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In a great many kitchens in the middle of this country, lasagna never had ricotta in it, and nobody thought anything was missing. The white layer was cottage cheese, because that is what the store had, stirred with a couple of eggs, a handful of parsley and some Parmesan. Plenty of people were grown before they learned there was another way.
This is that lasagna, written down properly. Ground beef browned with an onion and garlic, a big jar of sauce or four cups of your own, twelve noodles, a pound of mozzarella and a 24 ounce tub of cottage cheese. The cottage cheese bakes into a soft, creamy layer that is lighter than ricotta and a little tangy. Two things make it work: the eggs, which set the white layer so the squares hold together, and the 15 minute rest after the oven, which is not a suggestion.
Why this lasagna with cottage cheese works
- Eggs in the cottage cheese. Two eggs bind the white layer so it sets like a soft custard instead of running. Skip them and you have a delicious soup.
- Sauce simmered with the meat. Fifteen minutes together cooks off the extra water, so the finished lasagna is rich and not watery.
- Foil on, then foil off. Thirty minutes covered heats the dish through without drying the top. Twenty minutes uncovered browns the cheese.
- The 15 minute rest. As it cools slightly, the cheese firms, the noodles drink up the loose sauce and the layers lock together.
Ingredients
Makes one 9 by 13 inch dish, 12 generous squares. The measurements are in US cups and ounces with grams in brackets.
For the meat sauce
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (680g), 80 to 85 percent lean
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 big jar of pasta sauce, about 4 cups (950ml), or 4 cups of your own tomato sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the white layer
- One 24 ounce tub cottage cheese (680g), small curd, full fat
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (50g)
- A handful of fresh parsley, chopped, about 1/4 cup (15g)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For building it
- 12 lasagna noodles (about 12 ounces, 340g), the kind you boil
- 1 pound mozzarella (450g), grated
If the cottage cheese has liquid sitting on top, pour it off before you stir in the eggs.
How to make lasagna with cottage cheese
The sauce and the noodles
- Brown the ground beef with the chopped onion and the garlic in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat up, until no pink is left. Drain off the fat.
- Pour in the sauce, stir, and simmer it with the meat over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Season to taste.
- While the sauce simmers, boil the 12 lasagna noodles in a big pot of salted water until just tender, usually 9 to 10 minutes. Drain them and lay them out flat on a clean towel in a single layer so they do not stick together.
- Make the white layer. In a bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, the 2 eggs, the Parmesan, the parsley and the pepper.
Building and baking
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Divide the grated mozzarella into 4 equal piles. Spread a little sauce, about 3/4 cup, over the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
- Lay 4 noodles over the sauce, overlapping them slightly. Spread on a third of the white layer, scatter over one pile of mozzarella, then spoon on about 1 1/4 cups of meat sauce. Do this three times in all: noodles, white layer, mozzarella, sauce. End with whatever sauce is left and the last pile of mozzarella on top.
- Cover the dish with foil, tenting it so it does not touch the cheese, and bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off and bake 20 minutes more, until the top is brown and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
- Now the hard part. Set the dish on a rack and let it sit for 15 minutes before you cut it, or it slides apart. Cut into 12 squares and lift them out with a wide spatula.
Tips that make the difference
- Set the baking dish on a rimmed sheet pan before it goes into the oven. A full 9 by 13 lasagna almost always bubbles over a little.
- Spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray, or tent it high. Otherwise the top layer of cheese comes off with the foil.
- For a smoother white layer, pulse the cottage cheese in a blender before adding the eggs.
- Do not rinse the noodles after draining. The starch on them helps the layers hold together.
Variations
- With spinach. Thaw a 10 ounce box of frozen chopped spinach, squeeze it completely dry and stir it into the cottage cheese.
- Half and half. Use 12 ounces of cottage cheese and 12 ounces of ricotta. It settles the argument at tables where both sides are present.
- No-boil noodles. Use oven-ready noodles from the box, add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce and keep the foil on for 40 minutes instead of 30.
- Ground turkey. Swap the beef for ground turkey and add a teaspoon each of dried oregano and fennel seed while it browns.
Storage and make-ahead
Leftover lasagna keeps in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 days. Reheat squares in the microwave, or the whole dish under foil in a 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
To make it ahead, build the lasagna, cover it and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bake it from cold with the foil on for 40 minutes instead of 30, then uncovered for 20.
It freezes well, baked or unbaked, for up to 3 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking or reheating.
Frequently asked questions
Does lasagna with cottage cheese taste different from ricotta lasagna?
A little. Cottage cheese is lighter and slightly tangy, and ricotta is denser and milder. Baked with meat sauce and mozzarella, most people cannot tell which one they are eating.
Do I have to put eggs in the cottage cheese?
Yes, if you want squares. The eggs set in the oven and bind the white layer. Without them the lasagna spreads on the plate.
Why is my lasagna watery?
Usually one of three things: cottage cheese that was not drained, a sauce that did not simmer long enough, or cutting it too soon.
Should I use small curd or large curd cottage cheese?
Small curd, full fat. It spreads evenly and melts into the layer. Low fat cottage cheese holds more water and makes a looser lasagna.
Cottage cheese or ricotta is an argument that will outlast all of us. Make this one, let it sit its 15 minutes, and most people will only ask for a second square.
Lasagna with Cottage Cheese (The Midwest Ground Beef Lasagna)
The ground beef lasagna the middle of the country grew up on, with a cottage cheese and egg layer instead of ricotta, a full pound of mozzarella and the 15 minute rest that makes the squares stand up. Cups and grams.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (680g), 80 to 85 percent lean
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 big jar of pasta sauce, about 4 cups (950ml), or 4 cups of your own tomato sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- One 24 ounce tub cottage cheese (680g), small curd, full fat
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- A handful of fresh parsley, chopped, about 1/4 cup
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 12 lasagna noodles (about 12 ounces, 340g), the kind you boil
- 1 pound mozzarella (450g), grated
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef with the chopped onion and the garlic in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat up, until no pink is left. Drain off the fat.
- Pour in the sauce, stir, and simmer it with the meat over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Season to taste.
- While the sauce simmers, boil the 12 lasagna noodles in a big pot of salted water until just tender, usually 9 to 10 minutes. Drain them and lay them out flat on a clean towel in a single layer so they do not stick together.
- Make the white layer. In a bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, the 2 eggs, the Parmesan, the parsley and the pepper.
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Divide the grated mozzarella into 4 equal piles. Spread a little sauce, about 3/4 cup, over the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
- Lay 4 noodles over the sauce, overlapping them slightly. Spread on a third of the white layer, scatter over one pile of mozzarella, then spoon on about 1 1/4 cups of meat sauce. Do this three times in all: noodles, white layer, mozzarella, sauce. End with whatever sauce is left and the last pile of mozzarella on top.
- Cover the dish with foil, tenting it so it does not touch the cheese, and bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off and bake 20 minutes more, until the top is brown and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
- Now the hard part. Set the dish on a rack and let it sit for 15 minutes before you cut it, or it slides apart. Cut into 12 squares and lift them out with a wide spatula.
