start evenly dotting it around over the lasagna noodles.

Then gently spread and pat it out across the noodles as evenly as you can without sliding the noodles all over the pan.

And yes, it is probably going to feel like you don’t have enough hamburger mixture.

In the image below, you can see what it should look like once spread out. Notice there are small gaps. That’s OK!

You’re going to be tempted to use more than half of it on this first layer. Don’t do it. Trust me. You’ll need the rest for the second layer later.

It’s completely fine if there are a few small spaces here and there once it’s spread out.

I do try to make sure there’s some hamburger mixture in the corners, though, because the corners tend to dry out more during baking.

Step 6: Add the Cottage Cheese Layer

Now it’s time to add the cottage cheese layer.

Just like the hamburger mixture, you’re only going to use about half of the cottage cheese here. And again, it’s probably going to feel like you don’t have enough at first.

Try not to use extra, or you won’t have enough left for the second layer later on.

I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to evenly dot spoonfuls of cottage cheese around the lasagna, starting with the corners first and then working inward. I try to space it out as evenly as possible while keeping an eye on how much cottage cheese I’m using.

There’s honestly a little bit of an art to this, and it may take a little practice the first time you make it.

Once the cottage cheese is dotted around the pan, go back with your spoon and gently spread or tap each little section outward. It does not have to completely cover every inch of the lasagna.

A few small gaps are perfectly fine. The goal is just to get it reasonably even across the layer.

It’s going to be really tempting to use more cottage cheese here. Even if you have an extra container of cottage cheese, don’t over-do it. It will throw off the balance of the recipe and make it too heavy.

See how I’ve carefully spooned smeared it all around? It looks thin and incomplete, but I promise it’s perfect.

It still kills my perfectionist tendencies to see it this way, but I know better from messing it up before.

Step 7: Add the Mozzarella Cheese Layer

Now grab your mozzarella cheese and spread about half of it evenly over the cottage cheese layer.

You may actually want to use slightly less than half here so you can save a little extra cheese for the top layer later on.

Just sprinkle it across the lasagna as evenly as you can. It doesn’t need to be absolutely perfect.

At this point, you should have a full first layer of:

• noodles
• hamburger mixture
• cottage cheese
• mozzarella cheese

And now you’re ready to repeat the layering process one more time.

Step 8: Repeat the Layers One More Time

Now you’re going to repeat the exact same layering process one more time in the same order:

• lasagna noodles
• hamburger mixture
• cottage cheese
• mozzarella cheese

Start by laying the remaining noodles over the shredded cheese layer.

Then add the rest of the hamburger mixture, followed by the remaining cottage cheese, and finally top everything with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

And yes, by this point you’re probably going to feel like you don’t have enough left.

You’ll likely find yourself scraping every last bit out of the hamburger pan and digging the final spoonfuls out of the cottage cheese container trying to stretch everything across the pan.

That’s normal.

Every single time I make this lasagna, I have a moment where I look at it and think:

“There is no way this is enough.”

But once it bakes, it turns out perfectly.

Step 9: Cover and Bake the Lasagna

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place it into a preheated 350-degree oven.

Bake the lasagna for 25–30 minutes. In my oven, 30 minutes seems to be just about perfect.

If you want a little more color on top, you can remove the foil during the last 5–10 minutes of baking to let the mozzarella brown slightly.

I personally usually leave the foil on the entire time, but either way works depending on how you like your cheese on top.

Step 10: Let the Lasagna Rest Before Serving

Once the lasagna comes out of the oven, I know you’re probably going to be starving because your kitchen smells amazing by this point, but try to let it sit for about 20 minutes before uncovering it or cutting into it.

This gives the layers time to cool down and settle a little so the lasagna holds together better when you serve it.

Now, even after resting, this is not one of those super firm lasagnas that cuts into perfect little restaurant-style squares. It’s still going to fall apart a bit when you scoop it onto the plate.

And honestly? That’s okay.

If your lasagna looks a little messy instead of like a perfectly styled Pinterest photo, don’t stress about it for one second. It is absolutely worth it because it tastes so ridiculously good.

What to Serve with This Lasagna Recipe with Cottage Cheese

This lasagna is rich, cheesy, filling, and honestly makes an amazing comfort food dinner all by itself, but a couple simple sides turn it into a really solid meal.

My favorite thing to serve with it is homemade garlic bread or garlic toast. The crispy buttery bread with the cheesy lasagna is just one of those combinations that never gets old.

A simple side salad also works perfectly with this recipe.

Some of my favorites are:

• Caesar salad
• Basic salad mix with extra veggies
• Ranch dressing
• Blue cheese dressing
• Whatever dressing your family actually likes and will eat

A few vegetables that make a great side for lasagna.

Roasted broccoli, asparagus or green beans are a simple side that can really compliment lasagna. Make it pop with a little garlic, butter and/or parmesan cheese topping.

If you don’t have the oven space to roast, simply boil or steam your veggies. Remember, the lasagna is your show-stopper and the sides get a supporting role.

Nothing fancy needed here.

That’s honestly part of why I love this meal so much. It’s simple, filling, budget-friendly, and it feeds people well without turning dinner into a huge complicated production.

And if you happen to have leftovers the next day, you’re in luck, because somehow this lasagna tastes even better after it’s been refrigerated overnight and reheated the next day.

Honestly, if you take a slice of this to work for lunch, your coworkers are probably going to be jealous. Once that cheesy lasagna starts heating up in the microwave, people start sniffing the air trying to figure out who brought the good lunch.

AI Disclosure: This post was created with the assistance of AI tools for brainstorming, editing, and organization, which helps me manage chronic pain and physical limitations during long writing sessions. All content is based on my real-life experience and is reviewed and edited by me. Some or all images in this post may be AI-generated for illustration and inspiration. Learn more about how I use AI here.