Overnight Lasagna - seriously THE BEST lasagna we've ever eaten!!! SO easy to make and you don't have to boil your noodles! The noodles "cook" overnight and are perfect. Lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, Italian sausage, spaghetti sauce, water, mozzarella, garlic, and parmesan. Serve with some garlic bread and a salad. Can freeze leftovers for later. We LOVE this lasagna casserole recipe!!!
Brown sausage in a skillet over medium heat; drain. Stir in sauce and water. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg and parsley. Set aside.
Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Spread 1½ cups meat sauce in bottom of pan. Top with 6 lasagna noodles, lengthwise and overlapping to cover.
Top noodles with half of the cottage cheese, top with third of mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1-1/2 cups sauce over cheese; sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan.
Repeat layering; starting with 6 lasagna noodles and ending with 1½ cups sauce and parmesan cheese. Spread with remaining sauce; top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake lasagna covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered an additional 30 minutes, until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Notes:
Can use Italian sausage, ground beef, or ground turkey in this recipe.
What type of noodles do you use in no-boil lasagna? I used regular lasagna noodles, NOT the no-boil kind. I was worried that they wouldn't expand, but they did! It was magic!
I used a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of making homemade sauce. I used a jar of Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Marinara (it has a green label). I also like Rao's and La Familia Del Grosso.
Feel free to use an equal amount of homemade sauce. The homemade sauce for my Mom's lasagna is AMAZING! I just didn't want to spend an afternoon tending to the sauce, so I used a jar of sauce this time.
Can substitute ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese.
Can No-Boil Lasagna be frozen? Yes! You can freeze this before or after letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
To bake after refrigerating overnight, thaw completely and bake as directed.
To bake if you didn't let the casserole sit overnight before freezing, thaw completely and let the casserole sit in the refrigerator at least 8 hours and then bake as directed.
You can freeze the baked lasagna for later. Cool the lasagna completely and cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. The casserole will keep at least 3 months in the freeze. To bake after freezing, thaw completely and reheat covered in the oven until warmed through.