Ever heard of Texas lasagna? I found out about this dish years ago when I was browsing through Pinterest trying to figure out new ways to use ground beef and ground turkey. We do all the standards in our house – tacos, burgers, meatloaf – but I was definitely in the mood for a new recipe to mix it up.
Essentially, Texas lasagna is a southwestern style casserole. Instead of traditional lasagna noodles, you use corn tortillas. Instead of mozzarella and ricotta, you use cheddar and cottage cheese. And of course, lots of yummy seasonings like chili powder and paprika give it an extra punch of flavor. It sounded like the perfect way to mix up our ground beef routine – and I think you’ll love it too!
A Quick Note for the Cottage Cheese Haters
Let me step back a minute and address the cottage cheese before ya’ll go running away. 😉 I’m going to be real with you – I am not a huge cottage cheese fan in it’s plain form. One of my only memories of eating it was back and my dietetic internship when we had to try diets in different textures and I was forced to taste-test regular and texture modified versions of cottage cheese. Ugh.
But here’s the thing – cottage cheese is quite good for you! Cottage cheese is rich in slowly-digesting protein and it also has a particular amino acid called leucine that’s particularly beneficial for recovery after exercise.
So my tip for you is to utilize cottage cheese in unique recipes, like this Texas lasagna, where it absorbs other flavors of the recipe. In this case, it lends creaminess and saltiness to the dish and works perfectly with the cheddar and tomato flavors.
If you’re looking for more ways to use the rest of the container of cottage cheese after you make this recipe, I highly recommend trying these cottage cheese egg muffins or some sweetpotato cottage cheese jalapeno poppers for savory options. If you want to try it in a sweet option, cottage cheese cookie dough or brownies are both delish choices.
More Ground Beef Dinner Ideas
If you’re looking for more ways to use ground beef, try one of these tasty options:
- Soy-glazed ground beef bowls
- Mini meatloaves
- BBQ ground beef stuffed sweet potatoes
- Taco breakfast casserole
- Cheeseburger muffins
I hope you enjoy this better-for-you Texas Lasagna recipe! If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Easy Texas Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds 90/10 ground beef
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (no added salt)
- 15 oz can of tomato sauce (no added salt)
- 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 8 corn tortillas (6 inch)
- 1 ¾ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, mix egg and cottage cheese in a bowl.
- In a 9×13 dish, add half the meat mixture, followed by half the tortillas (go 3 across and split the 4th in half to layer over any gaps at the top – see photo in post if this doesn’t make sense!), half the cottage cheese/egg mixture, and half the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers one more time.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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I’ve never heard of Texas lasagna before, but it sure does sound good. It also sound like it’s pretty easy to make, always a good thing!
Yes, I’m all about easy meals! It does take two steps with browning the meat and then baking everything, but otherwise it’s very simple to put together.
Never heard of Texas lasagna but sounds incredible!
Thanks Abbey! 🙂
I’m not a big noodle person, so I would love to switch it up to tortillas!
Yes! I love mixing it up like this.
Last time I had lasagna – OMG – like a CENTURY ago, because you know, I AM THAT OLD??
Haha! I actually haven’t had regular lasagna in forever…but I have had this quite a few times in the last month or two 🙂
Lasagna is one of those foods that is so hard to make healthy but you’ve done a great job with this recipe!
Thanks Julie! 🙂
Love how you were able to make this into a healthy dish. It looks delicious!
Thanks so much! It’s super tasty.
This really is a better-for-you lasagna! Yum!
Thanks Ilka! 🙂
That is one mean lasagna! I totally want to try it!
Haha, thank you – and go for it Carmy!
Do you think the low carb tortillas would work okay too? This is brillant!!!
I definitely think they would work! It might not have the exact same flavor profile since I think corn tortillas have a pretty distinct flavor, but I still think it would taste great.
How many portions does the recipe make?
Hi Wendy! It makes 6 servings. 🙂