Grammy's Overnight Lasagna

This is the best Make-Ahead Lasagna recipe I have tried. Thank you! --- I almost followed the directions exactly. Here are the nitty gritty details for those who like them: ---I halved the recipe and put it in a 7 x 11 glass dish (2" deep). It worked out so it baked right up to the top but wasn't overflowing. There was plenty of room for the noodles to expand but they didn't get all crinkled up and end up on top of each other. ---The noodles and sauce were the perfect ratio so it cooked into a thicker lasagna, and not like soup nor paste. ---I only let the lasagna sit 5 hours before I needed to bake it. ---I added one beaten egg into the cottage cheese to help it set up better. ---The number of servings seems pretty low on the original recipe. My half-recipe ended up making 6 very generous servings. ---Thank you again! I will use this recipe from now on.

Wonderful! Only things I did different was used 16 oz. of cheese, added an egg to the cottage cheese, and added some dried basil and a little minced garlic while cooking the meat. I'm sure the sauce plays a huge roll in the flavor. I used Hunts Meat Sauce. It was perfect AND is only $1 a can! I used a 8x11 pan so everything was snug and stayed together. Just a note: in the past I've used low-fat cottage cheese and it turns watery. This time I used the full-fat small curd and the flavor and texture were perfect. I also used no-boil lasagna, but I always soak them in hot water for about 40 minutes before using them. Just a little tip I've heard along the way and it really does ensure they cook through. NOTE: The Oven-Ready lasagna noodles at Walmart are under $1.50!

This is so easy. My kids think herbs are "green stuff" so they LOVED it. My 16 year old ate almost half of it. This is a keeper!

Really simple. So, so easy. Made hosting a dinner party stress free. Added basic Italian sausage seasoning (see below) to the meat; big plus. Might have been a bit plain without that. Making it again right now! TIP: Add the jar of marinara sauce to the beef then dump the 3/4 cup water into the jar and swish it around before adding it to the meat mixture, to get the remaining sauce out. Seasoning: 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp dried parsley, 1 tsp dried minced onion, 1 tsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced), and 1 tsp crushed dried fennel seeds. Can also add dried pepper flakes if you like heat.

I used the oven-ready noodles even though the recipe didn't specify. Nixed the cottage cheese so it would freeze better.Came out PERFECT for packing in lunches!

I made with turkey sausage & spinach in my sauce. I used less noodles (I wasn't sure if it was OK to overlap them, although I'm guessing it is) - it turned out great! I think it helps the flavor since the noodles can soften and everything can marry for hours before cooking. Will definitely make again.

This is great but add some chopped onion and minced garlic toi the ground beef, then add pasta sauce and some fine parmesan cheese while it is cooking. It had much more flavour. Freezes well too for warm up at a later date.

I followed all instructions and ingredients except for the pan - I used a slightly smaller and deeper pan, so the lasagna was three layers. It turned out Perfect

Very nice recipe and so easy. I put the noodles in warm water (they always break up when boiled, and the oven-ready are $$$) for a few hours, then layer and refrigerate overnight.

This deserves 5 stars for teaching me the concept of overnight no-cook lasagnas without spending more on the no-cook lasagna sheets. HOWEVER!!! I prefer this made in a 10x15 pan, with 6 sheets to each layer, and I like to make 1.5 batches (i.e. in 3 layers). Very very good!

This recipe is awesome! I made this for 3 friends all celebrating their birthdays and it was a home run. I added some veggies and cut back on meat, but overall a great base recipe. I cut meat to 1 lb. and added 1/2 onion chopped, minced garlic, fresh mushrooms and 1-16 oz. bag frozen spinach. I also added about 1/3 cup parmesan cheese to the cottage cheese and mixed in some fresh chopped parsley.

Like others suggested, I used 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb Italian sausage. I browned them together with 2 cloves of diced garlic and some onion. I also added an egg to the cottage cheese. This was so wonderful. I can't believe I have never made lasagna before, but I will definitely put it on my dinner rotation now with this recipe. Also a great place to hide extra veggies so the kids don't pick them out!

