Skillet Lasagna
This easy skillet lasagna recipe takes just 20 minutes to make and is made with ground beef, egg noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and lots of flavorful seasoning.
I absolutely love traditional lasagna, but it has a few strikes against it. Even though my slow cooker lasagna is a dear favorite, it makes enough to feed an army and requires a little bit of planning ahead. And if you’re just now tuning in, there are two things that I’m not: organized or a planner. This skillet lasagna recipe is a new favorite of mine for several reasons. First of all, let me start by telling you that no matter what you think, it does not taste just like spaghetti.
Here are lots of reasons why you need this skillet lasagna in your life:
- Easily made in about 20 minutes. All we need to do is brown the ground beef, stir in the remaining ingredients, cook the egg noodles, and top the lasagna with both cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese. It truly takes less than 30 minutes for dinner to be on the table.
- Economical. It stretches a 1/2 pound of ground beef to feed 4 people.
- It features all the flavors I love in lasagna but in a perfect serving size for a smaller family. We’ve got double the tomato flavor, double the ooey-gooey melted cheese goodness, and lots of seasoning to make the tastiest lasagna ever!
- You can easily double the recipe (see notes below on how I do that).
Ok, all this writing is making me hungry so let’s get started!
Recipe Ingredients
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Ground beef
- Onions
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Egg noodles
How To Make Skillet Lasagna
The beauty of this recipe is that it feeds about four people with only 1/2 pound of ground beef, which is a real budget saver.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and onions until it’s no longer pink in the center. Break it up into smaller pieces as you do so. Drain off any grease once it’s cooked.
Add in your water, tomato paste, diced tomatoes (with juice), Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
Stir that up well and reduce heat to low. Simmer the for about 10 minutes or until you get tired of simmering.
Either or works for me! I promise I’m not grading on how well you follow instructions.
Cook them noodles!
Your package tells you how in case you need to know.
Stir in your cooked egg noodles.
Stir your two kinds of cheese together.
Drop that by spoonfuls onto the top of your skillet.
Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.
Enjoy!
Storage
- Store leftover lasagna in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating as above.
Recipe Notes
- Here are some variations to try to make this skillet lasagna recipe your own:
- Use ground turkey instead of ground beef.
- Substitute the egg noodles for the pasta of your choice, like penne pasta or bowtie pasta. You can also add uncooked lasagna noodles to the skillet when you add the sauce ingredients and let them cook as it simmers. You may just need to let it simmer for longer until they cook. Just make sure they’re submerged in the sauce.
- Add veggies, like diced carrot, chopped spinach, diced zucchini, sliced mushrooms, or corn kernels.
- Substitute the cottage cheese for ricotta cheese. You can also add 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese for a 3-cheese lasagna (who can say no to that?).
- Use minced garlic instead of garlic powder.
- Add a 1/4 teaspoon of for some heat.
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves or chopped fresh parsley.
Recipe FAQs
How do I double this skillet lasagna recipe?
To double the recipe: cook the entire package of egg noodles and double the sauce and cheese. After you drain the egg noodles, pour them into a 9×13 baking dish. Spoon cooked sauce over top and dollop with spoonfuls of cheese and bake in a 350-degree oven until cheese melts (about 5 minutes).
Check out these other pasta recipes:
Low-Carb Lasagna-Stuffed Chicken
Ham Pasta Salad With Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until no longer pink in the center. Drain off any grease.1/2 pound ground beef, 1/2 cup chopped onion
- Add tomatoes in juice, tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to the skillet. Stir well and lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes, while you cook the egg noodles separately.1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained, 1 6-ounce can tomato paste, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Stir cooked egg noodles into the sauce.8 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained
- In a separate bowl, stir together the cottage cheese and mozzarella. Drop spoonfuls over the top of the lasagna skillet. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup cottage cheese
Notes
Nutrition
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~Colin Powell
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I’m rather new to cooking and I just stumbled upon your recipes. They all look and sound delicious! I need a little help on the doubling of this recipe though. I would like to use a whole pound of ground beef, instead of half. Because I’m not totally sure what to cook using the other half. I’d like to know how to double using 1 pound of beef for this recipe and/or another recipe to use up the rest of the beef. Thank you!
I have just recently discovered your website. Haven’t tried any of your recipes but this Skillet Lasagna is definitely going on the table one day this week. Like you, I am not a planner or very organized. My husband retired 18 years ago when he was 55 and I was only 47. Our youngest son was still at home. Once he moved out a few years ago, I decided that *I* should get to retire from something. So, I chose cooking. 🙂 I enjoyed cooking when the kids were young, but not so much for the last several years. This recipe sounds perfect for two people and can easily be made on the spur of the moment, if you have all the ingredients. Thanks for helping me out with my “retirement plan”!
If I were to use dehydrated ground beef, would the measurement still be 1/2 cup? Just wondering. All your recipes sound delicious!!!
I would still use half a cup. Remember to cover your beef in boiling water and let it sit for a bit to rehydrate. It seems like mine always takes longer than I plan on it taking so I’m just mentioning that 🙂
Done this for years, my brother is the one who turned me on to cottage cheese in lasagna he tried ricotta and didn’t like it and used cottage cheese, but he always used dry curd, makes the sauce less wet and faster to cook down. We made lots of skillet meals, still do, make a hash from pot roast and veggies.
First of all, I love you. Basically all your recipes are perfect for me because I can’t for the life of me plan anything. Whenever I’m asked about 4pm “What’s for dinner?” I’m usually like, “Hmm… I’ll figure something out.” And that stresses everyone out. Except for me. Anyway, tonight we are going to see if the skillet lasagna tastes just as good with sour cream instead of cottage cheese. Don’t scream, I know they are pretty different. But they are both milk products and creamy. It’ll be alright. I’m sure of it.
Well I’m a sour cream lover. My family is not. I think they’d be the ones screaming but I’d be like “Oooooh gimme some of that!”. Just remember, it isn’t a cheese so it’s gonna melt in there some but honestly, I think you’re about to create an amazing new dish.
P.S. I love you, too :).
I am wondering if this would be as good without the mozzarella? :-/ I don’t wanna go to the store for just a little cheese….
Absolutely!!
Excellent! We made this tonight and it’s delicious. Thanks for another great recipe!
So glad you liked it Stephanie!