No Mess Lasagna

Classic lasagna usually means a second pot boiling on the stove, a sink full of sticky noodles, and one more thing to wash. This version ditches all of that. Dry lasagna noodles go straight from the box into the pan, and they cook tender in exactly the time it takes for the whole casserole to bake. The trick is a generous amount of jarred spaghetti sauce mixed with browned ground beef, plus a tight foil seal that traps steam and hydrates the pasta from both sides.

The cheese filling is a cottage cheese shortcut instead of the traditional ricotta. Mixed with shredded mozzarella and an egg, it binds into a creamy middle layer that sets cleanly when sliced.

Pro Tips

• Use the full 32 ounces of sauce. No-boil-style lasagna needs that liquid to rehydrate the raw noodles. A scant jar will leave crunchy corners.
• Cover with foil tightly for the first hour. Gaps let steam escape, the sauce dries out, and the noodles stay hard. Crimp the edges.
• Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing. This is not optional. Hot lasagna slides apart into a wet pile. Rested lasagna cuts into crisp, architectural squares.
• Test a noodle with a knife tip in the last 10 minutes. If it meets resistance, cover and go another 10. Some brands of lasagna noodle need slightly longer.

Variations

• Swap the cottage cheese for ricotta mixed with a handful of chopped spinach for a more traditional Italian feel.
• Use Italian sausage in place of (or alongside) the ground beef for spicier, herbier meat sauce.
• Stir a teaspoon of fennel seed and red pepper flakes into the sauce for a deeper, pizzeria-style flavor.