A comforting, veggie-packed homemade lasagna recipe with cottage cheese! This is everyone’s favorite lasagna loaded with spicy sausage and an ultra-creamy filling. It’s ideal any time of the year and is the best for meal prepping or serving a big crowd.

This Cottage Cheese Lasagna is one of my family’s favorite recipes from growing up. It was something we had at least once a month and was often my mom’s go-to meal for delivering to others.

Layered with noodles, a sausage tomato sauce, and cheesy filling made with cottage cheese, there’s nothing better. It’s a pasta bake great for meal prep because it’s great as leftovers. It’s also perfect for a cold-weather gathering with family and friends.

The ingredient list is extremely approachable and it’s a fun recipe to make with someone. Plus, feel free to customize the lasagna with additional veggies and meat, or keep it as-is.

We’ve gotta talk about the bell of the ball, cottage cheese! For the best texture and flavor, we recommend using whole milk cottage cheese. Any brand will do—use your favorite. Cottage cheese lightens up the traditional ricotta-only cheese layer of lasagna.

If you use 2% cottage cheese the lasagna will be a bit less creamy and more watery.

Use any leftover cottage cheese to make Apricot Cake or Cottage Cheese Pancakes!

And if you love a pasta dish, try my mushroom bolognese, pistachio pesto pasta, or easy cherry tomato sauce.

deeply browned lasagna in a large white baking dish

What’s Notable About This Recipe

Meal prep dream! Make this lasagna on the weekend and have dinner prepped all week long. The leftovers can also be easily stored in the freezer for a later date.
Easy to assemble. Lasagna can be intimidating. But once you get one batch of layers down, it’s easy.
Cottage cheese filling. This recipe is a family lasagna recipe that’s been passed down from my Mom. I love it and I hope you do too! The addition of cottage cheese makes it high protein, but also extra creamy. What could be better?

Ricotta Cheese vs. Cottage Cheese

Ricotta cheese is a fresh cheese known as “whey cheese.” It’s made from the resulting whey protein leftover from making other types of cheese. You can read more about the process here. But for cooking purposes, know that it’s light, fluffy and milky in flavor. Ricotta is best used in lasagna, as fillings for pasta, or as a base for dips.
Cottage cheese is also a fresh cheese. It features small curds of cheese in a creamy, milk-like sauce. It’s made by adding an acid to milk, resulting in curds separating from whey. The curds are then cut, pressed, rinsed and seasoned lightly with salt.

I tested and developed this recipe using a combination of cottage cheese and ricotta. I have not tested this recipe with only cottage cheese, so because of that I do not recommend making any substitutions

Ingredient Notes

Homemade Tomato Sauce:

canned tomatoes, diced onion, herbs, oil, and garlic measured out and set on a counter

Onion and garlic: I use a white onion here but yellow will work. Make sure you have some fresh garlic on hand as well!
Tomato paste: this adds concentrated flavor of tomato and a touch of sweetness.
Spices and dried herbs: Bay leaves, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme and red pepper flakes are needed. Alternatively, you can add all those measurements up and use a dried Italian seasoning instead. Just make sure it doesn’t include salt!
Crushed tomatoes: you’ll need two 28-ounce cans for this. Do not use diced tomatoes here.
Tomato sauce: just one small 8-ounce can. This adds some body to the overall sauce.

Cottage Cheese Mixture:

ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, an egg, parsley, and dried herbs set out on a counter

Whole-milk cottage cheese: I don’t recommend using low-fat cottage cheese or you risk a watery lasagna.
Part skim ricotta cheese: I recommend using part-skim ricotta as it keeps things on the lighter side, but you can also use whole milk ricotta.
Shredded Mozzarella cheese: Most of the time I recommend getting a block of cheese and grating it yourself. But when it comes to lasagna, there’s already so many steps and grating cheese shouldn’t be one of them. Just grab a big bag of shredded Mozzarella cheese.
Freshly grated or shredded Parmesan cheese: Use fresh grated Parmesan cheese sold in the refrigerated section. (You can also use freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.) Do not use shelf-stable grated “Parmesan.”
Fresh parsley: a bit of fresh parsley really brightens up the flavors.
Large egg: this is important for binding together the cheese mixture and ensuring it sets up during baking.
Dried herbs and spices: a similar mix of herbs and spices used in the tomato sauce (dried basil, oregano, thyme and red pepper flakes). You can swap in Italian seasoning here as well if that’s easier.

