A high protein lasagna recipe using cottage cheese, this lasagna combines a savory meat sauce with protein-packed cottage cheese for the ultimate comfort food. Topped with gooey, bubbly cheese, this cottage cheese lasagna layers tender sheets of pasta and meat sauce with a fragrant herb cottage cheese mixture to make every bite satisfying and delicious. Bonus: Each slice has 39 grams of protein!
I think we can all agree cottage cheese is having a moment. It’s in just about everything these days from savory recipes to sweet treats. (If you’re looking for some cottage cheese inspo, check out this post: Healthy Ways to Eat Cottage Cheese.) I’ve been a cottage cheese lover my whole life ever since my dad introduced me to it as a kid when he’d pair cottage cheese with apple butter as a sweet ‘n’ salty snack. Fast forward several decades (yes, decades) and now cottage cheese has become some kind of a high-protein super star. And it certainly is the star of this protein-packed lasagna recipe! (Guys, each slice of this homemade lasagna has 39 grams of protein. THIRTY NINE. Whaaaat?!)
Lasagna Recipe Using Cottage Cheese With Protein
At the start of this year, I began making more of an effort to increase the protein in my diet following an osteopenia diagnosis. I want to increase my bone density and do my very best to keep my body healthy and strong as I age and a big part of my effort to do just this centers around my diet. But here’s the thing: Eating a lot of protein is hard. And it kind of stinks, especially if you’re not someone who naturally craves a lot of meat. So I set out on a mission to increase the amount of protein in my diet but still enjoy what I love eating. For me, this looks like incorporating high protein ingredients into recipes I already love. I’ve been shocked and very pleasantly surprised how seamlessly swapping something like cottage for the ricotta cheese in lasagna recipes often doesn’t alter the flavor much, all while seriously boosting the amount of protein!
Can You Use Cottage Cheese In Lasagna
YES. And that’s a very emphatic YES! Using cottage cheese in lasagna is a little tip that came my way from my brother-in-law who said his mom always made lasagna with cottage cheese instead of ricotta. She was onto something because it’s fantastic.
When I first made lasagna this way, no one — and I mean not one single person — in my family even noticed the swap. It melted perfectly into the savory tomato meat sauce and still managed to have the creamy, cheesy flavor you’d expect from any traditional lasagna recipe. The taste is on-point but now you’ve got the added boost of protein to help you feel satisfied long after you’ve licked your plate of lasagna clean.
How Much Protein In Cottage Cheese
A lot! A one-cup serving of cottage cheese has a whopping 28 grams of protein. As someone who has a loose goal of consuming approximately 30 grams of protein at each meal, this is freaking fantastic. If I can eat a slice of cottage cheese lasagna and knock out nearly 40 grams of protein while thoroughly enjoying the meal on my plate, I’m going to go ahead and consider that a win… and then make the recipe again and again and again.
How To Make Lasagna Using Cottage Cheese With Protein
Ingredients
Here is everything you need to make this homemade lasagna recipe using cottage cheese:
- Garlic, onion, olive oil (The beginnings of your sauce and the ingredients that come together to very quickly make your mouth water as the onion and garlic begin to cook and soften)
- Zucchini, grated (I cannot recommend this rotary grater enough to make this step super simple. I also use the grater to grate the cheese I use in this lasagna and swear it melts so much better and doesn’t have any of the anti-caking agents in pre-packaged shredded cheese.)
- Lean ground beef (you may also use ground turkey or Italian sausage in this recipe if you prefer)
- Marinara sauce (Use your favorite! We looooove Rao’s in our house.)
- Cottage cheese (I’ve used low fat and full fat cottage cheese and both work well. I would not recommend fat-free cottage cheese for this recipe as you might miss some of the creaminess the cottage cheese provides to this dish.)
- Italian seasoning
- Lasagna noodles (the no-boil, oven-ready kind)
- Mozzarella cheese (the key to giving your lasagna that irresistibly bubbly cheese top!)
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
To make this high protein lasagna recipe, follow the steps below!
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large pan, and saute onion and minced garlic over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add zucchini and saute until zucchini cooks down a bit.
Step 2
Add ground beef and cook until beef is browned and no pink remains. If a lot of liquid remains in the pan, drain the liquid and return to the stovetop.
Step 3
Pour marinara sauce over meat mixture and stir to completely combine. Allow sauce to simmer on low as you make your cottage cheese mixture.
Step 4
In a medium-size bowl, combine cottage cheese and Italian seasoning.
Step 5
Now it’s time to layer your lasagna. In a 9×13 baking dish, pour 1/3 of the marinara mixture, taking care to spread it out evenly all over the bottom of the dish.
Top with 3 of the oven ready lasagna noodles. (They will not completely fill the entire baking dish and that’s okay! You may break up an extra noodle or two to completely fill your baking dish if you prefer additional noodles, but no one in our family has ever missed the extra noodles. We love a saucy/cheesier lasagna!)
Top noodles with 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture.
Repeat the layers a second time, adding 1/3 of the marinara, the 3 remaining noodles and the rest of the cottage cheese on top of the noodles.
Top with remaining marinara mixture followed by the shredded cheese.
Step 6
Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
Allow to cool slightly before slicing.
Top with a dusting of grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!!
Storing Leftovers + Freezing Lasagna
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for three to five days.
I also love to make a double batch of this lasagna and freeze one because make this lasagna with such frequency in our house. If you’re hoping to prep ahead and freeze a whole lasagna, I prefer to freeze uncooked lasagna rather than cooked lasagna. To prep for freezing, I make the entire lasagna, but do not bake it in the oven. Once it’s all assembled, I wrap it in plastic cling wrap to prevent freezer burn and then cover it in aluminum foil to preserve freshness. When I’m ready to make the lasagna, I let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then follow the baking directions at the end of the recipe!
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High Protein Lasagna with Cottage Cheese
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 large servings
Category: dinner
Method: oven
Description
A high protein lasagna recipe using cottage cheese, this lasagna combines a savory meat sauce with protein-packed cottage cheese for the ultimate comfort food.
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
Olive oil (just enough to saute the garlic and onion)
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups marinara sauce (Rao’s works great!)
3 cups cottage cheese
2.5 tablespoons Italian seasoning
6 no-boil oven ready lasagna noodles (plus a couple more if you prefer a more noodle-y lasagna)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese (grated, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large pan, saute onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add zucchini and saute until zucchini cooks down a bit.
- Add ground beef and cook until beef is browned and no pink remains. If a lot of liquid remains in the pan, drain the liquid and return to the stovetop.
- Pour marinara sauce over meat mixture and stir to completely combine. Allow sauce to simmer on low as you make your cottage cheese mixture.
- In a medium-size bowl, combine cottage cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Now it’s time to layer your lasagna! In a 9×13 baking dish, pour 1/3 of the marinara mixture, taking care to spread it out evenly all over the bottom of the dish.
- Top with 3 of the oven ready lasagna noodles. (The lasagna noodles will not completely fill the entire baking dish and that’s okay! You may break up an extra noodle or two to completely fill your baking dish if you prefer additional noodles, but no one in our family has ever missed the extra noodles. We love a saucy/cheesier lasagna!)
- Top noodles with 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture.
- Repeat the layers a second time, adding 1/3 of the marinara, the 3 remaining noodles and the rest of the cottage cheese on top of the noodles.
- Top with remaining marinara mixture followed by the shredded cheese.
- Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
- Allow to cool slightly before slicing. Top with a dusting of grated parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 439
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 715g
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 39g
- Cholesterol: 24mg
Recipe inspired by Lifting Lindsay’s Lean Lasagna
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