This one-pan skillet lasagna is loaded with ground beef, melty cheese, and protein for an easy, comforting dinner. Perfect for busy weeknights!
Skillet Lasagna
This easy skillet lasagna delivers all the hearty, comforting flavors you love—minus the fuss! Made with ground beef, creamy cheese, and high-protein ingredients, it’s a satisfying one-pan meal you can whip up in no time. Packed with flavor and 39 grams of protein per serving, this dish is excellent for families, couples, or anyone craving a quick Italian-inspired dinner. Bonus: it’s customizable, so you can tweak it to suit your taste or pantry staples. I also have this classic lasagna recipe and these lasagna roll ups with cottage cheese.
Why You’ll Love This Skillet Lasagna Recipe
I love one-pot recipes (hence my One and Done Cookbook!), so this easy dinner has become a regular in my kitchen. Since I eat high-protein, I wanted to create an easy meal that my whole family will love, and this one delivers! Here’s why it works:
- Fast One-Pan Meal: Everything–even the pasta–cooks in an oven-proof skillet, making it perfect when you’re short on time. Less dishes to wash!
- High-Protein: Cottage cheese, bone broth, and ground beef increase the protein to a whopping 39 grams per serving.
- Dietary Restrictions: Weight Watchers-friendly, gluten-free (if using GF pasta), high-protein
If you make this easy skillet lasagna recipe, I would love to see it. Tag me in your photos or videos on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. And be sure to join the Skinnytaste Community to see what everyone’s cooking!
Skillet Lasagna Ingredients
This skillet lasagna with cottage cheese has all the cheesy, saucy goodness of traditional lasagna but with more protein and fewer calories. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Part-skim Cottage Cheese is a healthy substitute for ricotta cheese in lasagna. Good Culture is my favorite brand.
- Cheese: Parmesan cheese for the filling and shredded mozzarella for topping
- Herbs: Fresh parsley and basil
- Ground Beef: Use 93% lean ground beef for added protein.
- Kosher Salt for seasoning
- Olive Oil to brown the meat
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic
- Sauce: Canned crushed tomatoes (I always use Tuttorosso) and chicken bone broth for a protein boost
- Pasta: Any short pasta shape will work. Reginetti, mafalda, campanelle, farfalle, and broken lasagna noodles are some good options.
How to Make Skillet Lasagna
Skip the layers and long baking time–this quick skillet lasagna cooks all in one skillet. Scroll to the bottom for printable instructions.
- Make the Lasagna Filling: Combine cottage cheese, parmesan, and parsley.
- Brown the Beef in an oven-safe nonstick skillet over high heat. Season with salt and break it up with a spoon as it cooks.
- Cook the Pasta: Saute the onion and garlic until tender. Add the tomatoes, broth, and basil, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the pasta, making sure it’s all submerged in liquid. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the pasta is just tender and the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add the Cheese: Remove the skillet from the heat, dollop with the cottage cheese mixture, and top with the mozzarella. Transfer the skillet to the oven’s second rack from the top, and broil on high until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and garnish with parsley.
Variations
- Cheese: Swap cottage cheese with ricotta and parmesan with Pecorino Romano.
- Meat: Replace beef with 93% lean ground turkey.
- Vegetarian Skillet Lasagna: Omit the beef and saute mushrooms or eggplant.
- Broth: Use regular chicken or vegetable broth.
- Tomatoes: Sub marinara sauce for the canned tomatoes.
- Gluten-Free Lasagna: Substitute gluten-free pasta.
What to Serve with Skillet Lasagna
This high-protein lasagna skillet is filling by itself but would also be great with garlic knots or a veggie, like one of these:
Storage
- Refrigerate leftover lasagna for 4 days.
- Freeze it for 3 months.
- Reheat: Thaw it in the fridge and microwave until warm.
More Lasagna Recipes You’ll Love
- Lasagna Soup
- Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
- Chicken Parmesan Lasagna
- Spaghetti Squash Sausage Lasagna Boats
- Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups
Skillet Lasagna Recipe
Equipment
- large deep skillet with a fitted lid
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup part-skim cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 pound 93% lean ground beef, raw
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 ½ cups crushed tomatoes, I like Tuttorosso
- 2 ½ cups chicken bone broth
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 8 ounces pasta, such as Mafalda pasta, Campanelle, bow-tie pasta broken lasagna noodles, Reginetti or or gluten-free pasta
- ¾ cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of parsley.
