When my kids were younger we were always on the go running from sports practices and games, to music lessons and performances. There were many nights that we had to grab fast food on the way home because it was just too late to cook anything. It took a while, but I finally found a few recipes that I could put together ahead of time so the family could eat a decent meal after all the running around. One of my family's favorites is One Step Lasagna. This recipe has stood the test of time and my kids still request it.
One Step Lasagna
The original recipe is from The Absolute Beginner's Cookbook that my mother-in-law gave my husband when he went off to college. I've never figured out why it's called One Step Lasagna because it's definitely more than one step, but this is one of those recipes that once you know it, it will take maybe 10 minutes to throw together! I promise!! (I've tweaked the recipe over the years - below is how I currently make it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees | Bake for 1 hour
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 - 24 ounce container of cottage cheese (any curd size, I generally use low-fat, small curd)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1- 28 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 8-10 uncooked lasagna noodles regular or gluten free (do not use the oven ready noodles, they get too mushy)
- 1/2 - 2/3 cup of water
Directions
- Mix together cottage cheese, egg, 3 cups of mozzarella (last cup is for the top), and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add the oregano to the jar of spaghetti sauce and mix (I put the oregano right in the jar, put the lid on and shake)
- In a 9x13 baking dish spread 1/3 of the jar of sauce in the bottom.
- Place 4-5 uncooked, dry lasagna noodles on the sauce (I usually place 4 noodles length wise and 1 cross wise. You will need to break the cross wise noodle because it will be too long - don't worry about spaces between the noodles, they will expand when they cook.)
- Place half of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles and spread it out to cover noodles.
- Pour another 1/3 jar of sauce over cheese mixture and spread out.
- Place 4-5 uncooked, dry lasagna noodles on the sauce.
- Place the rest of the cheese mixture on top of noodles.
- Pour remainder of sauce on top of cheese mixture.
- Cover sauce with the last cup of mozzarella.
- Pour 1/2-2/3 cup of water around the edges of the pan. (I put the water in the sauce jar to get all the sauce out)
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour
- Remove from oven, tent the foil to let the steam escape, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. ( it needs this time to firm up, sometimes it's kind of soupy when it comes out, the longer it sits the firmer it gets.)
Pro Tips:
- You can make this ahead of time. Assemble up to putting the mozzarella on the very top and cover. Put in the fridge for up to 24 hours When ready to cook, add the water, cover and bake.
- You can add other ingredients for example: spinach, ground beef, ground sausage (be sure to cook the meat before adding to lasagna). If you add other ingredients be sure to layer them with the other ingredients.
- If you have the time, this recipe is great for the kids to help with!
I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine does! More of our favorite recipes to come!
