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Beef & Veggie Lasagna

A hearty, family-friendly lasagna that layers a savory meat-and-vegetable sauce with a creamy cottage-cheese filling and golden mozzarella topping, perfect for any occasion.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 350
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Meat and Veggie Sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil (sub: any neutral oil)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey; dark turkey or a mix adds more flavor)
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced small (¼ inch)
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced small (¼ inch)
  • 8 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, diced small (¼ inch)
  • 2 cups baby spinach, chopped (sub: frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (adjust if using table salt)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2½ cups pasta sauce (for the meat-veg sauce)
Cottage Cheese Filling
  • 16 ounces cottage cheese (preferably 4% or low-fat; for dairy-free use ricotta-style tofu)
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (for the cottage layer)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (for the cottage layer)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder (for the cottage layer)
Lasagna Assembly
  • ½ pound no-boil lasagna noodles (about 18 noodles; regular oven-ready or traditional boiled noodles if preferred)
  • 3½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup pasta sauce (for the top layer)

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with oil or non-stick spray.
  2. Make the veggie-loaded meat sauce: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook until mostly browned, breaking it up. Drain excess fat if needed. Add diced zucchini, red pepper, and mushrooms. Cook for 4–6 minutes until softened. Stir in chopped spinach, garlic powder, kosher salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Add 2½ cups pasta sauce and simmer for 2–3 minutes to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  3. Make the cottage cheese layer: In a medium bowl, stir together cottage cheese, egg, grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder until well combined. The egg helps the layer set while baking.
Assembly
  1. Spread a thin layer (about ½ cup) of the meat-veg sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place a single layer of no-boil noodles (about 6 noodles, depending on fit). Spoon one-third of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over the cottage layer. Spread about 1 cup of meat-veg sauce over the cheese. Repeat: noodles, cottage mixture, mozzarella, and sauce.
  2. Finish with a final layer of noodles, the remaining 1 cup pasta sauce, and the remaining mozzarella.
  3. Cover the dish with foil (spritz or tent the foil so it doesn’t touch the cheese). Bake for 25 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake an additional 15–20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden.
  4. Let the lasagna rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing to allow layers to set and make clean servings.

Notes

Use your favorite pasta sauce — marinara or a chunky tomato-basil sauce both work. If you prefer a leaner option, swap ground beef for ground turkey or a plant-based crumbled meat substitute. For best results, let the lasagna rest after baking to prevent a soggy center.