Vegetarian Lasagna With Cottage Cheese

5 from 1 vote

Vegetarian Lasagna With Cottage Cheese

Make this vegetarian lasagna with cottage cheese when you’re craving a lighter version of your favorite Sunday dinner and need leftovers for the week ahead.

Servings pieces

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 15

Set Time 15

Total Time 1 40

Equipment

Ingredients

9 lasagna noodles
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 leaves fresh basil
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch sea salt
16 ounces cottage cheese 2%
1 ounce shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles until al dente, according to package directions.
Once cooked, drain and carefully lay the noodles flat on a large cutting board or sheets of parchment paper to cool.
In the meantime, make the tomato sauce and cheese blend. To make the tomato sauce, combine tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, and sea salt in a blender and blend on low speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.
To make the cheese blend, add the cottage cheese and shredded parmesan to a food processor. Pulse until smooth, pausing to scrape the sides as you go to ensure a smooth consistency.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Once the lasagna noodles are cool enough to handle, you can start assembling the lasagna.
To assemble:
In a 9x13 baking dish, add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom and spread evenly. Then, add 3 noodles to cover the bottom surface of the pan, overlapping slightly if needed. Top with half of the cheese blend, spreading it evenly over the noodles, and then sprinkle ½ cup shredded mozzarella over the top.
Then, add another layer of 3 noodles. Top with a layer of sauce, then the remaining cottage cheese blend, then another ½ cup of shredded mozzarella.
Finally, add another layer of 3 noodles, followed by a layer of sauce and the remaining shredded mozzarella on top.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and switch the oven to the broiler. Broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Allow the lasagna to set for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Optionally garnish with fresh basil.

Notes

Timing: If you’re planning on eating this for dinner, plan to start cooking about 2 hours before you want to eat. You can prep the sauce and cheese while the noodles boil, but you’ll need some time for the noodles to cool before assembling the lasagna. Then, it needs about an hour in the oven and at least 15 minutes to set before you can slice and serve.

Tomato sauce: The sauce is quite thin, so note that this lasagna may not hold its shape as well as traditional lasagna. It'll also depend on how saucy you want to make it! We like extra sauce (which is extra messy, but extra delicious) on each layer.

You may end up with some extra tomato sauce. Save it and use it for dipping breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, or focaccia later on, or as a side with dinner!

Serving suggestions: We love serving this lasagna with dressed greens or freshly baked focaccia. 2 to 3 pieces is a great serving size for one person, depending on what sides you choose.

Storing and reheating: You can store leftover lasagna in the fridge for up to 5 days. We love making this recipe in our 9x13 glass baking dish with a lid so that we don’t have to transfer leftovers to a separate container for storage!

Reheat single servings of lasagna for about 2 minutes in the microwave.

Author: Nicole Langdon

Calories: 202kcal

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cottage cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, diced tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, fine sea salt, fresh basil, garlic, lasagna noodles, meal prep, mozzarella, oven baked, parmesan

Nutrition