- Heat a large 12 inch oven safe nonstick skillet with a fitted lid over high heat and add the beef and salt. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the oil, onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes to the skillet along with the bone broth and basil, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Add the pasta to the pan, stir to combine and spread into an even layer, making sure the noodles are submerged in liquid. Reduce the heat to medium, simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just tender and the sauce has thickened slightly and all the liquid has been absorbed, about 18 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and dollop the cottage cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles with a small spoon without stirring. Top with the mozzarella. Transfer to the broiler on the second rack from the top and broil on high until the cheese is melted, and slightly browned on top, about 3 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Really tasty! The whole family liked it – I blended the cottage cheese bc my son doesn’t like the texture.
This was excellent! I ended up using the full 1lb of beef – and used 91% lean instead of 93% but drained the fat – I also used the full 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. So did have to simmer it a bit longer to have the liquid get absorbed, but not too much longer! I also didn’t have an oven-safe skillet so i transferred to a 9″x13″ Pyrex casserole dish which worked perfectly! I would say with those modifications it made more like 6 servings instead of 4. (Less WW points too… from 10 to 7!)
Very good
Very delicious, thank you
My hubby made this last night and I just had some for the first time for lunch.
Yummy! Just the way it is. Reheats well too.
SO good! I tried this recipe to test out some new cookware, and it will definitely be going in my regular rotation. I used broken lasagna noodles and part-skim ricotta, and modified the recipe by using 1# of 93% lean ground beef, Italian seasoning, more salt than the recipe called for, and black pepper. I did end up having to remove the lid and cook it down for around ten extra minutes to get the liquid to absorb, but this didn’t affect the noodles, which was a concern. They were cooked perfectly.
Easy to bring together and delicious! Kids love it too!
Perfect!
If I use jarred marinara do I still add in the bone broth?
I haven’t made it with marinara, but I would personally add the broth. I think the pasta will need the liquid to cook.
I have made this recipe many times. Phenomenal
So delicious and so easy! So much less faff than an oven-baked lasagna for a weeknight meal. Loved by everyone, including two teens and a tween. Next time will use a different pasta as my lasagna sheets kept sticking together! Thank you for a fab recipe (also used your cottage cheese scrambled eggs for my lunch as we had a big tub of cottage cheese that needed eating up…that was so easy and delicious too! ☺️)
This recipe is so good! Definitely making again!!
This so tasty and filling. I have made this a few times now and it’s quite simple to put together. I use Barilla Protein + Farfalle and a full cup of Cottage Cheese for an extra protein pop. I also have increased to a full pound of lean beef and have added a 4 oz’s of Fresh Mozzarella Pearls as well. It does increase calories to just about 590 and pushes to protein to 44.1g. The recipe is great as it stands, freezes extremely well.
Easy and delicious. I’ll be taking leftovers to work and enjoying it all week. Made as directed, except added a bit of garlic powder and onion powder to the cottage cheese/parm/parsley mixture. Would probably add more onion and fresh garlic next time, and maybe a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. I really appreciate the protein boost from the bone broth.
So delish. Was a hit with the whole family.
So happy to hear!!
Delicious! Easy recipe. Did low fat ricotta was excellent
This was so liquidy – I followed the recipe diligently but the liquid detracted from the dish. We ate it like a lasagna soup – flavor was delicious but consistency was a big issue.
Depending on the pasta you use, next time let it simmer uncovered until its not liquidy. Easy fix.
Very easy and good for week night dinner after work. We’re Ricotta cheese fans, so we substituted the cottage cheese with ricotta cheese. We’ll be making this many more times, I’m sure.
Easy and delicious although my noodles took about an extra 15 mins to cook. The results were worth waiting for! Thanks!
You could try oven ready lasagna noodles broken into thirds. They are parboiled and won’t take as long to cook.
If I double this recipe, should I use a dutch oven? Will it be too much for just a skillet?
