This high protein ravioli lasagna made with cottage cheese is a super easy comforting recipe that comes together in no time. Made with a generous amount of cheese, meat sauce, and ravioli, the whole family will love this lazy lasagna. Perfect for freezing for later as well!
If you’re not in the mood to make a lasagna, this ravioli version is just the perfect hack. I’m currently prepping freezer meals for postpartum, and this high protein ravioli lasagna is one of the meals that I made, as it’s so simple to make without exhausting me, but still has all the traditional flavors and texture of a lasagna!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s so easy to customize this recipe! You can use your favorite filling for ravioli, you can use a different sauce, you can swap beef for another ground meat, etc. It’s one of my go-tos because you can easily make it with whatever you have on hand. You can even add additional ingredients if you have a large enough baking dish.
- This recipe uses store-bought marinara and ravioli, so your prep time is pretty minimal. While you can definitely use homemade ingredients, this ravioli lasagna is meant to be a super quick and easy version of a classic lasagna to save you time on busy weeknights!
- As I mentioned earlier, I’ve made this for the freezer for postpartum, as this is a great freezer-friendly recipe that reheats wonderfully. You can easily double this recipe or just freeze half for another day.
Ingredients You’ll Need
ravioli — I’m using the fresh ravioli found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. I’m using one with a ricotta and spinach filling, so I can skip adding ricotta and spinach to the overall dish. You can use your go-to ravioli of choice.
oil — I like to use olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil.
onion — I diced a small yellow onion pretty finely, so that it’d blend into the meat sauce.
garlic — the more garlic, the better!
ground beef — I’m using ground beef, but you can also use ground pork, Italian sausage, chicken, or turkey. You can even use a mixture of two if you don’t have enough of one on hand.
seasoning — I used salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Feel free to add more seasoning if you’d like. The marinara sauce I use is already seasoned, so I didn’t want to go overboard.
marinara sauce — I’m using Rao’s marinara that I get at Costco. Whenever there’s a sale, I always grab the two packs, so there is always a jar in my pantry!
cheese — the secret to amping up the protein in this ravioli lasagna is using cottage cheese! It is packed with protein. I also use a shredded cheddar blend to pair with the cottage cheese. As an optional garnish for serving, I add some parmesan to the pasta.
How to Make High Protein Ravioli Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 400°F and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the ravioli according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water when done, and toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to prevent the ravioli from sticking to each other. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat before adding the diced onions and ½ teaspoon of salt and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic and saute for another minute.
- Push the onion and garlic to the side of the skillet to make room in the center. Add the ground beef, salt (½ teaspoon), garlic powder, and onion powder. Brown the ground beef for 4 to 5 minutes, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.
- Add the marinara sauce to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring throughout.
- Assemble the lasagna in a baking dish in the following order: meat sauce, ravioli, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, meat sauce, ravioli, cottage cheese, and shredded cheese.
- Loosely cover with aluminum foil without touching the cheese and bake on the middle rack for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue to bake for a couple more minutes until the top layer of cheese is lightly golden and bubbly. If you want more browning of the cheese, broil for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to keep a close eye on it to prevent the cheese from burning.
- Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. I garnish with some parmesan and basil before serving but that is optional.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- This is the large rectangular baking dish I use. Its size is 15.5″x8″, but you can use a smaller one if that’s all you have on hand, but you might need two baking dishes.
- I recommend trying your best to place the ravioli in a single layer. When I’m in a rush, I just toss them in the best I can, but if you have time, try to place the ravioli individually in a single layer.
- This is a huge baked cottage cheese pasta. If you’re worried about overflow or sauce and cheese bubbling over, I recommend placing a baking tray underneath the baking dish.
- It’s important to let the ravioli lasagna cool before serving. Allowing the ravioli bake to rest gives it time to firm up and prevent everything from falling apart when you cut into it.
- Another add-in I like for this pasta bake is mushrooms! I cook it down in the pot before adding the ground beef. Spinach is also a great option if you don’t use the ravioli with spinach filling. Just make sure to cook it down.
Make Ahead Tips and Storage
- Meal prep: once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Freezing Leftovers: allow the ravioli lasagna to cool before transferring them into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer. Store for up to 3 months and thaw before reheating in the oven or microwave.
- Freezing in Portions: I divided the recipe between 3 to 4 mini aluminum pans and baked as directed. The individual pans make reheating in smaller portions easier. The exact measurements of the pans I used are 6.6 inches x 4.6 inches x 1.7 inches. I couldn’t find the exact ones online, but here’s the closest one I saw on Amazon. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Reheat in the oven, as the aluminum pans are not microwave-safe.
High Protein Cottage Cheese Ravioli Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 bags ravioli, (approximately 600g each bag)
- 2 to 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 small onion, diced finely
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 jars Rao's marinara, (770mL per jar)
- 2½ cups cottage cheese
- 1½ cups shredded cheese
- oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the ravioli according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water when done, and toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to prevent the ravioli from sticking to each other. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onions and ½ teaspoon of salt, and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic and saute for another minute.
- Push the onion and garlic to the side of the skillet to make room in the center. Add the ground beef, salt (½ teaspoon), garlic powder, and onion powder. Brown the ground beef for 4 to 5 minutes, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.
- Add the marinara sauce to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring throughout.
- Assemble the lasagna in a baking dish in the following order (after spraying the baking dish with some oil spray): meat sauce, ravioli, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, meat sauce, ravioli, cottage cheese, and shredded cheese.
- Loosely cover with aluminum foil without touching the cheese and bake on the middle rack for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue to bake for a couple more minutes until the top layer of cheese is lightly golden and bubbly. If you want more browning of the cheese, broil for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to keep a close eye on it to prevent the cheese from burning.
- Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. I garnish with some parmesan and basil before serving, but that is optional.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Pasta Recipes to Try
- Spinach and Artichoke Pasta Bake
- Sausage and Broccoli Pasta
- Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake
- Individual Freezer Tomato Pesto Beef Pasta
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