Really Good base! I added Ricotta cheese to the cottage cheese mix and also added some oregano and fresh garlic and mushrooms to the sauce mix! Everyone seems to love it!

So easy to put together on a Sunday afternoon and pop in the oven for a delicious Monday dinner. I thought it could have used more seasoning, husband thought it was perfect.

I made this for Christmas eve last year. The nice part was that I fixed it the day before and just took it out of the frig an hour before I was ready to bake it. My daughter-in-law asked for the recipe. The was a pretty good compliment!

Great recipe.Next time I will boil the noodles alittle.Thank you for posting.

I found it cost effective quick and simple what else can you ask for. I let it set in the fridge for 2 nights do to circumstances out of my control and it worked out fine. It had great flavor too.

This is very good!! I didn't change a thing in the recipe! :)

I tend to avoid recipes with such a long prep time, but I love lasagna and wanted to give this a try. Turns out the prep the night before and pop in the oven the next day was very convenient for me and it was simply delicious! Im glad I took a chance this time. :) Thank you for sharing.

This method has always helped me to make the best lasagne. Granted, I made a few changes, but not to the method itself. I tend to freeze leftovers of my homemade sauce and meatballs. When I have enough to put together a lasagna (about every 6 months), I make this one. I put all the defrosted leftover sauce into a pan, heat it, adjust the seasoning, then let it cool. I cook regular Barilla lasagne noodles 8 mins til al dente, then lay them on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil. I slice my meatballs into 3rds while half-frozen. I take one 2-lb container of ricotta, add 2 beaten eggs, 1-2 tbs dried parsely and about 1/2 tsp black pepper. I shred about 2 c mozz, and get out pecorino romano. I spray a 9x12 pan with cooking spray and make 3 layers over a cup of sauce spread on the bottom: noodles, ricotta, meatballs, sauce, mozz, grated cheese. The top (3rd) layer of noodles gets the remaining ricotta, mozz and grated cheese. Cover tightly with oiled tinfoil, then in the fridge til the next afternoon. Extra sauce reserved for serving. Let pan come to room temp 1-2 hrs before cooking. Cook covered 25 mins, uncovered 25 mins, with a pan underneath. Let sit about 15 mins and PERFECTION - turns out with perfect texture to noodles, not dry, and completely set up for cutting.

This was so easy and so tasty! I made this for our men's basketball team dinner and they devoured it! The only thing that I did differently was I added a half a roll of Italian sausage...Next time I will have to double the batch!

Really good!! I didn't want to wait overnight so I soaked my noodles (just regular and not oven ready,) in hot water while I started the sauce (about 30 minutes.) I did as the others suggested and added an egg to the cottage cheese and vamped up the meat sauce with basil, mined garlic and onion. I used two 24 ounce jars of sauce and omitted the water which made two 8x9 dishes... one to eat and one to freeze. Next time I'll add some italian sausage. I never knew how easy making lasagna could be. Thanks for the recipe!!

Loved this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! I did tweak it a little: Used the oven ready lasagna noodles and soaked them for 30 minutes before using, added an egg to the cottage cheese. I used the higher fat cottage cheese, and added parsley, pepper, and oregano to it. I didn't find just one jar of marinara that was 30 oz, so I used Prego meat sauce coupled with some hunts tomato sauce, and it had great flavor! Tonight I'm trying it with both beef and sausage, but with just the beef it's great. This is a wonderful make ahead recipe! Absolutely a keeper!

I love this recipe, needless to say I was nervous about the noodles being tender. I did not buy the oven ready noodles, but it turned out perfect. Applied changes mentioned in previous reviews. Will make again.

Terrific and very easy recipe! A word of caution.... If you are using a GLASS dish, DO NOT PUT GLASS DISH FROM REFRIGERATOR INTO A PREHEATED OVEN!!! It will break and create a huge mess, not to mention a ruined dinner. Put cold lasagne in cold oven and then turn on oven. (Of course this is not true of metal pan.)