I doubled using a 12” deep skillet and had only about 1cm of room left at the top. I”ll definitely use a Dutch oven next time.
Delicious! I was trying to share a picture but wasn’t sure how!
Everyone loves this dish so much! I’ve been begged to repeat it and we are having it again tonight.
Awesome!
My son asks for spaghetti every week when I’m planning meals. This was close enough to make him happy, but different enough for the rest of us. It came together very quickly, so it is great for a week night. I used cooked meat that I keep in the freezer, so that made it even quicker. I did make a couple minor changes: I put the cottage cheese through the food processor to make it smooth and I used Barilla high protein bow tie pasta. My spaghetti-loving son had 2 servings. This will definitely go in our regular rotation.
Perfect!
I used Barilla high protein bow tie pasta also, and it was perfect!
This was incredible! So simple and I love that it only uses 1 pot. The flavor was absolutely delicious 😋
This was so good! I made it as listed but I used part skim ricotta and added a couple more seasonings to that mixture. Thanks for the recipe!
Was easy to do the red sauce and cheese prep earlier in the day and the pasta step at dinner time. This was a huge hit and I will make it again.
Boo, I don’t think any of my skillets are oven safe. Will it still turn out as tasty if I mix in the Cheese mixture and then top with additional shredded cheese??
This is Amazing!!!!!
I made this today, and it was so yummy. I’ll definitely make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
I am not a good cook and mess up many of your simplest recipes. But, this turned out great! I used Barilla High Protein Rotini and Mild Italian Chicken Sausage. The sausage was seasoned just right. I was going to add fennel (Im 50% Sicilian and we always add fennel to.our sauce and anise seed to our meatballs) but the sausage was very well seasoned and I didn’t have to add anything, even salt. Thank you for sending this recipe !
Very good and easy for ground beef that was already cooked!
Perfect!
This was delicious. I made it with ground chicken instead of beef and I omitted the pasta and used veggie instead. Wondering if the macros would be different? Either way it was a winner.
Yes, they’d be completely different.
This is delicious! We added a little fennel too for funsies. It was so picturesque cooking in the pot.
This recipe was delicious, and relatively easy to make. I love that it’s one pan (assuming you use an oven safe pan). The only change I made was adding some sausage to the beef. Broken whole wheat lasagna noodles cooked in 18 minutes.
I don’t have the use of a broiler. Can I put in the oven at higher temp to melt & brown cheese?
Sure
This was fantastic and quick and easy to make. Loved it!
I loved this dish. Not sure if it was the beef broth or cottage cheese but I made it with recommended ingredients and turned out do tasty.
This was not only fantastic (my entire family loved it, and that’s a feat!) but it was super easy to make.
So happy to hear!!
Great meal for all! Every single person ate at least two helpings (2 adults and 2 teenagers). We will definitely make it again. We used the exact ingredients, except I didn’t have fresh parsley or garlic. So I used dried parsley and dried basil. I also used minced garlic from a jar vs. fresh garlic. Even with the dried spices and jar garlic, it was still amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Terrific, and a nice way to make lasagna. I had some Primo Italian chicken sausage that I used instead of ground beef–I used 12 ounces the whole pack. I also cut back on the pasta 5 ounces–of trumpet shaped type–and it was great. Kept everything else the same–but also added a whole bell pepper when I added the onion and some chopped fresh spinach at the end before topping with the cheese. I got 6 servings out of this. Terrific
Terrific, Added a bell pepper at same time as onion and some spinach a t the end before topping with the cheese.-cut pasta to 5 ounces and used whole pack 12 ounces of primo chicken sausage for the meat. I also cut back a bit on the parm and mozzerella and it was fine. I was able to have 6 servings. Like doing lasagna this way more then traditional way. A favorite
Another great SkinnyTaste recipe! Delicious, quick, and one pot make this a winner- we have been making this on regular rotation in our house and my picky husband loves it and will even eat it leftover which is a double win!
Made for my small grandchildren at my daughters and they loved it!!!thank you❤️
So glad!!
So easy. I did use marinara because i had an open jar in the fridge and a lb of ground beef, because I feed teenage boys. It was very tasty and I will certainly make it again.
Thanks for this comment. I have an open jar of marinara and wondered how this would turn out if I used it rather than the crushed tomatoes and spices. Will have to try next time!