To Assemble:

pasta, mushrooms, tomato sauce, veggies and seasoned cottage cheese mixture set out on a counter

Spicy Italian sausage: use bulk sausage (not link sausage) for the best flavor. You can also use a combo of spicy sausage and ground pork for something more mild. Or, for a leaner lasagna, swap out the sausage for cooked lean ground beef, turkey or chicken.
Fresh vegetables: sautéed cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced zucchini and chopped fresh spinach is the combo of veggies my family likes best. Chopped bell peppers are also a great addition.
Oven-ready lasagna sheets (such as Barilla): This recipe was intentionally developed with no-boil lasagna noodles (aka oven-ready lasagna pasta). I find pre-boiling to be very fussy and an added step that can be avoided. I recommend using the Oven-Ready Lasagna Sheets from Barilla.

How to Make Lasagna with Cottage Cheese

Lasagna is one of those dishes that’s very forgiving. Mess up the layering? No problem. There really isn’t a right or wrong way, but here are some guidelines on how best to do it.

Tomato Sauce

large dutch oven with onions cooking it in

First step is to make the tomato sauce. (Don’t want to make your own? You can use jarred spaghetti sauce. I recommend using two large jars of your favorite marinara. I like Barilla and Rao’s.) If you’re making a homemade sauce, you’ll start by cooking down the onion in some olive oil until softened.

large dutch oven with onions, spices, and tomato paste cooking

Then add the garlic and tomato paste and cook briefly—this step is important for cooking off the potency of the garlic and the rawness of the tomato paste. A brief cook on that tomato paste does wonders for deepening its flavor. Now stir in the dried herbs and red pepper flakes and cook briefly.

large pot of tomato sauce with a wooden spoon set in it

Stir in the canned crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce and bring the whole mix to a simmer. Simmer the sauce until it’s slightly thickened and flavors have melded, 30 minutes. Let the sauce cool while you prep the other components.

Cheese Mixture

This step is easy peasy. In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, egg, dried herbs, pepper flakes and salt. Set this aside until assembly.

Fillings

ground sausage cooking in a cast-iron skillet

sliced mushrooms cooking in a cast-iron skillet

This is where you can go hog wild! Cook up your favorite ground meat and veggies. The following are my favorite.

Cook up some spicy ground sausage until cooked through. Transfer the sausage to a bowl but reserve the drippings in the pan. Now, cook sliced cremini mushrooms in the sausage drippings until browned and tender.

Layering/Assembly

Now it’s time to layer the lasagna! You can layer the lasagna up to 1 day ahead of time. Simply cover the assembled lasagna with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap and cover tightly with foil before baking.

Make sure you preheat your oven to 350ºF (177ºC) with the rack set in middle position.

tomato sauce spread into the bottom of a baking dish

You’ll need a 9✕13-inch baking dish (ideally a deep-dish). Avoid using a 9X13-inch metal baking pan (which is metal, though you can use a disposable tinfoil baking pan).
A good rule of thumb to remember: a baking dish is glass and a baking pan is metal.

Start by spreading some tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish.

lasagna sheets layered in a large white baking dish

Arrange lasagna sheets in an even layer over sauce (overlapping as needed).

ricotta and cottage cheese mixture spread into a large white baking dish

Now spread some cottage cheese mixture over lasagna sheets.

cheese and sausage layered in a large white baking dish

And sprinkle sausage in an even layer over top.

tomato sauce layered in a large white baking dish

Repeat the layering: spread some tomato sauce over the sausage.

