• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Creative Manner
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
      • Cold Appetizers
      • Delicious Dips
      • Warm Appetizers
    • Breads and Muffins
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Cookie and Brownie Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Drink and Cocktail Recipes
    • Lunch Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Main Dish Recipes
      • Beef Recipes
      • Pork Recipes
      • Poultry Recipes
    • Sauce Recipes
    • Side Dishes
  • Tips and Tools
  • Outside The Kitchen
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
      • Cold Appetizers
      • Delicious Dips
      • Warm Appetizers
    • Breads and Muffins
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Cookie and Brownie Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Drink and Cocktail Recipes
    • Lunch Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Main Dish Recipes
      • Beef Recipes
      • Pork Recipes
      • Poultry Recipes
    • Sauce Recipes
    • Side Dishes
  • Tips and Tools
  • Outside The Kitchen
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
×
Home » Main Dish Recipes » Beef Recipes

Easy Lasagna Recipe

February 21, 2019 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe
A plate of Lasagna, garlic bread and a fresh salad

This easy lasagna recipe is made with stacked layers of flat think pasta, a ragu meat sauce, cottage cheese, a blend of seasonings, and topped with mozzarella cheese. Baked this casserole in the oven.

Create this Italian recipe for a delicious dinner idea tonight.

Lasagna placed on a white plate with a salad mixture next to it and a garlic cheese toast.

How To Make An Easy Lasagna 

When I make my lasagna I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese. I'm a huge cheese fan but ricotta cheese is not one of them, this is why I use cottage cheese instead.

The first thing I do is put my cottage cheese into a colander to drain the extra liquids the cottage cheese might have. I'll let this sit and drain while I brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic up.

Stirring the cottage cheese every now and again to get the liquid down from the top of the cottage cheese.  I also scrap the bottom of the colander off.

By the time the ground beef is done, there should be enough liquid drained off the cottage cheese.

Three cheese lasagna with ground beef. #mycreativemanner #lasagna #classiclasagna #dinner #recipes #maindish #groundbeef #threecheese

In a medium-sized bowl, I whisk up 1 egg. Then add the cottage cheese and fresh parmesan cheese with the egg.

Mix these three ingredients together. The egg helps bond the cheeses together.  Set this aside.

How to make lasagna step by step. #mycreativemanner

While I have the cottage cheese draining and the ground beef browning, I'll start my sauce. For the sauce, I use this recipe Easy Marinara Sauce in the Instant Pot.

By the time the ground beef and cottage cheese is done this sauce is ready. Have I told you how much I love my Instant Pot?

If you don't have one I highly recommend the Instant Pot Duo, Amazon has a great price on it right now.

When the sauce and ground beef are done I mix the ground beef into the sauce.

How to make a classic lasagna recipe with cottage cheese. #mycreativemanner #lasagna #classiclasagna #dinner #recipes #maindish #groundbeef #threecheese

You will also want to put a pot of water on to boil. I normally just fill my large pot up to a certain level. I'm thinking my large pot takes about 12 cups of water, this will depend on how big your pot is.

You will want enough water to cover the noodles. Once the water has come to a full boil add the lasagna noodles and cook until just about done.

They will finish cooking when you put the lasagna together.

How Many Layers

How many layers should a lasagna have? #mycreativemanner

How many layers should lasagna have? For my lasagna, I normally have 9 layers to it. A layer of flat thin pasta, a layer of ragu meat sauce, a layer of cottage cheese, and a layer of mozzarella cheese.

To make the casserole start stacking the layer in a 9x13 baking dish. Before my laters I like to spray the baking dish with cooking spray. Layer one is the meat sauce, this also will help so the noodles don't stick to the bottom of the baking dish. Only put a thin layer of meat sauce for this layer.

Layer two is flat thin pasta. You will have two layers of noodles, I recommend that when you layer each layer go in different directions.

How to make a classic lasagna recipe with cottage cheese. #mycreativemanner

The first of the noodle layers I laid them going the long way of the baking dish. Overlapping the noodles helps to hold the lasagna together.

Top the noodle layer with that egg, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese mixture. Only use half of this mixture you will need the rest for another layer.

For the next layer add more ragu meat sauce. Since I made my meat sauce from scratch I do have more than what would be in a jarred sauce. So I was able to be generous with the meat sauce on both of the layers.

Top the ragu meat sauce layer with shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Time for more noodles, this time go the width of the baking dish. Again making sure to overlap the noodles to help hold the lasagna together better.

Next add the rest of the egg, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese mixture. Spreading it out as evenly as you can.

Add another layer of ragu meat sauce next. I like to make sure that I don't see any of the other ingredients when I spread the meat sauce out for this layer. Especially the noodles, they have a tendency to crisp up if not fully covered.

For the final layer add the rest of the mozzarella.

How Long To Bake For

A classic lasagna recipe with cottage cheese. #mycreativemanner

I prefer to cover my lasagna casserole with foil at baking time. This helps the lasagna bake evenly and not dry out. I also like to place my prepared lasagna into the refrigerator for an hour before baking. I find this also helps hold the lasagna together better during baking time.

After the hour in the refrigerator, I set it out to come to room temperature before I place it into a 400 ℉ oven for 45-50 minutes. Of course, you don't have to place it in the refrigerator, this is my preference.