This is delicious. However, You could easily double the amount of meat called for.
Great macros and my 5 picky eaters (kids and hubs) LOVED it!!! Easy to make too!! All around win. Ty for this recipe!!
I love Skinnytaste, but this recipe missed the mark for me. For starters, it took way longer than 20 minutes for the pasta to cook and I had to keep adding liquid to get it to soften. The sauce lacked depth and was too acidic.
That’s interesting…I wonder if the kind of pasta makes a difference. I used broken pieces of whole wheat lasagna noodles and thought they might take longer, as whole wheat sometimes does, but it was just the right amount of liquid and pasta was done in 18 minutes.
Been making your recipes for years, but this one is a real winner! I’m veg so I used impossible ground “beef” and did basil instead of parsley, and it turned out wonderful! It was loved by both my husband and I and, the best part, by my picky toddler as well! Plenty for dinner for 3 plus leftovers. I’m making it tonight for the 2nd time this month.
Very easy, delicious, and great for leftovers too! Portioned it out for my lunches the rest of the week.
This Lasagna bake was fantastic! I used ground turkey instead of beef. I definitely wanna try this recipe with ground beef, though! I was a little nervous about making this because the cottage cheese was not supposed to be blended. When I saw the picture, it looked like it was blended to me. As I read the instructions, I realized I did not have to cream the cottage cheese. Which made me a little nervous, if I’m being honest. I followed the directions and it came out *chefs kiss*! The cottage cheese melted… so good! I even grated a block of mozzarella. What a difference!!
Thank you for all your hard work! Love your recipes!
So good!!
Delicious and easy
This was a hit with my family! I tried a new recipe and so glad I found something that’s so easy and delicious.
another recipe that ST knocks out of the park. we love lasagna in our house but not the effort that it sometimes takes to make it. this recipe was absolutely PERFECT for a quick, easy and painless way to make lasagna that was so so good-honestly, I preferred this over a pan of baked lasagna! We used regular marinara sauce (Mezzetta is my fav) bc that is what we had on hand- I did add a dash or two of worchshire sauce to take the acidity out of it some. I didn’t have parsley so only used basil. I broke up lasagna noodles for the pasta. seriously so easy and so good.
SO happy to hear!!
This dish is so good!! Made for the first time tonight, wouldn’t change a thing. Will make again!
Super easy for a weeknight, nutritious, high protein, and even better for leftovers (if there is any left!)
I was excited about this but not my favourite, definitely needs more seasoning in the sauce, it was very bland
Yummy and easy. Based on some other reviews, I added some Italian seasoning for more flavor, also salt and pepper. Also, I had a partial bag of spinach that I rough chopped and added the last few minutes on the stove. My husband said to make it again!
Loved this so did my family! I doubled the recipe to have lots of leftovers/lunches. I omitted the onions as I have someone who won’t eat them and I still found it flavourful. So quick for a weeknight. I will definitely make this one again.
We loved this recipe. Used a full pound of extra lean ground beef but I don’t like meaty flavored sauce so I drained it and left it out, and just incorporated that and the salt before the cheese. For those complaining the sauce is too tomato-y, add the sauce ingredients then taste before adding the noodles. If it’s too acidic, add salt and some Worcestershire sauce and whatever additional seasoning you prefer. I find I have to do this with most sauces that use crushed tomatoes. I’m also not a huge fan of the consistency of cottage cheese, so I blended it with the Parmesan, parsley, and a dash of salt in a food processor to make it more of a ricotta consistency. I used fat free cottage cheese and mozzarella and it still had great flavor. My daughter came back for thirds and she hates everything I make. Will definitely be added to my rotation, thank you!
Delicious! The only change I made was to sub in Spicy chicken Italian sausage for the half pound of ground beef. Fairly quick one pot meal.
Where/when do you add the olive oil?
Was excited about this but not my favorite. Love that it’s high protein, one pan, and lasagna always sounds great. But, I found the sauce to be pretty one dimensional and tomato-y. Needs some other spices and depth.
Someone else made it with marinara sauce. I’m planning to use a spicy marinara next time. Something like that might add the flavors you’re looking for.
