This easy lasagna recipe without ricotta cheese(no cottage cheese as well) is a basic cheese lasagna recipe without meat and without vegetables. This basic vegetarian lasagna no ricotta cheese no cottage cheese no meat recipe is so simple to make, so cheesy and super delicious and kid friendly too and we use an easily available alternative or substitute for ricotta cheese and cottage cheese since this recipe uses no ricotta cheese or cottage cheese in its preparation.
And the best part is that this meatless lasagna is also pretty cheap to make as you can make this from relatively inexpensive ingredients and you can also add more ingredients for fillings if you would like to modify this basic lasagna recipe with no ricotta.
Cooked lasagna noodles can be baked easily using deep lasagna pans.
This simple lasagna recipe is perfect for beginners to learn how to make lasagna with minimal ingredients quickly and easily.
So add this easy lasagna recipe to your weekly meal plan if you love lasagna for dinner!
Substitute For Ricotta Cheese In Lasagna (Alternative To Ricotta & Cottage Cheese)
If you wonder what to use as an alternative or substitue for ricotta cheese in lasagna, in fact there are many options.
(Buy ricotta cheese here if you like!)
In this eay recipe for lasagana without ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, I used mozzarella cheese as the main substitue for ricotta cheese.
The recipe uses a combination of both cheddar cheese & mozarella cheese, and it works very well in this easy lasagna recipe without ricotta cheese or cottage cheese.
Bechamel sauce, cream cheese etc are other delicious options to use if you are looking for substitutes or replacements for ricotta cheese in lasagna recipes.
But in this recipe, we only use the cheddar cheese & mozarella cheese combination which works as a good alternative or substitute to ricotta cheese and cottage cheese in lasagna.
How To Make Lasagna Noodles Without Ricotta Cheese Or Cottage Cheese?
In this lasagna recipe with no ricotta cheese, lasagna sheets are cooked first in boiling water following the package instructions, just like you do for regular pasta. And then we gather the sauce and cheese for adding in between the layers made of lasagna sheets.
I used regular marinara sauce and a combination of shredded cheddar cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese, which was delicious and simple.
I usually do not recommend mozzarella cheese for pasta (its ideal for pizza), since the string texture of mozzarella tend to make the pasta shells stick together and turns clumpy in most cases making it even inedible.
However, I found that adding mozzarella to lasagna sheets really work since the stringy texture of mozzarella is apparently good for the lasagna sheets to stick together and it tastes delicious too.
You may try any other sauce as you wish, and may experiment with any cheese blends as you like.
The amount of sauce and cheese in the recipe is what I used to bake the layers made of 18 sheets of lasagna.
Adjust the amounts accordingly if you have more or less number of lasagna sheets. Also if you may slightly adjust the amounts of sauce and cheese as you desire.
I tried this easy lasagna recipe without ricotta cheese or cottage cheese as I didn’t have any ricotta or cottage cheese, and the lasagna turned out delicious with the mix of cheddar and mozzarella.
So let us see the ingredients list and step by step instructions on how to make delicious and easy lasagna without ricotta or cottage cheese.
Ingredients for easy lasagana recipe without ricotta cheese
1 package lasagna sheets (I used the brand Barilla which had 18 sheets)
5 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar and mozzarella) (I used about 3 full packages and a little more from the 4th package which amounted to 5 cups of shredded cheese)
3 cups marinara sauce (adjust as needed)
water enough to cook lasagna
5 tablespoons olive oil (or as needed to grease the lasagna sheets)
1 tablespoon extra oil to grease the baking pan
1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
Step By Step Instructions (The Process Of Making Easy Lasagna)
Cook the lasagna sheets according to instructions in the package.
Once the lasagna sheets are cooked, drain the water and transfer the cooked sheets to a foil greased with oil.
Sprinkle some olive oil over the sheets and gently grease each sheet with olive oil, which will help to prevent the sheets from sticking together.
Preheat oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit.
Grease a 13*9 inch baking pan with oil (or use any large baking pan that can fit the sheets).
Add few spoons of marinara sauce to spread over the baking pan and place lasagna sheets on top of the sauce in a single layer.
Add more sauce over the sheets and spread evenly, then add shredded cheese over the sauce in a single layer and then place the next layer of lasagna sheets in a single layer.
Again, repeat the process by adding a single layer of sauce which is topped with enough cheese in a single layer.
Repeat this process until the top layer of lasagna sheets are placed.
Then add enough sauce and spread the sauce evenly.
Now cover the baking pan with foil and bake in the preheated oven for about twenty minutes.
After 20 minutes of baking, remove the covering foil and top the lasagna with more shredded cheese (sorry I forgot to take a picture of this step).
Cover the baking pan again with foil and bake for another ten more minutes.
