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Lasagna Casserole is an alternative to traditionally layered lasagna. This version involves layers of creamy noodles, sauce and cheese. Weeknight suppers are made easier with this casserole which may be made ahead and baked. It will even freeze well, before or after baking!

A seeker of tried-and-true, family-favorite recipes, I clipped this recipe from our local newspaper, The Cannon Courier. The recipe column is sponsored by our local Piggly Wiggly grocery store. My printable recipe below is what I feel is an easier and tastier version but here’s the original.

What You’ll Need:

egg noodles — I like to use different noodle widths for different dishes and found that the medium size works well in this dish. You use whatever width you find or prefer. The noodles will be cooked before building the casserole. That actually makes the recipe easier to manage as it calls for “3 cups uncooked noodles.” None of this “3 cups cooked” and you have leftover because you don’t know how much that would be uncooked.
ground beef — Use whatever type of meat you have available. We often use venison in dishes that call for ground beef. Even ground chicken or turkey would work.
pasta (spaghetti) sauce — The original recipe calls for using a dry packet of spaghetti sauce mix. I do not like the frightening ingredients that are often found in the dry spice blend mixes (which is why I make and sell my own recipes of Seasoning Mixes.)
cream cheese — The original recipe calls for “3 ounces, softened.” I use 4 ounces which is half a brick of cream cheese and softening is not actually necessary (just a bit helpful) with my method.
evaporated milk — You may use whole milk if no evaporated is available.
seasonings: salt, pepper, Italian seasoning blend, onion powder and garlic powder. A note about garlic powder: I do not purchase or use garlic salt. While many recipes call for it, I just use my favorite healthy salt (which is Redmond Real salt) and garlic powder. Rarely do I measure much of anything but especially not spices. Season with your heart, hon! I like to purchase garlic powder that is only garlic, not added ingredients. Here is a good brand that is economical. Use garlic generously, Diligent Homemaker! It’s so good for the heart.
mozzarella cheese — Again, I deviate from the original recipe which calls for “one cup Mozzarella cheese.” Watch my wonderful Mr. Patient in this Lasagna Casserole video speak to the necessity of using more than one cup of cheese. There are many advantages to picking up the blocks of cheese when grocery shopping as opposed to the pre-shredded. The pre-shredded cheese contains preservatives to delay mold from forming as well as cellulose to dry the cheese out. This drying-out aids in mold-delay, as well. Cellulose also acts as an anti-caking agent so the bagged cheese doesn’t clump. Cheese that is shredded at home, either by hand or using a machine, results in a creamier recipes and by some nature of odd kitchen math, the home-shredded cheese produces more in volume than the pre-shredded products. I recently posted this short reel on Instagram about shredding cheese at home.

Kitchen Equipment You’ll Need:

Cast-iron skillet to brown beef and heat sauce — Of course, you may use your skillet of choice, but cast iron has so many advantages. (Click here to read how to identify bad cast iron when thrifting.)
Dutch oven to cook noodles and mix cream sauce
Whisk, but not one like your Granny used to use — I am in absolute love with a flat whisk like this one! The food doesn’t get all jammed up like it does in a traditional bulb whisk and the flattened designed works in so many more applications than the bulb design. It wins my award for Best New-to-me Kitchen Tool for 2025.
Strainer to strain noodles — I love one like this for straining pasta and potatoes. A plus is that this one is dishwasher safe, and, quite honestly, gets much cleaner in the dishwasher than washed by hand.
Casserole dish — 8.5 x 11 works best but 9 x 13 will do if that’s your only option. Refer to this video tutorial for an explanation on this.

Check out my most popular cookbook, From Katie’s Kitchen, Volume One, for 205 of our family’s favorite recipes, tips from my years as a caterer, real menu ideas and stories behind the recipes. This book is a result of my six children’s and husband’s pleas to “please, Mom, write down these recipes for us!”