Preheat oven to 375℉ and brush a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ground meat and begin to brown, breaking it up as it browns. Once the meat is about halfway cooked, season with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon oregano. Continue to cook until fully browned. Turn off the heat, drain off any excess grease if needed, and return the meat to the skillet.
To the browned meat, add the prepared spaghetti sauce and 1 cup of water, mixing well to incorporate. (If you are not adding ground meat, simply combine the water with spaghetti sauce in a large bowl at this point.)
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese with parsley, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, egg, and ¼ cup parmesan cheese until well combined.
To layer the lasagna, spread a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay 4 noodles down over the meat, breaking the noodles if needed to fit. Remember it is important to not overlap the noodles, to allow them to cook evenly.
Evenly top the noodles with ½ of the cottage cheese mixture. Top with 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat the layers.
Finish layering the lasagna, by adding the final 4 lasagna noodles to the lasagna. Top with the remaining meat sauce, spreading to fully cover the noodles. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese evenly over the sauce.
Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the foil and return to the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the noodles are tender.
Remove the lasagna from the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.
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Notes
Meatless Option: To make a meatless lasagna, omit the meat or use your favorite veggie crumble. Just be sure to combine the spaghetti sauce with 1 cup of water, as this recipe needs that extra moisture. Noodles: You do NOT need no-boil noodles for this recipe. You can use them if you have them on hand, but regular or whole-wheat lasagna noodles work perfectly for this recipe.Gluten-Free Lasagna: If using Gluten-Free lasagna noodles, you must pre-boil the noodles, as they release too much starch and would cause this lasagna to be watery and have an off-putting flavor. Boil the noodles per package instructions, omit the water from the sauce, and layer the lasagna as directed.Cottage Cheese: Use full-fat or reduced-fat, not fat-free cottage cheese. If you prefer, use ricotta cheese in place of cottage cheese. Want to take a shortcut? Skip the step of browning meat, use sliced pepperoni in the layers of the lasagna in place of ground meat being added to the sauce. The pepperoni will add a hearty, meaty taste--minus the work!Storage: Allow the lasagna to cool, then cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap or transfer the lasagna to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, place a serving of lasagna onto a heat-safe plate and cover it with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through. Freezing Lasagna: Prepare and bake the lasagna as directed in a freezer-safe pan or disposable foil pan. After baking, let the lasagna cool completely. Wrap tightly in 2 layers of foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake the lasagna from frozen, remove the freezer and remove one layer of foil. Bake covered at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until warmed through.