Wonderful! I had weekend guests and this made for an easy meal. We really liked it! Changes I made were to use substitute sausage for part of the meat. I also used some Italian seasoning.

I have been making this almost identical recipe for over 40 years the only difference is in the choice of sauce - jarred marinara or whatever you prefer. I do add 2 or 3 shallots to the sauce, more basil, oregano, 1 full clove minced garlic and simmer with the meat for a full 20 mins (cooking the noodles and prepping the various cheeses) during this time. I prefer to cook mine right away to get those marvelous spices working and then I freeze the remainder in glass covered pyrex dishes. They stack flat in the freezer and take little space. When I want a quick dinner - unfreeze in the fridge while at work so when you get home cover wit foil pop in a preheated 300 degree oven and 1 hour later it's ready to go with a salad.

Yes, this is as easy and tasty as everyone says. But... the way this is written it sounds like there are only two layers and with a box of lasagna noodles, that leaves 6 noodles. So... I topped off with the remaining six noodles and covered that with a can of small diced tomatoes (since the sauce is already accounted for in the first two layers). Then I finished with the Parmesan cheese as directed. My version was veggie so I didn't use the ground beef. I only had a can of Hunt's spaghetti sauce which is 14oz and it still came out yummy. I didn't add egg to the cottage cheese (like other reviewers suggested) and, again, it came out fine. This is a wonderful recipe as is but better with your own touches!

This is very simple, and we loved it. My husband does not like pasta dishes, and this was my way of using up half a box of lasagne noodles and some meat sauce in the freezer. It was good enough that I'll be making it again soon.

In my opinion this is the best way to make lasagna. It didn't require pre-cooking the noodles which made it so much easier to assemble, letting it sit over night gives it a much better flavor. I did add a egg to the cottage cheese and put basil seasoning on top of the cottage cheese mixture. Will be making my lasagna this way from now on. And my husband loved it!

Excellent every time...I add 1 tsp of fresh minced garlic from the jar or 1 fresh minced garlic clove to the browned meat. I also use 2 jars of the Classico brand in the "Four Cheese" flavor. I find "Classico" brand sauces to be perfectly seasoned for my picky 9 and 12 years olds - so no need to add anything else. With the increase in sauce you will need to increase the cottage cheese accordingly. I buy the 24 oz. small curd cottage cheese. I also used a box of the Barilla brand lasagne noodles. My kids prefer the "curly" ends. I've prepared this dish in the morning and bake when I get home from work.

Overall, I thought this recipe was very good. It was fairly watery though, so the next time I'll cut the water to about 1/2 c. I added Italian seasoning, because I thought it might be a little blah without it. Very good with just a salad and some garlic bread!

My sweetie and I loved this recipe! It's easy to put together, and it's yummy! I added some garlic powder, oregano and basil. Also I used marble cheese as I had no mozza on hand. Oh, and I added an egg to the cottage cheese. Will make it again for sure.

Perfect as is written

Fantastic! I used an entire package of noodles, two jars of pasta sauce instead of the 30 oz sauce plus water, some oregano, some parsley, 1 cottage cheese, 1 moz cheese, the parm, and put it in a lasagne size extra deep foil pan.

I have a made this recipe at least 5 times . This recipe is AWESOME. My boyfriend, family and friends love it! Thank you for sharing AuLait!!!!

So very good. My food critics (kids and hubby) couldn't get enough! Definately a keeper...and sooooo easy!

Made 1/2 recipe with about 1 lb beef (could have used less but that's what I had) in my 7x11 pan and fit perfectly. I did soak the noodles in a little room temp water for a bit first, not sure if this is necessary but worked well. Added 1 egg to the cottage cheese mix (and I think I could have used the whole 16 oz of cottage cheese if desired, though it wasn't lacking with half). Added some italian seasoning to the beef while cooking, and an onion. Everyone loved this and it was very easy to pop into the oven once home from work- leftovers as well. Do bake on a tray just in case, baked 350 1 hour covered

Love this recipe! I just made it again today for tomorrow & I just had a few noodles left in the box so I used a 9x9 pan & it work out fine. Can't wait to eat it tomorrow. It's so easy the first time I made it I had company & it was great cause I was able to make the main dish a head of time.

