A excessive protein lasagna recipe utilizing cottage cheese, this lasagna combines a savory meat sauce with protein-packed cottage cheese for the final word consolation meals. Topped with gooey, bubbly cheese, this cottage cheese lasagna layers tender sheets of pasta and meat sauce with a aromatic herb cottage cheese combination to make each chew satisfying and scrumptious. Bonus: Every slice has 39 grams of protein!
I feel we are able to all agree cottage cheese is having a second. It’s in nearly all the things today from savory recipes to candy treats. (In the event you’re searching for some cottage cheese inspo, try this submit: Wholesome Methods to Eat Cottage Cheese.) I’ve been a cottage cheese lover my entire life ever since my dad launched me to it as a child when he’d pair cottage cheese with apple butter as a candy ‘n’ salty snack. Quick ahead a number of many years (sure, many years) and now cottage cheese has develop into some form of a high-protein tremendous star. And it definitely is the star of this protein-packed lasagna recipe! (Guys, every slice of this do-it-yourself lasagna has 39 grams of protein. THIRTY NINE. Whaaaat?!)
Lasagna Recipe Utilizing Cottage Cheese With Protein
Firstly of this 12 months, I started making extra of an effort to extend the protein in my food plan following an osteopenia prognosis. I need to improve my bone density and do my highest to maintain my physique wholesome and robust as I age and a giant a part of my effort to do exactly this facilities round my food plan. However right here’s the factor: Consuming quite a lot of protein is tough. And it form of stinks, particularly in the event you’re not somebody who naturally craves quite a lot of meat. So I set out on a mission to extend the quantity of protein in my food plan however nonetheless take pleasure in what I like consuming. For me, this seems to be like incorporating excessive protein substances into recipes I already love. I’ve been shocked and really pleasantly stunned how seamlessly swapping one thing like cottage for the ricotta cheese in lasagna recipes usually doesn’t alter the flavour a lot, all whereas critically boosting the quantity of protein!
Can You Use Cottage Cheese In Lasagna
YES. And that’s a really emphatic YES! Utilizing cottage cheese in lasagna is just a little tip that got here my approach from my brother-in-law who mentioned his mother at all times made lasagna with cottage cheese as a substitute of ricotta. She was onto one thing as a result of it’s implausible.
After I first made lasagna this fashion, nobody — and I imply not one single particular person — in my household even observed the swap. It melted completely into the savory tomato meat sauce and nonetheless managed to have the creamy, tacky taste you’d count on from any conventional lasagna recipe. The style is on-point however now you’ve obtained the added enhance of protein that will help you really feel happy lengthy after you’ve licked your plate of lasagna clear.
How A lot Protein In Cottage Cheese
Rather a lot! A one-cup serving of cottage cheese has a whopping 28 grams of protein. As somebody who has a free purpose of consuming roughly 30 grams of protein at every meal, that is freaking implausible. If I can eat a slice of cottage cheese lasagna and knock out practically 40 grams of protein whereas totally having fun with the meal on my plate, I’m going to go forward and think about {that a} win… after which make the recipe many times and once more.
How To Make Lasagna Utilizing Cottage Cheese With Protein
Components
Right here is all the things that you must make this do-it-yourself lasagna recipe utilizing cottage cheese:
- Garlic, onion, olive oil (The beginnings of your sauce and the substances that come collectively to in a short time make your mouth water because the onion and garlic start to prepare dinner and soften)
- Zucchini, grated (I can’t advocate this rotary grater sufficient to make this step tremendous easy. I additionally use the grater to grate the cheese I take advantage of on this lasagna and swear it melts so a lot better and doesn’t have any of the anti-caking brokers in pre-packaged shredded cheese.)
- Lean floor beef (you might also use floor turkey or Italian sausage on this recipe in the event you want)
- Marinara sauce (Use your favourite! We looooove Rao’s in our home.)
- Cottage cheese (I’ve used low fats and full fats cottage cheese and each work nicely. I’d not advocate fat-free cottage cheese for this recipe as you may miss a number of the creaminess the cottage cheese offers to this dish.)
- Italian seasoning
- Lasagna noodles (the no-boil, oven-ready sort)
- Mozzarella cheese (the important thing to giving your lasagna that irresistibly bubbly cheese high!)