Arrange another layer of lasagna sheets over top.

Spread cottage cheese mixture over lasagna sheets.

zucchini slices layered in a large white baking dish

Now top the cheese with an even layer of zucchini slices.

Spread some tomato sauce over the zucchini, and top with another layer of lasagna sheets.

Spread some cottage cheese mixture over lasagna sheets.

spinach and mushrooms layered in a large white baking dish

Sprinkle spinach in an even layer over cheese mixture followed by the cooked mushrooms.

Layer more lasagna sheets over top. And spoon remaining tomato sauce over top of the lasagna sheets followed by dollops of the remaining cottage cheese mixture.

Top the lasagna with mozzarella and grated Parmesan then season with cracked black pepper.

Bake

Spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick spray (or coat in olive oil). Cover lasagna tightly with foil, oil-side down.

Bake until bubbly, about 1 hour.

Remove the foil and continue baking until browned and bubbly, this will take about 45 minutes.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Test Kitchen Tips

Allow the lasagna to rest after baking. For the best results, it needs to sit for at least 45 minutes before slicing it up and digging in. This allows the juices to cool and the lasagna to set up.
We like to pack this lasagna with veggies. If you want to add more veggies, consider adding a diced bell pepper to the spinach layer.

Storage & Reheating

Store baked lasagna in the refrigerator covered tightly in foil or in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

You can also freeze baked lasagna for up to 3 months. Allow frozen lasagna to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before either reheating a slice or two in the microwave or reheating the baking dish in a 300ºF oven.

slice of lasagna on a white scalloped plate with a gold fork set on the plate and a glass of red wine set next to it

Make Ahead Instructions

Make the components ahead of time. The tomato sauce can be made and stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead of time. The sausage and mushrooms can also be cooked and stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead time. And finally, the cottage cheese mixture can be mixed up to 1 day ahead of time.
Assemble and Refrigerate. There are two ways to make this lasagna ahead of time. One, you can assemble the lasagna up to 1 day ahead of time. Cover the unbaked lasagna tightly in foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Bake and Freeze. You can also bake the lasagna and freeze it for up to 3 months. Bake the lasagna as directed then allow to cool completely at room temperature. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap followed by foil and freeze.
When ready to enjoy, transfer frozen lasagna to refrigerator 1 day before you plan to serve it. When ready to reheat, remove the foil and plastic wrap. Cover the baking dish with the foil layer and bake in a 300ºF oven until heated through.

Serving Cottage Cheese Lasagna

A simple side salad is classic with lasagna—and we’ve got tons of recipes to choose from! Try our Simple Butter Lettuce Salad or Garden Salad—both are light and tangy, the perfect balance to a slice of comfort food.
Love a good Caesar Salad? We’ve got that too!
For some added crunch, try our ultra-fresh Celery Salad. It’s bright, light and crisp.
In keeping with the Italian theme, serve this lasagna recipe with our simple Fennel Salad. A reader-favorite!

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Comments

Anna M says:

May 6, 2023 at 12:05 pm

I made this last night. It was fantastic. My fiancé said it was one of the best lasagnas he’d ever had. And, as always, it was even better for lunch today.

I made it almost exactly to recipe, with the exception of subbing regular pasta sheets (under cooked by a minute or two) for the oven ready and salting the vey thinly sliced zucchini, while everything else cooked, to get out some of the excess moisture. Baked 45/45 covered/uncovered and it was perfect.

Thank you!

Peggy says:

November 5, 2023 at 5:45 pm

Are you saying full cooking time is almost 2 hours?

1. Lauren Grant says:
  
  November 7, 2023 at 3:23 pm
  
  Yes! A deep, golden brown top is what you’re going for here. If you prefer a lighter-browned top, you can decrease the uncovered cook time to 20–30 minutes.