The Palmetto Plate: Lazy Night Lasagna

There are a few recipes that become fast favorites in a house full of hungry kids and this lasagna is absolutely one of them.

Why We Love This Recipe

• No Boiling the Noodles: That’s right. No extra pots. No slippery lasagna sheets tearing mid-layer. I use oven-ready gluten-free noodles to keep this stress-free by Jovial.

• It’s Make-Ahead Friendly: You can assemble it earlier in the day and pop it in the oven right before dinner or freeze it and use it to deliver to someone else.

• Totally Flexible: While I love using ground venison (we always have some in the freezer thanks to deer season), it works just as well with ground beef or turkey.

• No Veggies: Just sauce, meat, cheese, and love. That’s how my kids like it—and honestly, sometimes I do too. Let’s just call it high protein then, huh?

• Creamy and Comforting: We’ve made it with both cottage cheese and ricotta. Cottage cheese makes it lighter and protein-packed, while ricotta gives it that classic, creamy richness. You really can’t go wrong. We typically end up using a mixture of both.

  The Recipe: Lazy Night Lasagna

  Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs ground venison (or beef/turkey)

  • 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce

  • 1 box gluten-free lasagna noodles (oven-ready)

  • 1½ cups cottage cheese or ricotta or both

  • 1 egg

  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning {easily just use oregano, garlic, salt & pepper here if needed}

  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

  • ½ cup grated parmesan

  • Salt + pepper to taste

  • Olive oil (optional, for browning)

  Instructions:

  1. Brown the meat with olive oil in a skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and a little Italian seasoning. Add your sauce and let it simmer.

  2. Mix your cheese layer: In a bowl, combine cottage (or ricotta) cheese, the egg, and a dash of Italian seasoning.

  3. Assemble in a 9x13 dish: meat sauce → noodles → cheese mix → more sauce → mozzarella. Repeat layers.

  4. Top with the last bit of sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.

  5. Bake covered at 375°F for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes. You can broil the cheese for a minute at the very end if you’d prefer.

  6. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing. (If you can wait that long!)

  A Little Note from My Kitchen

  This dish has quickly become part of our family’s dinner rotation especially when I need something filling, familiar, and guaranteed to keep everyone around the table happy. I’ve even doubled it before and frozen one for later. It’s that kind of recipe. It makes great leftovers too…if you have any left.

  From my heart and home to yours, I hope it becomes a new favorite for your family, too.