This Cottage Cheese Lasagna Is High-Protein And Irresistibly Creamy

Warm, rich, and cheesy lasagna is the ultimate comfort food. There are many ways to make lasagna, and they're all layered and satisfying. While lasagna usually calls for ricotta, cottage cheese is a valid option to add protein without changing the flavor or texture too much. Cottage cheese haters, please keep reading. You can't even tell it's in there: The cheese is blended smooth first, so it's lump-free, and the flavor melds perfectly with the rest of the ingredients, as ricotta does in traditional lasagna.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for cottage cheese lasagna that doesn't require hours in the kitchen. In fact, it can be prepped in less than 30 minutes. The recipe calls for oven-ready noodles, which eliminates the fussy steps of boiling regular noodles and laying them out so they don't stick together. It also calls for tomato puree, so there's no need to spend time making sauce, although you can substitute tomato sauce if you prefer a heartier flavor.

Layers of tomato puree, noodles, cottage cheese flavored with Parmesan and parsley, and cubed mozzarella make up the body of the dish. The top layer contains all three cheeses. The cottage cheese and mozzarella create a beautiful melted, swirly pattern on top, and the grated Parmesan bakes to golden brown, slightly crispy perfection. Enjoy the recipe as is or, if you prefer a taller lasagna, pick up extra ingredients and double up the layers. Either way, this cottage cheese lasagna gives regular lasagna a run for its money.

For this recipe, you will need oven-ready lasagna noodles. If they aren't available, you can substitute regular lasagna noodles and boil them first. You will also need tomato puree, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Have cottage cheese, egg, grated Parmesan, minced parsley, and mozzarella on hand as well. Feel free to substitute pecorino for Parmesan if you like it better.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Add the olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to the tomato puree and stir. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper if desired. Set aside.

Blend the cottage cheese until smooth in a blender or with an immersion blender. Transfer the blended cheese to a mixing bowl.

Add the egg, ¼ cup Parmesan, the parsley, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Stir until evenly combined and set aside.

Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with olive oil.

Spread a thin layer of the tomato puree on the bottom of the baking dish.

Lay 4 lasagna noodles down on top of the tomato puree.

Carefully spread ⅓ of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the noodles.

Top the cottage cheese with ⅓ of the mozzarella cubes.

Cover the cheese with ⅓ of the remaining tomato puree.

Make a second layer the same way with 4 noodles and ⅓ of the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and tomato puree.

The last layer has a different order. Finish by laying down the remaining 4 lasagna noodles, then the remaining tomato puree, and then the remaining cottage cheese and mozzarella.

Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top of the lasagna.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cheese is hot and bubbling and the top is browned.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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One delicious way to make vegetarian lasagna is with vegetables, tomato sauce, and bechamel sauce. Thinly sliced grilled or roasted zucchini and eggplant work very well and are also the two roasted vegetables Ina Garten adds to lasagna. Spread some sauce on the bottom of a baking dish and then layer lasagna noodles, tomato sauce, bechamel, zucchini, eggplant slices, and cubed mozzarella. A white lasagna with spinach, bechamel, and cheese (without tomato sauce) is also delicious.

You can choose seasonal vegetables for a springtime vegetable lasagna. Choose ingredients like zucchini (including the flowers if you can find them or if you grow your own), peas, and asparagus. Artichokes and mushrooms would also be excellent. Instead of mozzarella, goat cheese, scamorza, or provolone would add a special flavor to a veggie version. There are so many veggies you could try. Broccoli, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin, fava beans, and radicchio are some suggestions. Try using green lasagna sheets, or make your own by adding well-pressed boiled spinach to the dough, for extra visual appeal.

Vegans don't need to renounce this delicious dish. Enter tofu cheese, a secret weapon for vegan lasagna. Just blend extra firm tofu with lemon juice, oil, salt, garlic, herbs, and nutritional yeast.

This recipe doesn't call for tomato sauce. Taking a cue from Italian pizza as it's served in Italy, the tomato layer stays a little lighter with tomato puree. Olive oil, salt, and black pepper are mixed into the puree for more flavor. If you prefer to use tomato sauce, you can always grab a jar from the supermarket shelf for convenience. For better flavor, if you have some extra time on your hands, you can make your own sauce; it doesn't have to be complicated, and you can make it ahead to use it when you need it.

Start by pouring a generous amount of olive oil into a saucepan. Saute minced garlic in the oil until it's slightly browned and fragrant. If you prefer your sauce to be on the sweeter side, saute chopped onion instead of garlic (or use both). Add tomato puree and salt, and bring the liquid to a low boil. Immediately lower the heat and bring it to a simmer. Some people add a little sugar if the tomatoes are on the bitter side. Let the sauce simmer for up to 30 minutes to develop flavor and to reduce and thicken. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in fresh basil. A tip: with few ingredients, tomato sauce is only as good as the quality of the ingredients, so use the freshest and highest quality ingredients you can.

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