Faux Lasagna
Faux Lasagna is lasagna without all of the work. This can totally be made ahead of time and is a great casserole to freeze!
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FAUX LASAGNA
I have a parent-teacher conference tomorrow and I’m a nervous wreck. Why do I feel like I’m in trouble?
Depending on the kid dictates how I feel about the conference and let’s just say I know this one isn’t going to be rainbows and skittles. My son means well but is struggling a bit. He such a social butterfly that it’s hard for him to sit down and focus on such mundane things like schoolwork. 
My friend is a sub at my son’s school and she said he’s what the teachers refer to as a “Yenta”. A Yenta is in everyone’s business and wants to know what everyone is doing at all times. Hmm…I have no idea where he gets that.
We recently found out that he was really behind in his homework. Why? Because for the last month, while everyone else was writing down the assigned homework at the end of the day, HE was handing out everyone’s lunchboxes to be nice. I told him he has to stop being so “nice” until he can get his grades up. This parenting thing is hard. 
A couple of weeks ago I went on a cooking spree and made a ton of freezer meals – this being one of them. I used to be anti-freezing for some reason or another but now – freezer meals save me on crazy days. It’s easy to brown up a bunch of beef for the week and then use it in dishes like this.
This Faux Lasagna is layered with a cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream layer that makes it so creamy. I’m not a cottage cheese fan at all and I promise you won’t detect it in there. My family absolutely loved this one!
Layer the ingredients… Can I just say that this tastes better than it looks? If that’s possible.
The best part about this is that this is completely freezer friendly.
OTHER PASTA RECIPES:
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Baked Spaghetti
- Lasagna Soup
- Baked Spasagna
- One-Pan Baked Ziti Skillet
Faux Lasagna
Ingredients
- 16- oz package wide egg noodles, uncooked
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
- 1 lb . ground beef
- 1/2 cup fresh minced onion or 1/4 cup dried onion
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
- Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Boil noodles in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain. You don't want to overcook them.
- Arrange half of the noodles in a lightly greased 2 quart casserole dish. *Note - a 9x13 pan is a 3 quart dish so a 2 quart is a smaller pan. Drizzle noodles with melted butter.
- Combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and green onions in a medium bowl. Spoon mixture on top of noodles. Layer remaining noodles on top.
- Brown beef and onion in a skillet. Add the garlic and cook for and minute then drain well. Stir in spaghetti sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over noodles.
- If making ahead, cover will aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. This is also when you could freeze it for a later time.
- Bake covered in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan and bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Notes
Adapted from Gooseberry Patch Big Book of Baking.
Added garlic, green onions, omitted tomato paste, and added additional spaghetti sauce.
When I make it again I will use less noodles. I used turkey meat and turkey Italian sausage. It was so good my husband and I loved it.
It amuses me, the number of comments I see in cooking posts in which the author claims they loved a recipe but made so many substitutions, it’s not at all like the original recipe. That said, I had to contend with ingredients I had on hand. I was specifically looking for a way to use my egg noodles and homemade (left over) marinara and this looked like the best option. I didn’t have cottage cheese so I used ricotta and I didn’t have sour cream so I substituted with creme fraiche. Everything else, I had. Once assembled, I cut up and sauteed some Italian sausage (a friend gave me a link because she wanted me to try it) and placed these inch pieces around the top. I would probably assemble it differently but it was delicious. This is a very good in-a-pinch recipe. I wouldn’t recommend the sausage, however.
Thanks for your feedback.
I’ve made this a couple of times for my family. It’s easy to make, and they love it!
Thank you!
We make this without the cottage cheese, and add an egg instead and use med she’ll noodles! But the sour cream and egg are mixed together and poured over the top 😏
That’s supposed to be shell noodles 🤣🤣
Yum!
What can I substitute in place of beef, m a vegetarian…
You could add mushrooms?
This was delicious! It needed the 9X13 pan for sure, not sure how it fit in a smaller pan. I also used a whole plastic container of the Ragu mushroom spaghetti sauce, which I’m sure was more than 1 & 3/4 cup. Instead of the green onions, I used some Tuscan seasoning in the cheese mixture. Was a hit with the entire family! Thanks for sharing!
I stink at making lasagna, so this could be the answer to all my lasagna-related woes! Also, I totally hear you on the parenting thing. I have a daughter who has had allergy/eating issues her whole life and isn’t even on the growth chart. For months before her yearly checkup at the doctor’s, I stress out and feel like I am going to get in trouble!
This is a super recipe – we all loved it. It was easy to make and the leftovers were great too. I had a little trouble fitting in all in the dish … but I managed. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
I love freezer meals because they keep me sane on crazy days! This looks great!!!
This looks comforting and delicious!! xo
What a comforting and delicious pasta bake. I just love easy meals like this for dinner – thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome. It’s good!
Much easier than lasagna! Perfect for a weeknight meal! Thanks!
YUM! I can’t wait to hop on this bandwagon!
I love this! Using the egg noodles instead of the lasagna noodles is a great idea. Definitely pinning so I can try this soon!
I make something similar with frozen ravioli and it’s in regular rotation at our house. I’ll have to try your version.
I like the idea of the ravioli!
Looks like the perfect meal to bring to a new mom! I love dishes like this. Good luck with your parent teacher conference! I’m not looking forward to those. But at least your son is not following through on hw because he’s being NICE to people! I can’t think that this could be a bad thing long term…
Just a little confused on the Faux Lasagna. Do you use sour cream (in the description ) or cream cheese (in the recipe)? Want to try this but want to make it right. Please let me know the right cheese to use.
Thanks,
Kim M.
I think she just references the sour cream in her description, but it is actually using sour cream, cottage cheese and cream cheese (all are referenced in the recipe). I have made something similar and the blend of all those makes for a nice creamy tang that works well with sauce. highly recommend it! I made smaller ones in ramekins and they turned out wonderful too (for smaller portions for freezing).
Kim, Sorry if that was confusing. Like Alyssa said I was just referencing some of the flavors in the description but yes there’s cream cheese and sour cream in the recipe.