Grandma’s Lasagna recipe proves that you don’t have to be an expert cook to make an absolutely delicious lasagna. Comfort food at its finest!
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Years ago, when my hubby and I got married, my grandma made me a recipe cookbook filled with family recipes. Recipes for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and more were included! Some I had never heard of, and others were ones I had grown up enjoying from my mom cooking them.
To be honest, when I first received the cookbook from her, I was excited, however, I wasn’t really a good cook. To me, homemade mashed potatoes came out of a box and I made a lot of frozen skillet dinners.
Over the years, as I became a mom and learned my way around the kitchen, that cookbook became something I turned to quite frequently and something I treasured.
If you browse through the blog, chances are, you will find several recipes that were ones that are included in the cookbook. Family recipes are always a favorite of mine because they are tried and true. They are recipes that have been tweaked and enjoyed for many generations, so you know they are tasty!
This scrumptious lasagna is one of my most favorite recipes from that cookbook! In fact, if you flip through the cookbook, you’ll notice lots of wear on the lasagna page. I have flipped to that recipe so many times, there are all kinds of marks, wear, and tear on it. All signs of a classic favorite!
This classic lasagna is made with an easy meat sauce as the base. Layer the sauce with noodles and cheeses, then bake until bubbly! This dish is great for feeding a big family, and freezes perfectly, too.
One thing you may notice about this recipe is that it calls for cottage cheese. A lot of lasagna’s use Ricotta cheese or use both. Using only cottage cheese keeps this a bit more simple, but still packed with loads of flavor!
If you really want to take a shortcut, you can prepare this in the morning and let it sit throughout the day. If that is the case, you don’t even need to pre-cook your noodles as the sauce will soften them. Saves one step and a bunch of time!
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If you are wondering what to serve this pasta dish with, how about a side salad or some garlic bread? My family loves Caesar salad, so I throw a quick one together and serve it with our pasta! Plus, we add in some sort of bread item because once the lasagna has been devoured, you can take your bread and dip it in the sauce remnants. Literally cleaning your plate, haha!
Ingredients Needed for Grandma’s Lasagna:
- Ground beef or turkey (I used beef)
- Diced tomatoes, drained
- Spaghetti sauce (any flavor works)
- Garlic cloves
- Small curd cottage cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Lasagna noodles
How to prepare:
- Brown meat- and drain fat!
- Add- in garlic, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste.
- Simmer- about 25-30 minutes.
- Take a 9×13 pan and put in a couple tablespoon of sauce in the bottom to prevent sticking.
- Place- 4-5 lasagna noodles in baking pan.
- Cover with ⅓ sauce.
- Top- with ½ the mozzarella cheese and ½ of the cottage cheese.
- Repeat layers starting with noodles, and ending with sauce on last layer of cheese.
- Top- with grated or shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Let stand-for about 10 minutes prior to serving.
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Grandma's Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes *drained
- 24 oz spaghetti sauce
- 2 cloves garlic *minced
- 1 lb cottage cheese
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese *shredded
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 box lasagna noodles
Instructions
- Brown meat and drain. Add in garlic, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste. Simmer about 25-30 minutes.
- Take a 9×13 pan and put in a couple tablespoon of sauce in the bottom to prevent sticking. Place 4-5 lasagna noodles in baking pan.
- Cover with ⅓ sauce. Top with ½ the mozzarella cheese and ½ of the cottage cheese. Repeat layers starting with noodles, and ending with sauce on last layer of cheese.
- Top with grated or shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes prior to serving.
Nutrition
Judy says
Could you fix this the night before and bake the next morning?
Kristin says
Absolutely! That is my favorite way to prep this meal as it saves time the day of! Enjoy!
Anonymous says
You didn’t mention whether or not to cook the lasagna noodles. That has always taken too much time to me, if I don’t have to pre-cook them it will make it a lot easier.
Kristin and Adriana says
Oh sorry about that! I’ll fix it right now! To be honest, when I first starting making this recipe, I had no idea on whether to cook the noodles or not, so I left them uncooked, it turned out perfect and since then, I have never pre-cooked the noodles. The sauce cooks them perfectly in the oven and saves me one step 🙂
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!!