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This quick and easy alternative to lasagna- an addictively easy Lasagna Casserole – uses cottage cheese and a special trick to cook quickly when you want lasagna without the long bake time!
My kids can be super picky when it comes to food. They could eat their body weights in mac and cheese (though, only the super processed box kind), chicken nuggets, and pizza. If they had their way, that’s all they would eat! My daughter loves anything fresh, but we have to con my son into fruits and veggies. The only thing I can load up with veggies without my son batting an eyelash? Lasagna!
We love lasagna- but I’m not always good at planning far enough ahead of time to have the rich, hearty meal- since my lasagna takes at least an hour to bake- let alone noodle cook time (when making a whole lasagna, I prefer the traditional non-quick noodles). I love to toss in veggies that nobody knows are there but me- but sometimes I just need to cook it, quick!
Thankfully, this method makes it easy to quickly cook, without compromising noodle integrity (that’s totally a thing, ok?). The secret all lies in your sauce and noodles- we’re using the bake-ready kind of noodles, and a thinner pasta sauce. Doesn’t matter what kind of sauce you prefer- just pick one that isnt too thick with veggies. We’re going to add plenty of veggies anyways- so keep your sauce on the smoother side. It will help the noodles soak up more liquid!
Speaking of the noodles- we’re only going to add two layers (normally I have 4-5 layers of noodles in lasagna)- and we’re going to break up the noodle sheets into small pieces. This helps them cook faster, and thicken your casserole! Please be sure to use the oven-ready kind that don’t need to be pre-boiled, or this will result in a crunchy dish. Otherwise, feel free to add veggies, meat, or switch up cheeses! (Though I swear by cottage cheese- my cottage cheese lasagna recipe is on the blog and my all time favorite!)
I hope you love this quick hack as much as we do!
Lasagna Casserole
This quick and easy alternative to lasagna uses cottage cheese and a special trick to cook quickly when you want lasagna without the long bake time!
Ingredients
- 1/2 lasagna noodles, package bake-ready
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 zucchini, finely diced
- 2 bell peppers, diced (optional)
- 1 large jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 large package mozzarella
Instructions
- In a casserole dish or pie pan, layer lasagna noodles that have been broken into small pieces onto the bottom.
- Add a layer of sauce.
- Add a layer of onions peppers and zucchini.
- Add a layer of cottage cheese and mozzarella.
- Add more sauce.
- Top with another layer of broken lasagna noodles.
- Top with sauce, cottage cheese, and mozzrella.
- Bake at 400 for 30 minutes- until cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 107Saturated Fat 1gCholesterol 12mgSodium 279mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 5gProtein 9g
Great recipe and really wonderful to “meet” you on craft schooling Sunday, hope you’ll join the party again soon!