Perfect noodles. Add your own flare. Awesome basic recipe.

Excellent! Made with these extras: Cook 1/2 cup diced onions and two uncased mild italian sausage with hamburger; and mix 1 beaten egg with cottage cheese. Also made on a Monday and cooked it on Wednesday and eat on it through the weekend; it was as good or better on the last day as the first. A "for company" recipe.

Easy! And tasty!!!!!

My family loved this make ahead lasagna! I adjusted my ingredients based on other reviews and my family's preference for a rich, thick lasagna. Here are my adjustments: I browned 1lb of hamburger and 1lb of Italian sausage with 1 small onion, 2 cloves of garlic (minced) and 1 cup chopped mushrooms. I bought a thicker, better quality marinara sauce. I mixed a large container of whole milk cottage cheese with a standard container of whole milk ricotta cheese. I used a 16oz package of shredded mozzarella - putting the additional 4oz on the top to make it extra cheesy. I received lots of compliments and the left overs didn't last long!

Delicious and easy as is, I made some additions for more flavor. I added onion and garlic to the meat, added an egg and parsley to the cottage cheese layer, and Penzeys Pasta Sprinkle to the mozzarella layer. I use Raos marinara for the sauce. Good recipe for doubling and freezing.

Did the recipe as written to make it for a meal for a neighbor family of 5. It was super easy but took a long time to cook. It needed 1.5 hours but I did the full recipe all in one large tin. It made a huge lasagna, probably two meals for the family rather than one.

This was easy and delicious! I did add onion, garlic, basil and oregano to the ground beef while it was cooking. Also added some cooked carrot to add to the veggie content (and you can't tell at all). Next time I might try to make it three layer if I can figure out what pan I could use. Thanks AuLait for the recipe!

One word of caution: If you're using a metal baking dish, don't use the foil when you're storing it overnight. The salt and the acid in the sauce can actually create a battery and oxidize the foil! (Search online for "lasagna battery" or "galvanic corrosion.") Corningware or pyrex won't have this problem. If you're using a metal pan, use plastic wrap when storing it overnight in the fridge and switch to foil before it goes into the oven.

This is my go-to recipe when I need to stock my freezer with pre-made meals or take a meal to a friend. I usually double the recipe and prepare in 3 or 4 disposable pans (around 9 in x 9 in). I have used oven ready noodles, regular noodles cooked, and regular noodles uncooked (be sure to wait overnight if taking this route). All turned out great! I also sub out half the cottage cheese for ricotta for my husband’s preferences.

I made this for Christmas dinner. I mixed Italian Sausage with beef, added an egg to the cottage cheese, and used a narrow pan so I could do more layers. Also, you'll need to remove the foil for the last 10 minutes in order to brown the top. Very tasty.

Such an easy recipe and so good!! I've served this lasagna twice and both times I was asked for the recipe! Delicious!!

Absolutely a wonderful lasagna recipe. The only thing I changed is instead of cottage cheese, I use ricotta cheese. I'm not sure if using ricotta cheese is a NJ/NY thing, but I've never even tried lasagna with cottage cheese because I love ricotta cheese SO MUCH!!

So easy and so delicious! I use no bake lasagna noodles to make it even easier. A favorite at my house!

I think next time I’ll throw in some veggies. Maybe mushrooms or can tomatoes

I made this recipe 90ish percent as written. My daughter wanted ground turkey instead of beef and I used gluten free lasagna noodles (no cook). I also used a total of 15 noodles, each layer had 5 noodles. Over 10 years ago my husband made me lasagna following the directions of my then 10 year old who said he knew how to make lasagna because he had watched me a million times. The end result was well that's what you get for listening to a 10 year old. That is how I feel about how this recipe is written and its outcome. My end lasagna was a 2 layer lasagna that could use some help in the flavor department. It is a very basic base recipe that gets the majority of its flavor from the sauce you use.

Ooey-gooey, perfect for a rainy day!

You have to use ricotta cheese!