A little tip I have is using cookie sheets to go under casserole dishes. I find this help just in case of spills, no one likes to clean the bottom of their oven.

I also often use foil pans for dishes like this. It makes cleaning up so much easier.

Great Sunday Dinner
A plate with easy lasagna, garlic toast, and a fresh salad

This meal is definitely not a quick dinner for the weeknight, I find it's a great meal to have on a Sunday when I have more time to cook.

This classic lasagna pairs well with my French Garlic Cheese Toast recipe. 

It is a large meal so what I did is used half of it for our Sunday dinner. Then place the other half in a foil pan that I covered with foil and placed into the freezer for another night.

My Creative Manner is answering the question "what's there to eat" with simple recipe creations ~ Jen

Other My Creative Manner recipes you may enjoy are:

Frenh Garlic Cheese Toast

Easy Marinara Sauce in the Instant Pot

The Best Ever Meatloaf

A plate of Lasagna, garlic bread and a fresh salad

Home » Main Dish Recipes » Beef Recipes
Beef Dinner Recipes
A plate with easy lasagna, garlic toast, and a fresh salad
0 from 0 votes
Print

Classic Lasagna Recipe

A simple classic Lasagna recipe made with cottage cheese and ground beef. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Cottage Cheese, Dinner, Dinner recipes, Easy Dinner Ideas, Ground Beef Recipe, Ground Beef Recipes, Lasagna, Main Dish Recipes, Sunday Dinner, Supper Recipes, Three Cheese
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 12 People
Calories 420 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ Pounds Ground Beef
  • ½ Cup Onion Dice
  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic minced
  • 1 Teaspoon Fresh Parsley finely chopped
  • 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • Pepper to taste
  • Sauce I used Easy Marinara Sauce in the Instant Pot
  • 24 Ounces Cottage Cheese Small Cured
  • 1 Large Egg
  • ⅓ Cup Parmesan Cheese Fresh
  • 12 cups Water depending on the size of your pot, may take less.
  • Pinch Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 16 Ounce Box Lasagna Noodles
  • 8 Ounces Mozzarella Cheese Shredded

Instructions

  1. In a large fry pan brown ground beef, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, and pepper. 

  2. For the sauce, I used the recipe that is on the blog for Easy Marinara Sauce in the Instant Pot

  3. Once ground beef is done drain any grease from it. Add the ground beef to the Marinara Sauce. 

  4. In a colander drain the liquid from the cottage cheese.  

  5. In a medium-sized bowl whisk the egg. Add the cottage cheese and parmesan cheese to the egg, mix well. Set aside.  

  6. In a large pot boil the water. Add a pinch of salt and olive oil.  When water comes to a full boil add the lasagna noodles. Cook noodles until almost done. 

  7. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

  8. Layer starting with sauce, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, meat sauce, mozzarella cheese, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese. 

  9. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 1 hour. Then bring the baking dish to room temperature. 

  10. Place baking dish on a cookie sheet and place into a preheated 400℉ oven

  11. Bake for 45-50 minutes. 

Recipe Notes

When layering the noodles have one layer going in one direction and the next layer going in the other direction. This helps hold the Lasagna together better.

 

For the sauce, I used Easy Marinara Sauce in the Instant Pot

 

Thank you for visiting My Creative Manner. We hope that you enjoy this and many more of our recipes. My Creative Manner is not responsible for the outcome of any of our recipes found on our website. Or that may be linked from or to other websites. The desired outcome of these recipes may not be achieved due to several factors, including ingredients, equipment, errors/typos, or the reader's individual cooking skills.

 

Nutrition Facts
Classic Lasagna Recipe
Serving Size
 
12 Servings
Amount per Serving
Calories
420
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
20
g
31
%
Saturated Fat
 
9
g
56
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Cholesterol
 
82
mg
27
%
Sodium
 
428
mg
19
%
Potassium
 
334
mg
10
%
Carbohydrates
 
32
g
11
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
3
g
3
%
Protein
 
27
g
54
%
Vitamin A
 
255
IU
5
%
Vitamin C
 
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
208
mg
21
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

« Bahama Mama Cocktail
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice »
  • Share
  • Tweet

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Jennifer - My Creative Manner
Welcome to My Creative Manner, I’m so happy to have you here! My name is Jennifer but my friends and family call me Jen. I’m from Michigan where my high school sweetheart and I are raising our three wonderful kids. Life can get busy but our goal is family first, so meals together are a must in our home.
Find out more about me

Stay updated!

Get a free list of Instant Pot terms when you sign up to receive our emails.

Categories

Most Popular

Looking down into a bowl with all the spices that make up homemade old bay seasoning.

Homemade Old Bay Seasoning Recipe

Looking down on a slice of the minty dump cake recipe that has a fork with some on it.

Easy Grasshopper Mint Dump Cake

Looking down on a slice of the chocolate cake on a plate with more of the German dump cake in a baking dish.

German Chocolate Dump Cake

Looking down onto a platter of pumpkin muffins with crumb topping.

Pumpkin Muffins With Streusel Topping

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned on this site.

I earn commissions from qualifying purchases as an Amazon associate

All images on this site belong to My Creative Manner

Copyright © 2017- 2025 My Creative Manner

Green Woods Formulations, LLC

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required