- Parmesan cheese (non-compulsory)
Directions
To make this excessive protein lasagna recipe, observe the steps beneath!
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 levels. Warmth oil in a big pan, and saute onion and minced garlic over medium warmth for a few minutes. Add zucchini and saute till zucchini cooks down a bit.
Step 2
Add floor beef and prepare dinner till beef is browned and no pink stays. If quite a lot of liquid stays within the pan, drain the liquid and return to the stovetop.
Step 3
Pour marinara sauce over meat combination and stir to utterly mix. Permit sauce to simmer on low as you make your cottage cheese combination.
Step 4
In a medium-size bowl, mix 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 combination, taking care to unfold it out evenly everywhere in the backside of the dish.
High with 3 of the oven prepared lasagna noodles. (They won’t utterly fill your complete baking dish and that’s okay! You might break up an additional noodle or two to utterly fill your baking dish in the event you want further noodles, however nobody in our household has ever missed the additional noodles. We love a saucy/cheesier lasagna!)
High noodles with 1/2 of the cottage cheese combination.
Repeat the layers a second time, including 1/3 of the marinara, the three remaining noodles and the remainder of the cottage cheese on high of the noodles.
High with remaining marinara combination adopted by the shredded cheese.
Step 6
Cowl lasagna with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10-Quarter-hour till cheese is barely browned and bubbly.
Permit to chill barely earlier than slicing.
High with a dusting of grated parmesan cheese and luxuriate in!!
Storing Leftovers + Freezing Lasagna
Retailer any leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
I additionally like to make a double batch of this lasagna and freeze one as a result of make this lasagna with such frequency in our home. In the event you’re hoping to prep forward and freeze an entire lasagna, I want to freeze raw lasagna relatively than cooked lasagna. To prep for freezing, I make your complete lasagna, however don’t bake it within the oven. As soon as it’s all assembled, I wrap it in plastic cling wrap to forestall freezer burn after which cowl it in aluminum foil to protect freshness. After I’m able to make the lasagna, I let it thaw within the fridge in a single day after which observe the baking instructions on the finish of the recipe!
Excessive Protein Lasagna with Cottage Cheese
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Prepare dinner Time: half-hour
Whole Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 giant servings
Class: dinner
Technique: oven
Description
A excessive protein lasagna recipe utilizing cottage cheese, this lasagna combines a savory meat sauce with protein-packed cottage cheese for the final word consolation meals.
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
Olive oil (simply sufficient to saute the garlic and onion)
1 pound lean floor beef
2 cups marinara sauce (Rao’s works nice!)
3 cups cottage cheese
2.5 tablespoons Italian seasoning
6 no-boil oven prepared lasagna noodles (plus a pair extra in the event you want a extra noodle-y lasagna)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese (grated, non-compulsory)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 levels.
- In a big pan, saute onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil over medium warmth for a few minutes. Add zucchini and saute till zucchini cooks down a bit.
- Add floor beef and prepare dinner till beef is browned and no pink stays. If quite a lot of liquid stays within the pan, drain the liquid and return to the stovetop.
- Pour marinara sauce over meat combination and stir to utterly mix. Permit sauce to simmer on low as you make your cottage cheese combination.
- In a medium-size bowl, mix 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 combination, taking care to unfold it out evenly everywhere in the backside of the dish.
- High with 3 of the oven prepared lasagna noodles. (The lasagna noodles is not going to utterly fill your complete baking dish and that’s okay! You might break up an additional noodle or two to utterly fill your baking dish in the event you want further noodles, however nobody in our household has ever missed the additional noodles. We love a saucy/cheesier lasagna!)
- High noodles with 1/2 of the cottage cheese combination.
- Repeat the layers a second time, including 1/3 of the marinara, the three remaining noodles and the remainder of the cottage cheese on high of the noodles.
- High with remaining marinara combination adopted by the shredded cheese.
- Cowl lasagna with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10-Quarter-hour till cheese is barely browned and bubbly.
- Permit to chill barely earlier than slicing. High with a dusting of grated parmesan cheese, if desired. Get pleasure from!!
Vitamin
- Serving Dimension: 1 slice
- Energy: 439
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 715g
- Fats: 11g
- Saturated Fats: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 39g
- Ldl cholesterol: 24mg
Recipe impressed by Lifting Lindsay’s Lean Lasagna
