Mock lasagna is a dinner our whole family gets excited about. Mock lasagna is delicious like lasagna, but is much simpler to make and is easy to make in large quantities.
My mother-in-law came up with the recipe years ago when her six children were young. Now it’s a tradition that her grandchildren are enjoying. The secret is making the tomato sauce from scratch, but you can use store-bought sauce if you like.
Mock Lasagna
- 16 oz Macaroni Elbows
- 32 oz Pasta Sauce— OR– make your own with the following ingredients:
- 1 quart Tomato Puree
- 2-3 Tbsp Flour
- 1/2 Tbsp Parsley
- 1/2 Tbsp Oregano
- 1/2 Tbsp Basil
- 1/2 Tbsp Salt
- 1 medium Onion, chopped (optional)
- 2 cloves of Garlic (optional)
- 1/2 lb ground beef (optional)
- 1/2 to 1 lb of Ground Beef, browned (if you don’t already have meat in your sauce)
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese
- 16 oz Cottage Cheese
I start by making my tomato sauce. If you don’t have your own canned tomato puree, you can purchase the puree to make your own sauce. The ingredients are listed above, but the detailed instructions are here. I really think this homemade sauce is what makes mock lasagna such a favorite.
You can use store-bought sauce if you have one you love. Heat your sauce in a sauce pan and add browned ground beef.
Add your macaroni to boiling water in a large sauce pan. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until they are done to your liking. Drain and return to pan or large bowl.
While they are both still hot, add your sauce to the drained pasta and stir.
Add 2 cups of shredded cheese and mix until melted.
Add 16 oz of cottage cheese and stir.
Serve hot and enjoy!
To make this dish even more budget friendly, here are a few frugal tips:
- Use stretched ground beef. When I brown my ground beef I add in pureed veggies to bulk it up and stretch it out (and hide some extra veggies too). I have a tutorial on how to stretch ground beef.
- We buy cottage cheese in 5 pound tubs at Sam’s Club, which is much cheaper than buying individual 16 oz containers. When I measure it, I just eyeball it.
- You can save money by cutting down on the amount of cheese.
- You can leave the ground beef out altogether and make this a meatless dish!
Linked to Project Inspire{d}
- 16 oz Macaroni Elbows
- 32 oz Pasta Sauce– OR– make your own from tomato puree (see website for details-- it makes all the difference!)
- ½ to 1 lb of Ground Beef, browned (if you don’t already have meat in your sauce)
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese
- 16 oz Cottage Cheese
- Heat your sauce in a sauce pan and add browned ground beef.
- Add your macaroni to boiling water in a large sauce pan. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until they are done to your liking. Drain and return to pan or large bowl.
- While they are both still hot, add your sauce to the drained pasta and stir.
- Add 2 cups of shredded cheese and mix until melted.
- Add 16 oz of cottage cheese and stir.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
I tried this recipe tonight and it made a lot and was very good. It reminds me of a casserole my Mama used to make with a Mexican flavor. It was ground beef, macaroni, velveeta, onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, some spicy V-8 juice and jalapeños if you want it really spicy. Seems like she might have added cottage cheese to it, too! After she made a huge bowl of it, she would fill pie pans that she had saved and then cover with plastic/freezer wrap, then cover with foil and stack them in the freezer. We had them a lot and loved them. She still makes them and if I go home for supper, she will fix leftovers for me and sometimes I find a casserole tucked in the “to go “ bag as a bonus! Thanks for posting this recipe!
How is this frugal? Becuz its cottage chs n not ricotta? Are lasagne noodles more expensive?
Im learning dairy is just expensive, period. Sour cream, cheese, ricotta, cottage chs…all rly make a dish but all pricey. I make yogurt but that’s as far as I can go.
We only eat meat once a day-eggs for brkfst n pb or beans for lunch. Food still costs me way too much.
Growing up in the 1980’s my father was the cook and we ate Mock Lasagna often. The appoach is very similar so I wonder if the idea came from some earlier source. I don’t have the recipe in front of me but it includes the following from memory:
2 Cups of Macaroni Elbows
15 oz can of Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Basil
1/2 Tbsp of pepper
1/2 to 1 lb of browned ground beef
6 slices of american cheese
1 large container of cottage cheese, whatever that size would be
Directions
Cook the elbows and drain.
Brown hamburger meat and then drain fat.
Pour tomato sauce, organo, basil, pepper in with the meat and simmer.
In oven dish layer 1/2 the elbows
Then layer of 1/2 the hamburger sauce
Then layer of 1/2 cottage cheese.
Top with 3 slices of american cheese.
Repeat above steps and top with 3 more slices of american cheese.
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes in order to warm up the cottage cheese, melt the american cheese and make everything nice and hot.
This is the #1 meal at my house. I loved it as a kid and my kids love it too. The end result on the plate looks very similar to what you posted. The cottage cheese along with the oregano and basil really gives it a great flavor.
Thanks for sharing your version Andrew! That’s cool that they’re so similar. Definitely a big hit in our family! 🙂
I’ve been eating up the pantry and thought this recipe would help consume a big bag of elbow macaroni. Wow, it is tasty! And much cheaper and faster than making traditional lasagna. I threw in some green pepper I had on hand, too. Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you liked it Lily! Way to use up some macaroni from the pantry! It’s a crowd-pleaser here for sure!
I never thought of using cottage cheese. My grandma and mom use ricotta cheese! I like to do this when I’m feeling lazy but want to change it up. Plain pasta can get boring sometimes!
Traditional lasagna uses cottage cheese, but even so, I have always used cottage cheese because it’s cheaper! My family doesn’t know the difference. 🙂