When its done, open the pan and see if the cheese is melted enough. You may keep the pan opened, and bake for another 5 more minutes if needed so that the cheese will be bubbly and golden brown.
Once the dish is cooled enough, you can slice them in squares and enjoy!
I like to top mine with dried oregano or parsley flakes and also dried red chili flakes to spice it up.
You may add any other toppings or even suitable fillings (add accordingly as you fill the sheets for baking but make sure not to add too much) for even more flavors as you desire!
That is why I told this is a basic, simple and easy lasagna recipe which is very flexible and you can modify it as you please.
If you are using 18 lasagna sheets as called in this recipe, you may use 2 baking pans to bake the lasagna, using 9 sheets in each pan or you may use a single large pan to bake all the layers simultaneously (if you use a single pan, the layers will be little thick as there are many number of layers).
I used a single baking pan to bake all the lasagna sheets so I had 6 layers of lasagna with lasagna sheets in each layer.
If you use two baking pans, you can have smaller number of 3 layers lasagna, so do it whichever way you like it.
Make sure to use a large baking pan which can hold all layers and its fillings.
A 9*13 inch baking pan can be used easily for making lasagna, you can also use disposable baking pans of this size (just like the one you see here) which ca hold all contents.
More Pasta Recipes In This Blog:
easy baked mac and cheese without flour
Mint Pasta With Fresh Tomatoes
Garlic Pasta Recipe With White Sauce
Indian Style Pasta Recipe With Roasted Cauliflower Florets
Also see my instant pot pasta recipes collection here.
Below you can read the detailed recipe for making lasagna without ricotta or cottage cheese and no meat.
Easy Lasagna Recipe Without Ricotta Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 package lasagna (I used the brand Barilla which had 18 sheets)
- 5 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar and mozzarella)
- 3 cups marinara sauce adjust as needed
- water enough to cook lasagna
- 5 tablespoons olive oil (or as needed to grease the lasagna sheets)
- 1 tablespoon extra oil to grease the baking pan
- 1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- Cook the lasagna sheets according to instructions in the package. Make sure to use enough water (boiling water) to cover the lasagna sheets, or it won't get cooked properly. After you put the sheets in to the boiling water, give it a minute so the sheets will become slightly soft and you can gently press with a spatula so the sheets will get immersed in the water. If there is no enough water, make sure to add more water.
- Once the lasagna sheets are cooked, drain the hot water and I recommend adding some cold water to the same pan, which will help you to easily transfer the lasagna sheet from the pan. Transfer the cooked sheets to a foil greased with little oil.
- Once the sheets are transferred to the foil or any flat surface, grease your palm with some olive oil and sprinkle some olive oil over the sheets and gently grease each sheet with olive oil, which will help to prevent the sheets from sticking together.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit.
- Grease a large baking pan with oil(you may use a 13*9 inch baking pan or use any baking pan that can fit the sheets).
- Add few spoons of marinara sauce to spread over the baking pan.
- Add lasagna sheets on top of the sauce in a single layer.
- Add more sauce over the sheets and spread evenly.
- Add shredded cheese over the sauce in a single layer.
- Place the next layer of lasagna sheets in a single layer.
- Again, repeat the process by adding a single layer of sauce which is topped with enough cheese in a single layer.
- Repeat this process until the top layer of lasagna sheets are placed (do not add cheese above the top layers now).
- Once the topmost layers are placed in a single layer, add enough sauce and spread the sauce evenly.
- Cover the baking pan with foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes of baking, remove the covering foil and top the lasagna with shredded cheese as desired.
- Cover the baking pan again with foil and bake for another 10 more minutes.
- After 10 more minutes of baking, open the pan and see if the cheese is melted enough. You may keep the pan opened, and bake for another 5 more minutes if needed so that the cheese will be bubbly and golden brown (do this only if you desire, you may also broil it for the final 3 to 4 minutes if you like).
- Allow the lasagna to cool down for few minutes, slice and serve!
This recipe was good, but the reason I put four stars is because this lasagna recipe needed more flavor. Besides needing more flavor, I would definitely make this again.
Hi Bethany, Thank you for the feedback! This is a basic, easy recipe for making lasagna noodles without ricotta cheese and the recipe is simple with basic ingredients. To add more flavor to the dish, you can easily add more fillings or flavors as you layer the noodles for baking. Thanks again for trying this recipe and for taking the time to leave the comment 🙂
Thank you, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Cooking intimidates and overwhelms me, so I don’t often use recipes; I found a box of lasagna noodles in the cupboard so I googled it without ricotta or beef or cottage cheese. Voila! I now have a lasagna dish. I like simple food.
Hi Kelli, Thank you so much for the comments and rating! I agree, the best thing about this lasagna recipe is so simple & easy to make when there is no ricotta cheese. And you can add more fillings or flavors if you want. I am so glad you enjoyed the dish. Thanks again 🙂