Very good & easy! Probably used about 10oz of pasta – but plenty of leftovers for a lunch & another dinner for 2.
Very easy and yummy! Will make this regularly.
Tastes amazing and so easy! I’ll have this for lunch all week. I used a teaspoon of dried parsley and dried basil since I forgot to get fresh.
Good recipe – I made with Trader Joe’s Hot Italian chicken sausage – casings removed and browned instead of beef – really spicy and delicious
Delicious! I’ve made your roll up lasagnas many times but I really like the ease of this one pot meal, and I doubled it for meal prep so we can have plenty for the rest of the weak. I did add some white miso and tomato paste to the sauce for an extra richness, and it was a hit! Thank you!
Used ground turkey instead of ground beef. Added Italian seasoning and a lot more salt. A easy weeknight dish and crowd pleaser. Will make again.
This recipe turned out perfectly and was a big hit with the family. Such a nice shortcut from regular lasagna.
Easy, one pot recipe that everyone likes! Didn’t have bone broth so subbed beef broth which maybe took the protein count down a little, but used Barilla protein + bow tie pasta so maybe it was a wash. Seasoned with my heart instead of measurements. Love cooking the pasta in the pan with the other ingredients.
This was delicious. My husband didn’t even know it was a lightened pasta dish and had seconds. It also reheats really well.
Loved this recipe. Even my husband who hates cottage cheese, enjoyed this meal.
A nice easy recipe but not enough flavor for us. We’ll add more Italian spices next time and do another review
Unintentionally I made it a little differently and it had lots of taste. The can of crushed tomatoes i thought I had was actually a can of tomato sauce, so I used a combo of the sauce and a can of “no salt” rotel I had on hand. It gave it a nice kick
Our whole family said this recipe is a keeper. It was an easy, 1 pot meal that was ready in less than an hour. This recipe served 5. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it looks like I could easily downsize and make it for 2
Delicious dinner – huge portions
My husband said this is a keeper. So good! So easy! Thank you Food Babe for continually providing us with great, yummy recipes to cook and enjoy during our long cold winter! ❄️ ❄️ ❄️
Easy to make and delicious!
Delicious and EASY! Made vegetarian with crumbles, vegetable broth and plenty of Italian spices. Whole family loved it!
Perfect!
Easy to make! Great flavor! My boyfriend and I had it for dinner tonight it’s a keeper!
Could you prep in advance? Would you just stop after step 4?
I am not sure!
Would you recommend freezing leftover without the cheese or is it fine to freeze as is?
with should be ok
Family loved this!
I appreciate all the “variations” notes…was able to sub a few items and was able to make this from what I already had on hand.
Need to figure a few workarounds – too high calorie and too high sodium (need heart healthy). Can sub 95% lean beef but the bone broth is a problem,
Wendy, I was thinking the same thing about the sodium. I always use lean ground beef in my recipes (and prefer to add fat if/as necessary), as well as no salt added (NSA) broth. It makes a big difference. I use Campbell’s broth. Hope this helps 😊
Is the pasta boiled with meat and liquid?
Yes (step 4) 🙂
Excellent! I used bow tie pasta, a full pound ground turkey, fat free cottage cheese and vegetable broth. It came out great, will definately make again❤️
What is the difference in taste between chicken bone broth and chicken broth? Is it in depth of flavor?
In recipes, I’ve never noticed a difference in flavor, but bone broth is higher in protein, so it can make a difference if macros are important to you.
Where can you buy mafalda pasta? I’ve been looking for it for the past year! Can’t wait to try this.
Delallo has one, but you can check you local grocery and specialty stores too.
I just found Creamette brand Mafalda at my local Metro Market, which is part of the Kroger chain.
@ Andrea P.
Hopefully this is allowed… i bought some last year and it IS GREAT pasta!! I found it on Amazon. Right now they’re available as a pack of 3 for $13.09 with FREE shipping of you have Amazon Prime. San Giorgio Mafalda Pasta 12 oz (Pack of 3) https://a.co/d/fj1ThCS
Looking forward to this! It’s another version of Homemade Hamburger Helper. When I was a kid, my Mom often made Hamburger Helper Lasagna, and it looked just like this!