Please welcome, my favorite meal of all time. LASAGNA. This is my favorite recipe (courtesy of my mom ❤️) because it holds it’s shape, has a ton of zesty Italian flavor, and is not too overloaded with oily cheeses like most others are. I like myself a firm, saucy, meaty lasagna, not a stack of cheese grease. 🙅🏼♀️
One ingredient you may not be familiar with in this recipe is the fennel seed. I grew up without this ingredient, and the lasagna is plenty good without it, but I’ve added it in since moving out and experimenting with different spices. I’ve gotta tell you, I won’t ever leave it out moving forward. Fennel seed (ground or whole) really adds some authentic Italian sausage flare to the dish. I would keep it in my spice cabinet solely for this recipe, but I’ve also found use for it in my Tender Turkey Meatballs, Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup, and Home-made Italian Turkey Sausage.
I’ve made the serving sizes for this lasagna pretty large. Big pieces of lasagna are my jam. 🤰🏼 But I served this recipe at a family reunion this past summer and it fed 8 adults and 6 kids alongside some baked broccoli and home made breadsticks. We even had a second tray of lasagna that wasn’t touched.
My point: it feeds a lot of people.
Whenever I’m making a batch of freezer meals, either for myself or for a friend, I almost always include a lasagna. It’s a little more legwork on the front end compared to the rest of my freezer meals because you have to cook the meat; but when you’re having an incredibly busy week, are chronically ill, pregnant, freshly postpartum, or mourning a loss, having a huge, comforting lasagna to eat off of for a few days is a total life saver. This lasagna has helped heal and comfort many of my family and friends.
My mom’s lasagna is a recipe that I have a legitimate(ly weird) emotional attachment to because of all of the good memories I’ve associated with it and all the love I’ve felt preparing and sharing it with others. In fact, I’ve even put off sharing this recipe on the blog because I didn’t know how to do it justice. How could I fit all the comfy fuzzy feelings I feel when making this lasagna into words? I can’t. It’s just one of those things that allows my entire being to be consumed by nostalgia, but traps the right words on the tip of my tongue. 🤷🏼♀️ Maybe you have an inanimate object or experience that makes you feel the same.
I truly hope you find a way to share your love with your family and friends through making and sharing some seriously tasty food with them. Invite them over and make them a lasagna, then send them home with one for the freezer. After all, I feel like lasagna may be the one truly universal love language. ❤️
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
real people
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- 1.5 lbs ground turkey $4.48
- 1 small-medium onion, finely chopped $0.36
- 1 tbsp garlic $0.11
- 2 15 oz canned tomatoes $0.96
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce, no salt added $0.48
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste $0.41
- 2 tsp dried basil $0.12
- 1 tsp fennel seed $0.19
- 1 tsp salt $0.01
- 10 lasagna noodles $1.57
- 2 eggs $0.14
- 2 cups cottage cheese $2.12
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided $2.70
- 2 tbsp dried parsley $0.52
- 2/3 lb mozzarella cheese $1.99
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large, deep skillet combine the ground turkey, finely chopped onion, and garlic over medium/high heat. You won't need oil as the turkey has enough fat to keep the food from sticking. Brown the meat and drain off the excess fat.
- Stir the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, fennel seed and salt into the meat mixture, bring it to a boil, and let it simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil the lasagna noodles according to the directions on their packaging.
- While the meat sauce is simmering and the noodles are boiling, lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Next add the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese, and parsley to eggs and stir until they're combined.
- Drain the lasagna noodles in a colander and use tongs to lay 5 lasagna noodles, overlapping, in the bottom of the 9x13 pan. top the noodles with half the cottage cheese mixture (it should spread thin). Then top the cottage cheese mixture with just enough shredded mozzarella to to cover it. (Should be about 1/3 lb or 1 and 2/3 - 2 cups.) Then top the mozzarella with half of the meat sauce.
- Repeat the layering one more time and sprinkle your remaining parmesan cheese on the top layer of meat sauce.
- Bake on the top rack of the oven at 375 for 30 -35 minutes (or until the cheese in browned and bubbling on the sides).
- I usually let the lasagna rest for about 15-20 minutes before serving to let it set up and cool off a bit. The layers will hold much better if you give it the extra time.
- Prepare the lasagna using the directions above in a disposable 9x13 pan that has a lid.
- On the lid, write: • Preheat the oven to 375 and cover the lasagna with foil • bake for 1.5 hours - remove the foil and bake for 40 additional minutes until heated through and the cheese is browned and bubbling on the sides • The center of the lasagna should reach 160 degrees when warmed all the way through. • Let the lasagna rest for 15 - 20 minutes before serving
Price for entire dish: $16.16
Price per serving: $2.02
Servings: 8 large pieces
Calories: 471
Carbs: 40 g
Protein: 38.6
Fat: 18.3
Sodium: 540.4 mg
Sugar: 7.2 g
